I am trying to decide on how to best integrate images and copy for a portfolio.

I like the jQuery galleries as they add some movement and some elegance, depending on which one you opt for. But what I do not like about it is the fact that all the images in the slide show have to load with the page. Even with bandwidth being what it is today, having to load, say, a dozen or so sizable images for a gallery seems a bit much to me.

I do not like using Flash as the content is not SEO friendly.

The other option is, of course, PHP. This seems to me to be the most practical and efficient way of doing it. But I am brand new to PHP and would not know how to build it.

Does anyone know where I can find a great tutorial on building a PHP portfolio gallery complete with accompany copy? Or are they "prebuilt" options that I can consider and modify?

Thought I'd ask.