Austin Cruz Photography

Austin Cruz shoots graduations, events and portraits around Manila, and he knew what he wanted from the start: something simple and clean, where the photographs come first and the website barely registers. I built that site. It holds his galleries, his graduation rates and a direct line to book him.

Getting out of the way of the photographs

Most of Austin's clients are graduating students and their families. They find him on Instagram, open the site on their phones and book in his DMs. So I designed for that one visit and left out everything that didn't serve it.

The page is near-black, set in two typefaces, and the photographs bring all the color. There's no loader, no carousel controls to figure out and no inquiry form. The hero paints immediately and is already playing.

The one idea I gave the site is borrowed from where his clients already are. The home page plays like an Instagram story: the hero is one, and each gallery (Graduation, Events, Photoshoots) is a chapter whose frames advance as you scroll. Tap to skip and hold to pause work the way they do on Instagram, so there's nothing to learn. The motion stays quiet, a short cut between frames and a slow settle, and with reduced motion on it's a straight cut.

The rest of the page answers what a client wants to know before they message: what it costs and how to book. Graduation rates are listed per package, and every Book button opens his Instagram. Events and photoshoots are quoted on inquiry.

It's a Next.js app on Vercel, with GSAP and Lenis driving the scroll. For a photographer, the best thing a website can do is get out of the way.