My Website Got Hacked… So I Guess We’re Starting Over (Photographer Edition)
You’d think that as a commercial photographer — someone who spends their days capturing polished branding images, corporate events, and headshots that make people look confident and capable — I’d have my digital life perfectly under control.
Yeah… about that. #fakenews
My website got hacked.
abelriojas.com was basically ambushed, trashed, and left looking like the digital equivalent of a hotel room after a 80’s rock band checks out. Someone thought it would be cute to leave tons of links to over seas casinos and internet scams and the more I tried cleaning it out the worse it became. (Think of playing “Whack-a-mole”)
One day everything was fine, the next day my galleries, posts, and carefully curated portfolio were replaced with… fake news articles, spam, and even fake photos from stock image libraries. Who knows how long it had been going on but it happened and what’s done is done.
So here we are: rebuilding from scratch.
(Which is ironic, because I spend half my career telling brands, “Consistency is everything.”)
What Went Down (Insert Dramatic Detective Music)
Without getting too technical: someone broke in, messed with my files, and turned my site into a puzzle with half the pieces missing. The old version of the site still floats around the Wayback Machine, which is kind of cool… like finding an old roll of film, except the photos are of your website before it got mugged.
The Bright Side: A Forced Makeover
After the shock and several “why me?” moments, I realized something worth admitting:
This might actually be a blessing disguised as a catastrophic inconvenience.
My old site worked, sure — but starting fresh gives me a chance to rebuild with intention. To create something that reflects what I do now:
- Clean commercial photography
- Branding images that help businesses show their best selves
- Corporate event coverage without the “deer in headlights” moments
- Professional headshots — the real bread and butter
Plus: stronger security, faster loading, and a layout that works better for the way people search in 2026.
The Plan Moving Forward
This reboot means:
- A more polished portfolio
- Updated galleries featuring recent work
- Easier navigation for clients
- A blog that actually gets regular updates (please hold your applause)
- Better SEO so people looking for a South Texas commercial photographer can actually find me
- And definitely no more hackers — fingers crossed
Think of this as abelriojas.com: The Rebuild.
A cleaner, sharper, tougher version — kind of like a headshot after retouching, but for a website.
Thanks for Sticking Around
If you’re reading this, thanks for hanging with me through this little adventure. I’ll be posting updates, new work, behind-the-scenes content, and helpful info for clients as the site grows back into something I’m proud to show the world.
And yes — this time I’m backing everything up like a paranoid squirrel.
More coming soon.
Let’s pretend this was all part of the plan.