The full story:
Who I am and what I stand for
My background and how it's relevant
I'm Alex, 37 years old, living in Bucharest (Romania), husband and father of two young girls.
I have a degree in Computer Science, but I'm mostly self‑taught. I'm known to be calm and fairly optimistic.
I was always really attracted to photography and spent a few years doing that after my graduation and a few other jobs. I vividly remember how difficult it was to explain to my folks why I was no longer pursuing the security of a regular office job.
I built my own photography studio and devoured all the articles and books about photography gear and technique. Also shot a few weddings and portrait sessions to make a living.
My own website got noticed by other photographers who then asked me to design and build their own sites. As a testament to how small the world is, and how technology allows people to connect online, my first photographer client was from New Caledonia :-)
I slowly transitioned to working with photographers on their websites, and have been doing that ever since (I've now worked with over 300 photographers from 23 different countries). Since 2009, I've worked with everyone from beginner photographers to full-time pros and large agencies. I founded ForegroundWeb in May 2014 and I love running my own business. While I no longer work as a photographers, I still thoroughly enjoy taking my DSLR out for some personal creative work every now and then.
I deeply understand the struggles of running and promoting your own business. And my insight into the artist's mind has proven invaluable for my professional photographer clients over the years.
I'm from Romania
Yes, Romania. Not the US, not Australia or a rich European country either. Romania is generally seen with bad eyes throughout the world, as a somewhat poor and corrupt country, and I get that.
But I'm here to also try to change that perspective a little. The country has some breathtaking places to visit. Romanians have invented many products we use today. We have very famous sports personalities (you might have heard of Nadia Comaneci who got a perfect 10 in gymnastics, Ilie Nastase - #1 in tennis, and Hagi if you're a soccer fan). And we have incredibly talented and smart Romanians throughout all major universities and companies.
This is what I'm passionate about
First and foremost, I'm in love with photography. Otherwise, I wouldn't be working with photographers.
Honing your skills at such a beautiful form of art is difficult enough, but having to deal with all the technical aspects of building and running a successful online presence is often overwhelming to many photographers.
I'm here to help with all those aspects, letting you return to the core of your business: shooting great images.
My BS-filters are finely tuned
In everything I do, I want to be helpful and to encourage kindness.
So I choose not to work with people who come with the wrong attitude (superiority, arrogance) — life's too short to spread bad feelings out into the world. Even though English is not my native language, I've learned to understand many of its nuances. And because I also have a good understanding of non-verbal communication, I can smell bad intentions a mile away.
And I have no tolerance for dodgy marketing tactics or black-hat SEO practices. There's a ton of shallow "Top 100 tips & tricks" stuff online, but just like extreme dieting, it can give you some quick results, but it won't last long.
Why I have the knowledge to help you
Besides studying 14 different programming languages at the university level, I've always been adept at any technical skills. My parents were both engineers, which made me good with exact sciences (through I'm definitely studying more abstract arts as I grow older).
I'm a quick learner, and that's how I've gotten to know WordPress inside-out and to be proficient in tens of other web-design tools & services. If you've heard of it, I've probably already used it.
And I'm always staying in touch with the web-design industry, learning about all the new tools and technologies that appear, sorting through all of the craziness to find the best tools for every project.
Why I created ForegroundWeb
First of all, I empathize with photographers. I also started out as one, didn't know how to promote my work or to make a living out of it.
Secondly, photographers are creative people, and they're spreading something beautiful into the world (their art). The world needs more of that.
ForegroundWeb is my attempt to improve the photography website standards out there, to help creative photographers with the technical yet important task of building & improving their website.
I try to do that through offering professional web-design services, and through longform articles and an extensive content area, all about photography websites.
Where did the name "ForegroundWeb" come from?
I was obviously looking for a photographic term, and settled on "foreground".
In an abstract way, your website is the foreground of all your work, it's what people (and photo buyers) see. Shooting and editing images happen in the background.
Check out other frequently asked questions.
