How to Start a Photography Portfolio

Start a photography portfolio to display the best of your work. Create a portfolio online and one to carry with you in case the Web is not accessible.

Difficulty: Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Scanner
• Photo albums

Start a Photography Portfolio

1. Start by choosing the very best photographs from your collection. You can choose by category, like sports or nature, or by overall photo composition and quality. Uniqueness in a sea of ordinary bodes well for a photography portfolio. Creative perspectives, use of light and color and non-standard framing will help your portfolio jump out from the mix.

2. Create several portfolios if you excel at different categories. You might have a great set of black and white photographs as well as some action-packed sports images.

3. Know your audience. Couples looking for a wedding photographer may not care about your portfolio full of birds and other animals.

4. Remember that presentation matters as much as the quality of your photographs. Displaying your best photographs in a regular three ring binder may appear tacky and unprofessional. Putting together a portfolio with better materials may be expensive at the start, but will be worth it in the end. The care and attention you pay to your portfolio reflects well on your dedication to your craft.

5. Upload your portfolio online to a gallery like SmugMug (see Resources below). If money is tight, start with a free online gallery like Flikr (see Resources below). Online portfolios allow for more exposure than you would normally get carrying your portfolio around.

6. Apply simple and elegant themes on your online portfolio. Don't take someone's eyes away from a photograph with a busy background or an extremely bright color. For example, don't use a bright orange background to display a set of black and white photographs. Black and whites are all about lighting and contrast and are best seen against a neutral background. If you want accents, place them in strategic places and not repeatedly across the background.

7. Have several people critique your portfolio, amateurs and professionals alike. If you aim to be a professional photographer, a professional's opinion may carry more weight. If you are an event photographer, like for weddings or parties, the opinion of a novice may be more relevant.

Tips & Warnings

• Keep your portfolio small enough to digest in one sitting. A portfolio of 300 photographs is not something the average person will want to sit through.

Resources

• Use the online gallery at SmugMug.com
• Flikr for a free photo gallery

[photog]

on 4/1/2009 To learn how to create a fully customized photography portfolio online, including your own domain name and banner, check out this guide:http://www.bestdigitalreview.com