Originally posted by mastone
Just download a template from the internet and start building from there. Don't start from scratch or anything.
I download the template strip it for useful parts and build something of it.
That's only useful if you know what to strip away. Templates are hit and miss as far as quality. If I didn't really know what I was doing and I wanted something nice right off the bat, I would probably go the wordpress route (if your host supports php/mysql). There are developers and themers up the ying-yang and would be easy as pie to find something pre-canned to set up a portfolio (lightbox plugin, etc). You're more apt to find something coded validly. The downside is that all content is in a db so that can be a bit of a drag. You'd also have to make sure you've covered any kind of security issues.
There are other things that can make web design easier like CSS frameworks ala the 960 grid, baseline, etc. but most folks will tell people starting out to get your head around the basics before trying to use one as you'll find it easier to troubleshoot should something go wrong.
"Terminat Bora Diem, Terminal Auctor opus."