The Photography Portfolio: Building Your Reputation
The Photography Portfolio: Building Your Reputation by Colin
Hartness http://www.asaphotography.com
If you have hopes of becoming a professional photographer, or
even just of trying to get your work published in a public
forum, you will need to create a photography portfolio. So
what’s so important about a photography portfolio anyway?
There are many reasons why having a portfolio of your work
available for others to view. If you are seeking employment as a
photographer, then the need for a portfolio is obvious. If you
are not seeking a photography job, there are still good reasons
to have a portfolio. For one, you love photography and you take
a lot a pride in your work. They are important to you. Most
likely, some of them are very good. Why not create a portfolio
that showcases your best work so you can show it to others (even
if it’s just friends or family that comes over for a visit)?
Building a Photography Portfolio
Before we get into what goes into your portfolio, let’s discuss
the portfolio itself. What should it be made of? How big should
it be? You may have seen portfolios with covers made of all
types of materials such as plastic, leather and even stainless
steel. These fancy covers are usually much more expensive and
may not be practical for a beginner. If you are competing for
high-price jobs and want to stand out from the crowd, these
expensive covers may be a nice touch. But for most people, a
regular black plastic cover will work just fine. It’s what’s
inside the portfolio that is most important, right?
So, you are probably best to stick with a plain black plastic
cover and work hard on beefing up what’s inside. Don’t decorate
your portfolio with cutesy stickers and such; this will look
amateurish and unprofessional. It’s not a scrapbook; it’s
supposed to represent your high-quality work.
Now, as for size, this is going to depend on the size of your
largest pictures. An 8 X 10 is probably going to be your
largest. If your pictures are not this big, you don’t need a
portfolio this big. Your biggest will most likely be an 11 X 14
and it could be as small as a 4 X 7.
The most important thing for you to remember is convenience –
both for you and for the person who will be looking at your
portfolio. You want to keep it professional and easy to hold,
carry and look over.
Using a Photography Portfolio
So now that you know what a portfolio is and what type to get,
how do you actually use it? Well, we mentioned you are going to
fill it with your best work. This means you want a portfolio
that can easily be changed. You may want to pull out old ones
and add in new ones. You don’t want to go for a job carrying
along every picture you’ve ever taken. You’re going to want to
have 15-20 of your best work. You are also going to want to be
sure your pictures are relevant to the job. If you are trying
out for different types of assignments, you may want to create
portfolios that work for each of the types of work you are
doing.
Of course, you only want to show your best work but you want to
give the impression that you can handle any type of assignment
given to you ad not that you are “stuck” in only one type of
photography.
You want to showcase your best work; this is best technically as
well. You may have a photo that is really important to you
because of the image it represents or the memory it brings but
if it is not technically perfect, it doesn’t belong in a
business portfolio. Save that one for your coffee table.
About the author:
Looking for information about Photography? Go to:
http://www.asaphotography.com ‘ASA Photography’ is published by
Colin Hartness - An excellent resource for Photography! Check
out more Photography articles at:
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