Create a Photography Portfolio

Creating a portfolio of your work is one of the most important things you can do as a photographer. Whether you want to market yourself commercially or simply create a collection for private use, a portfolio allows you the chance to assemble a concise group of images that represents your best work. The purpose for your portfolio will play a large role in how you put it together. However, all portfolios should demonstrate skill level and include a cohesive group of images with a unifying theme. By keeping your purpose and intended audience in mind, you can assemble an effective portfolio for any objective.

Steps

Defining Your Purpose and Goal

1. Identify the purpose of your portfolio. This will dictate how you put your portfolio together and what goes in it. Are you creating it for a job interview? Are you trying to get your work shown in a gallery? Are you applying to a college art program? Maybe it’s for a presentation? Whatever your reason is, identify it before you begin. Deciding what goes into your portfolio is much easier when you have a specific goal in mind.
   • For example, if the purpose for your portfolio is a job interview, your goal would be to demonstrate certain skills and techniques that the job requires.
   • On the other hand, if your portfolio is for a gallery exhibition, your goal would be to demonstrate a clear and cohesive theme that would do well in a gallery setting.
2. Consider your audience. Specifying the purpose of your portfolio will give you a solid idea about who your audience is. What kind of response or reaction do you want from your audience? Think about what you want to show them. Are you trying to challenge them, please them, impress them or surprise them? Tailor your content to your audience.
   • For example, if your portfolio is for a job interview with a cooking magazine, your audience will want to see how well you photograph food and what your personal style is.
   • Perhaps your audience includes owners of an independent art gallery. The content you would choose for the magazine editors is much different than the content you would choose for the gallery owners.
3. Decide on a unifying theme. In most cases, your portfolio doesn’t need to showcase the best of your entire body of work. Instead, settle on a concept that will unify a strong series of images. This will result in a more cohesive and effective portfolio. The theme can be anything you want – you could focus on images depicting a specific subject matter, a certain style, or photos taken with a particular kind of camera.
   • For example, for an artistic purpose, you could limit your portfolio to crisp black and white photography only.
   • If you’re trying to get a job as real estate photographer, your theme could be dynamic images taken of various kinds of buildings.
4. Choose a portfolio format. Whether you go with a print or a digital portfolio is entirely up to you. Keep your audience in mind when you make your decision. For instance, gallery owners and traditional artists might prefer to see a beautifully bound print portfolio. On the other hand, people affiliated with industries like media and advertisement may want to see your work presented digitally.
   • You always have the option of creating both, as well.
   • An electronic format can help you emphasize different aspects of your work than a printed format can, and vice versa.

Gathering the Content

1. Go through your body of work. At this point you’ve defined your purpose, your goal, the audience and the unifying theme. As you go through possible photos for the portfolio, keep these things firmly in mind. Set aside all of the images that meet the criteria you’ve established.
   • Don’t worry about making any final decisions now.
   • Just ask yourself if each photo meets the criteria or not. Sort the images into a “yes” and “no” pile.
2. Assess the quality of each photo individually. As you examine each image, think about whether or not it represents your chosen concept. Is the image strong enough to stand on its own without explanation? When viewed with other images, is it just as strong? Does it adequately display your mastery of the medium? Is it consistent with your main body of work?
3. Be consistent. As you narrow it down further, keep in mind that the images you choose need to be consistent in format. In most cases, the final set should not be a mix of horizontal and vertical images. Be consistent with one or the other. The style should also be consistent throughout. For example, your portfolio shouldn't jump back and forth between crisp black and white shots and dreamy images printed in color.
4. Remove any flawed or repetitive images. Get rid of images that are out of focus or that have visible flaws. It’s better to have a small number of exceptional shots than a large group of decent ones. Avoid including too many images that look very similar to one another. You need to include a variety of images that explore your theme.
   • For example, your portfolio shouldn’t consist of images that were all shot during the same session.
   • Being able to weed out flawed and redundant images shows that you are able to properly evaluate your own work with a critical eye.
5. Get the opinion of someone you trust. It’s important to be able to evaluate your own work critically, but it will be difficult to be completely objective. Be as objective as you can, but consider getting an impartial opinion from someone you trust. Bring this person in when you’re in the final stages of selection.
   • Don’t reveal your concept or give the person any information upfront. See if they can pinpoint what you’re going for without being told.
   • Request that they provide as much feedback as possible and take notes if you need to.

