Types of Photography Portfolios

Promoting yourself is not easy, but it is necessary if you want to sell your photographs. Whether you are looking to show your work in a gallery or trying to get a gig shooting a wedding, you need to provide your clients with a collection of your best work.

Pick a Theme

You want to show off your best work, but you will want your photos to work well together. Know your audience and create a portfolio that caters to their needs. Your theme could be architecture, children, fashion or wedding photography. Do not try to mix different styles together. You want your portfolio to have cohesion and flow.

Color vs. Black and White

You might love your colorful macro photos and emotional black and white shots equally, but they do not mesh. Choose one or the other.

Print

After sorting and categorizing your favorite photos, get the prints made for a hard-copy portfolio. Ten 8x10 photographs is a good amount to have to showcase. You can find leather portfolios for photographs at most art supply stores.

Digital

It is easy to create a digital portfolio online with the use of websites such as Flickr. You can create an account in just a few minutes, upload your photos into different sets and send the link to prospective clients. You will also want to save your digital portfolio to CD so you can easily mail or drop off copies.

Published Works

If you have already published photos or have had an exhibit of your work, you will want to keep a portfolio of your success. Newspaper clippings, book covers or even printouts of online publications can be used to highlight your experience.

References

• Marketing for Photographers and Photography
• DP Photo Journal
• Flickr