Exposure

This Exposure.co review covers what the platform is used for, its features, pricing, where it shines and falls short, and how it compares with other portfolio tools. It calls itself a modern publishing platform for visual storytellers: a simple way to create and share photo and video stories. You drag in a set of images, put them in order, add words between them, and the platform presents them as a full-width, magazine-style story that works on a computer, a desktop browser or any device. Every account also gets a site that collects your stories, so it doubles as a portfolio or photo blog. You can find the stories of other members too, and the idea is always the same: the pictures carry the story. Designer Luke Beard and engineer Kyle Bragger launched it in December 2014. The idea came after a photo trip to Estonia, when Beard had great pictures and no good place to tell the story. Beard is based in Atlanta, and the product is built in Atlanta.

What is Exposure used for?

Exposure is used for photo essays, the name for a story told through pictures. Typical uses are travel stories, photojournalism, event coverage, family albums, behind-the-photo posts and recipe or project write-ups. Luke Beard has named its ideal business customers as brands, sports teams, nonprofits and college athletics departments (Baremetrics interview). For photographers the pictures lead and the design stays out of the way. For an organisation it offers a place to post image-led stories under its own brand without a new website for each one.

Key features

• Story editor: a block-based editor where you drag and drop images, reorder them, and add rich text, captions, headings and links. Editing is easy, and images are resized automatically for each screen.
• Unlimited photo uploads: tell as many stories as you like on a subscription, without counting storage.
• A site for your stories: a home page that lists your posts, with categories, fonts and design options.
• Embed your media: add videos and other media to a story, and embed your stories on other sites.
• Build your audience: readers can subscribe and get new stories, and you can share each story with a link.
• Custom branding: your own look and address on the higher plans.
• New Tab: a desktop browser extension that shows a curated photo every time you open a new tab, and can highlight your story (Exposure New Tab).

Exposure pricing

According to Exposure's pricing page and NachoNacho's listing as of September 2026, all prices in USD:

• Pro: $14 a month, for creators, hobbyists and families who want unlimited storytelling and a site.
• Pro Plus: $29 a month, adding ecommerce options, design tools and custom branding such as your own domain name.
• Business: $99 a month, for brands, teams and companies that need custom branding, integrations and developer options.
• Enterprise: custom pricing for sports teams, nonprofits and large organisations.

Exposure says it is free to start, and every plan comes with a 14-day free trial and a 30-day money-back guarantee. Older reviews quote a $9 plan and a free trial of three stories; those figures are from Exposure's early years, and today's pricing page starts at $14.

The cost surprise to check is traffic. The pricing page notes that additional bandwidth fees may apply to stories and sites with outsized traffic and to enterprise contracts, and says fewer than 0.2% of members are affected. The second is branding: custom branding starts at Pro Plus, twice the price of Pro, so choose the plan by the features you need at the level you work at, not by the story count.

Getting started: sign up and tell as many stories as you like

Sign up with an email address, pick a plan and start the trial. Create a story, drag in images from your computer, then add a title and captions between them. The editor is easy to learn because it has few settings: a cover image, word blocks, image blocks and a choice of fonts. Share the link when you are done, and the story also appears on your site. Keep the words short; the format works best when they give each image a reason to be there.

Exposure vs a website builder

Exposure is not a general website builder. It hosts stories and a simple site around them; you cannot run a large shop, bookings or a multi-page company site the way you can in Squarespace, Wix or WordPress. In exchange, a photo essay looks right with no design work. Many photographers use Exposure next to a main website: the website sells the service, and Exposure holds the stories that show the work. Exposure hand-picks some stories and groups community stories by category, but it is not a large social network, so most readers come from your own links, social media and subscribers.

Where Exposure shines — and where it falls short

Strengths:

• Photo-led stories that look good with no layout work.
• As many stories as you like on every plan.
• No ads, so readers focus on the photos.
• Team options and custom branding for brands and nonprofits.

Trade-offs:

• Custom branding starts at the $29 Pro Plus plan.
• Built for stories, not for full websites or online stores.
• Possible bandwidth fees for very high-traffic stories.
• Limited discovery beyond curated picks, so you bring most of your readers.
• A small company, with fewer templates and integrations than large builders.

How Exposure compares

• Carbonmade: a simple online portfolio for designers and illustrators.
• Cargo: portfolio sites with more layout freedom for artists and studios.
• Pixpa: portfolio sites with client galleries and a store for photographers.
• Readymag: a design tool for editorial pages and longreads.
• Squarespace and Wix: full website builders with portfolio templates.
• Substack and Ghost: newsletters and publishing where text leads and photos support.

Is Exposure worth it?

Exposure is worth it if you make photo essays and want them to look great without designing each page or learning a website builder. It suits photographers, travellers, and organisations that tell stories with photos, such as nonprofits and sports teams. It is a weaker fit if you need a full website with services, bookings or a large shop, or if you post only a few stories a year, since the plans are monthly subscriptions. If you want help with a portfolio or website around your stories, the website agencies and developers on LowCodeDevs can take it on.

Sources

• Exposure pricing: plans, prices and the bandwidth-fee note.
• Exposure New Tab: the browser extension.
• Exposure for business and for non-profits: brands, teams and nonprofits.
• NachoNacho: Exposure: plan descriptions, the 14-day trial and the money-back guarantee.
• From designer to SaaS founder with Luke Beard, Baremetrics: history, business model and customers (April 2018).
• Start up review: Exposure, Medium: the December 2014 launch and the editor.
• Exposure keeps getting better, Scott Kelby: a photographer's view.