Putting It All Together

1. Settle on ten to twenty final images. There isn’t a specific number of images a portfolio should include and opinions about this tend to vary. However, most professionals agree that less is more. Twenty images should be the maximum; closer to ten is preferable.
   • Remember, each of these shots should strongly represent your skill level.
   • The execution of each shot should be close to perfect and there should be no visible flaws in any of them.
2. Tweak your final images if necessary. Examine your set closely. Think about any steps you need to take to perfect your chosen images. Perhaps you need to tweak a negative for a better print or crop something slightly differently. Complete the computer or darkroom work necessary to finalize your series of photos.
   • As you tweak the images, don't forget that a consistent theme should be apparent and the series of images should fit together in a cohesive way. Don't change the images so much that you lose cohesiveness.
3. Organize the images into a particular sequence. There is no “right” way to order your images. However, the first image in your portfolio should be one of the strongest. You want the first photo to make a clear statement. It also needs to create enough interest to make the viewer want to continue looking through the series. Arrange the rest so that the colors, tones and moods compliment and play off one another.
   • It might help to think about arranging them in a way that tells a coherent story or evokes a particular mood.
   • The final image should appropriately sum up the rest of the series.
   • Avoid crowding the “best” images at the front and then padding the end out with weaker images. There should be no weak images in the group.
4. Use high quality materials. Your portfolio is more than just a handful of great photos. The way you present them is extremely important. A bound book of selected works is the most traditional option. The book you arrange them in should represent the contents inside. Choose techniques, borders and backing sheet colors that enhance the collection. Make your prints on good paper.
   • Be consistent and choose either matte or glossy – do not include a combination.
   • Package everything as attractively and professionally as you can.
5. Put the photos into your portfolio. Most artists prefer to do this themselves. They either mount the photos onto backing paper or they slide the images into the plastic sleeves that their purchased portfolio provides. If you'd prefer to have a professional do this part, research your area for shops that do custom printing. The photos should be placed into the portfolio in the sequence you worked out earlier.
   • You can arrange one image per page, or you could cluster two or three photos together to create a "chapter."
   • Remember, the sequence should make sense. Tell a story with your images.
6. Add the finishing touches. The amount of additional information you include in your portfolio is up to you. Consider adding final elements such as an artist statement, a title list of the photographs in the portfolio, or a cover image that represents the portfolio as a whole. You want the images to stand alone and speak for themselves, but there is nothing wrong with including additional information that may enhance the portfolio.
7. Consider an online portfolio. Digital portfolios are becoming more common, especially in technology and media fields. There are two options – creating your own website or using a portfolio hosting site like Smugmug or Zenfolio. Unless you are prepared to buy web space and create a website from scratch, the hosting site is a better option. These sites let you upload your photos into galleries and then you can customize the order and the appearance.
   • Digital portfolios can be updated frequently, whereas a print portfolio is usually a finished work. Online you can add and take away images and continually customize your portfolio.
   • You should still try to keep your chosen images concise, but with digital portfolios it's acceptable to display a few more images than a print one would. 20-30 is a good number.

Related Articles

• Sell Stock Photography
• Create a Photography Portfolio Website Using Pixpa

Sources and Citations

See also

• Take Better Travel Photographs
• Take Random, Fun Pictures
• Photograph a Baptism
• Buy a Good Used Camera Lens
• Attach a Camera to a Tripod
• Take Photographs of Cars
• Develop Your Photography Skills
• Become a Freelance Photographer
• Restore Old Photographs
• Photograph a Moving Car

Read more ...

What links here

• Become a Sports Photographer