The other day I was at the local shopping mall, trying to phone my wife (she sent me to pick out drawer liners, and I had to make sure I had picked the right pattern).

The problem was... I couldn't even hear my darn phone because music was blaring everywhere. In the walkways, in the stores, at the food court... even in the bathrooms.

So I stepped outside for a moment. But there, too, the music was loud and thumping and obnoxious.

Now, don't get me wrong: I love music. I listen to my iPod twelve hours a day... when I'm working, playing, driving, or just relaxing.

I love music... but only if I'm the one controlling it.

But this scene at the mall reminded me of an ugly trend among photographers: the curious need to have music on their Web sites. Music that can only be turned off by clicking an often-hidden, often-tiny, and often impossible-to-find button.

Now, there are 3 main reasons why you shouldn't have music on your site:

1) It can just plain be distracting. If I'm interested in hiring you to shoot my wedding, I don't need some gross Julio Iglesias ballad serenading me as I browse your site. It's a turn-off, and I'll probably click away from your site sooner rather than later. On the other hand, if it's a really great song, I'm going to focus more on the song than on your pictures.

2) It can scare the heck out of people. At one of my jobs I have to listen to a lot of dry, corporate videos. Where you have to turn the volume WAY up to hear what they're saying. But then, when I go to a site that has a normal volume of music... I end up wanting to scratch out my eardrums because it's so loud.

3) It can make your site slower to load. People today have the attention spans of hyperactive children on caffeine. So anything that slows your Web site down-and which isn't absolutely vital to making a sale-should be removed.

So by all means, listen to your music as much as you want. Just please, please don't make ME listen to it when I'm on your Web site.