Photographer websites nearly always fail at the same point: oversized images. Next.js solves it at the root, because cropping, format and delivery are part of the framework rather than the job of a plugin.
Why next/image changes the maths
The component generates several sizes per image, serves AVIF or WebP when the browser supports it, and sets width and height automatically so no layout shift can occur. An eight-megabyte scan becomes 80 to 300 kilobytes per view.
Build statically, do not render
A portfolio rarely changes. With static generation each page is built once and served from a CDN — response times under 100 milliseconds, with no server recomputing on every request.
Prioritise images correctly
Only the first visible image gets priority; everything else loads lazily. That single distinction typically improves Largest Contentful Paint on image-heavy pages by more than a second.
What this means for visibility
Speed is a ranking factor, but behaviour matters more: someone waiting two seconds for a photograph leaves. On studio websites, bounce rates routinely drop by double digits after optimisation.