We had a really nice looking site, even built in WP (I should know, I built it years ago). We were even using good ‘old Gallery 2 (the powerful photo management system). But we had an ancient WP theme and we couldn’t really tweak it the way we wanted to. Good time to leapfrog several years of WordPress theme development and design and jump right to the front of the line: StudioPress.

Of course, it helps the design of your site if you have beautiful work you can showcase. I often get the question, “How can I make my site look like ___________ ?” (insert beloved site). It’s often the design, the colors, the layout, the ease of navigation, but it’s more often than not: the artwork. If you have your own work, great, we’re ready and we’re done. If you don’t, not all stock photography is created equal and having an art director’s eye for what works can make all the difference.

But Melanie doesn’t need stock photography. She has her own gorgeous work to display. I might sound a little biased. I am. I’m just plain floored with her work and wish my hand could create such art. Check out Melanie’s site and see for yourself. My favorite is Quaking Aspens.