When it comes to landing an important job or getting your foot in the door with top-tier clients, photographers need more than just a resume. The quality of your work will dictate your success, and to make sure that you make a good impression, only your best work should be included in your portfolio. A portfolio is the photographer's resume in a sense, and is an accumulation of work that is most representative of the photographer's capabilities. Of course, it isn't really about stuffing a binder full of your work. It should be a professional presentation of your most powerful photos in a tasteful arrangement that can showcase your work most effectively.
Creating one is a challenge, particularly if you have had a relatively lengthy career with thousands of photos and projects under your belt. You will need to decide which of your photos you will want to include, even totally disregarding some of your favorites just to stay true to your portfolio's theme. Still, you can simplify things just by keeping a few things in mind on the way to building an effective photography portfolio.
The first step is to select the best photos you have taken throughout your career. If you have many, you can narrow them down to fit a particular theme, or if you have enough, you can create more than one portfolio, each with its own theme. If you don't have enough photos to populate a portfolio, you can go on a portfolio photography specifically to generate work that you can include. Just don't forget that your purpose is not just to generate quick usable material, but to take as many high quality shots you can include.
Once you have accumulated the shots you need, the next order of work will be to properly lay them out. Don't forget to caption your work with titles, and them separate them into subcategories if you need to. For example if you have work that consists mostly of nature shots, you can categorize them under the different seasons.
Once you have a proper layout in mind, the next thing to work on is the professional presentation. This mainly consists of making sure that your work is protected with a professional portfolio case. While it won't necessarily impact the quality of your work, it is the best way to improve your chances of getting a good first impression right away.
Keep in mind that you may also have work that may not necessarily be appropriate for a binder-sized portfolio such as work that is meant to be displayed in larger formats. This is where poster tubes can meet your needs. Also, don't be hesitant about using other means to display or protect your work when presenting it to your potential clients.
Creating one is a challenge, particularly if you have had a relatively lengthy career with thousands of photos and projects under your belt. You will need to decide which of your photos you will want to include, even totally disregarding some of your favorites just to stay true to your portfolio's theme. Still, you can simplify things just by keeping a few things in mind on the way to building an effective photography portfolio.
The first step is to select the best photos you have taken throughout your career. If you have many, you can narrow them down to fit a particular theme, or if you have enough, you can create more than one portfolio, each with its own theme. If you don't have enough photos to populate a portfolio, you can go on a portfolio photography specifically to generate work that you can include. Just don't forget that your purpose is not just to generate quick usable material, but to take as many high quality shots you can include.
Once you have accumulated the shots you need, the next order of work will be to properly lay them out. Don't forget to caption your work with titles, and them separate them into subcategories if you need to. For example if you have work that consists mostly of nature shots, you can categorize them under the different seasons.
Once you have a proper layout in mind, the next thing to work on is the professional presentation. This mainly consists of making sure that your work is protected with a professional portfolio case. While it won't necessarily impact the quality of your work, it is the best way to improve your chances of getting a good first impression right away.
Keep in mind that you may also have work that may not necessarily be appropriate for a binder-sized portfolio such as work that is meant to be displayed in larger formats. This is where poster tubes can meet your needs. Also, don't be hesitant about using other means to display or protect your work when presenting it to your potential clients.
About the Author:
The author is a photography student. He currently does freelance photography for a small advertising firm in their town. He also loves writing. In fact, its what he does during his free time. His present topic is about portfolio photography. Visit http://www.portfolios-and-art-cases.com to read more about his write ups.
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