How to Prepare a Photography Portfolio

A photography portfolio highlights your best work.

Whether you would like to establish a customer base or simply want to increase exposure of your art photography, preparing a portfolio of your photographs can lead to greater success in your photographic career. You don't need to be a professional printer or graphic designer to put one together. Assembling an effective photographic portfolio is more about artistry than technical know-how; this artistic skill will help you prepare a portfolio that is representative of your work as a photographer.

Things You'll Need

• Recordable DVDs
• Black, 8 ½ x 11-inch paper
• Clear plastic page protectors
• Three-ring binder

Instructions

1. Determine the purpose or genre of your portfolio. Good portfolios are geared toward a single genre. If your art or business focuses on wedding photography, then your portfolio should focus solely on those types of photographs. This is not to say, however, that a given photographer can't work in multiple fields. You can always create separate portfolios to showcase each of your specialties and interests.

2. Decide between a physical or a digital portfolio. Either form is acceptable, although a digital portfolio might provide a significantly larger degree of exposure, particularly when posted for online viewing. Preparing a digital portfolio will be as simple as arranging your photographs in a slideshow program, while physical portfolios require a little more work. When preparing a physical portfolio, first produce prints in any size that you desire, but not exceeding 8 ½ by 11 inches. Affix your prints to matte-black colored paper or black construction paper and insert each mounted photograph into a clear 8 ½ x 11 sheet holder, also known as a page protector (available at office-supply stores and department stores). Finally, place all of the prepared sheets in a three-ring binder in the order that you think best showcases your work.

3. Pick 10 to 20 of your best photographs. Choose a relatively small set of photographs (20 works better than 100) to showcase your skills. Variety in your portfolio can definitely be an asset, but remember that, ultimately, the purpose of every portfolio is to demonstrate with certainty your skills in a particular field or style. These pictures should be of the utmost quality---the best you've got. When making selections, ask yourself the question, "Does this photograph accurately represent my artistic vision, and are there any hesitations concerning its quality?" If you feel justified in your selections after this line of reasoning, then you've made the right choices.

4. Title and caption all of your chosen pictures. People generally like to know what they're looking at in a photograph. Titling and captioning will be helpful in any type of portfolio, whether physical or digital, but will be especially useful to someone viewing your photographs online and without the benefit of your presence to describe each shot.

5. Update your portfolio often in order to keep it fresh and interesting. Digital portfolios stored and available for viewing online will especially benefit from this practice. Portfolios are meant to demonstrate the skills of a photographer, and since most photographers are always practicing and trying to better themselves, their portfolios should reflect this progress.

Tips & Warnings

• If you have decided to create a digital portfolio, copy the entire portfolio onto recordable DVDs for easy distribution to potential clients.

• Design eye-catching labels and DVD cases for your portfolio discs that contain your name and full contact information.

• Carefully keep track of the photographs that you put in your portfolio; if you're creating a digital portfolio, be sure to affix copyright notices to each of the digital files in your portfolio.

References

• Photo Critic: Creating a Photography Portfolio