I’ve tried to build a CSS-only photography portfolio a number of times and struggled to get the vibe I wanted, having to resort to JavaScript and masonry.js (which is a brilliant library to be fair) or, more recently, outsource it to the underwhelming Squarespace.

Things may be about to change though as the CSS Working Group debates how best to bring a masonry-like layout to CSS itself:

https://webkit.org/blog/15269/help-us-invent-masonry-layouts-for-css-grid-level-3/

You can have your say if you like. Either way, the portfolio future looks bright.