Really beautiful shots of the lakes! I stayed near Grasmere a few years ago, would really love to go back this summer.

Thanks so much to all for your replies, this thread has turned into quite the veritable gold mine of information! Very much appreciated, definitely going to take all your suggestions and advice on board

Thanks for your responses everyone, there are some really useful thoughts and suggestions there! I hadn't really properly considered using multiple platforms, but now you mention it, it makes a lot of sense. I suppose each social channel will attract different types of audiences, too. In that case, 500px and Instagram sounds like a good idea.

Since yesterday I've also been thinking a little more about my own site. What do you reckon about building it using WordPress rather than from scratch? I have friends who seem to have made sites pretty easily using it, but not photography focused ones necessarily. Perhaps there are some good themes to use as a framework.

Also, on a basic technical point, what file format is most appropriate for a portfolio? Normally I don't pay so much attention to this because I'm not publishing images online, so they don't have to be compressed. I found this article pretty helpful on image compression, but I still can't quite work out whether JPEG or PNG would be best!

Hi everyone, I'm looking to get started with my own online portfolio. Admittedly I'm not exactly at a very highest level of photography skill just yet, but the idea is to go for a professional look to my site. At some point I'd like to offer my services for events - weddings and such like - so I might as well lay the foundation for a site that will be attractive to potential clients now.

As I said in the title, my question is - in your experiences, is it worth it to set up your own website for this purpose, or would Flikr or some ready-made blogging platform do the trick? I'm really just looking for any personal experiences with this that you may have, to provide some inspiration - that would be great! Thanks in advance.

That top one is funky to the extreme!

Factory reset is a very good idea. Also, sorry if this is a silly question but it's always worth ruling out - have you updated to the latest firmware? 1.13 I think it is now.

You've captured the action of a bird in flight really well, very graceful indeed. Only thing I'd say is that you can tell you were quite some distance from your subject, despite the zoom lens. If that's true, though, you've done well considering!

Really impressive results! What time of day did you shoot this?

You have some really beautiful shots there - a great blend of nature and man-made elements. Also, I love how you put your copyright on the number plate of some of the cars! Cool touch.

Thanks for the friendly welcome everyone!