Using full page photography on the background of websites is a growing trend in the world of website design. When done well, and for the right business and brand, it works beautifully. It can, however, be a risky approach.

From the point of view of user experience, the large images can take longer to download, or the background can become a distraction. For the designer, it can get tricky to get the large background image to play well with the needs of responsive web design.

However, we all love looking at beautiful and luxurious images, and for many websites this approach could be perfect. It will be interesting to keep an eye on it over the next 12 months and see how the benefits vs risks plays out.

We've pulled together 20 examples of websites using large photography backgrounds. Let us know what you think!