Portfolio 101
I wa talking to a few college kids last year who asked for advice on creating thier first portfolio so I deicded to write this article. This write-up is meant for someone making their portfolio for the very first time. More seasoned professionals who have made several portfolios such as myself may find this to be very basic, but remember this is for the newbie just out of high school, or college, or someone making a mid-life career switch to photography.
So you’re taken many pretty pictures and are in need to select the best shots for presentation? The leap from photos in a three ring binder from high school or college class to preparing your best work for presentation may vary from what potential clients such as Gallery Representation, a commercial job, modeling shoot, or many other types of job opportunities may be expecting. Example, you are fresh out of college, looking for your first big break. You’re three ring binder of 8×10 darkroom prints and notes may work for your instructor, but I assure you this, the photo editor of the New York Times won’t. Proper time and effort must be made to assure you work. Just having good photos are not enough, the presentation and preparation is everything. It is the difference between working for a client or working at Long John Silver’s.I have had many a student ask about how to prepare their portfolio, and this is never an easy question to answer as there are many variables involved which you need to ask yourself.
· Who is the client?
· What do I want to include?
· How much can I spend?
All of which need to be considered when creating a portfolio. When any of the three criteria above fail, the portfolio can fail.
Who is the Client?
You have chosen your best shots, and you know what your cost limitations or lack therefore of is. We need to understand what the client is looking for. This is not too hard really. If you are a wedding photographer, you will want wedding shots, a portrait photographer needs headshots, body shots, etc… Choosing the type of shots to use go hand in hand.
What do I Want to Include?
There are many different ways and considerations you need to prepare for in order to prepare a portfolio for construction. The first thing one must do before all else, and that is to choose what photos are to go into their portfolio. This usually is the single most critical pitfall, first time portfolio makers tend to bias their personal favorite work over their best work, usually resulting in a sub par portfolio. More times than not, a photographer’s favorite shots are seldom the best of his or hers work often lacking in many of the technical or emotion value to the viewer’s eye. Remember, it is more important for the person who will be reviewing your portfolio to see what your total potential and ability are than your personal picks.
Most of the time, the photographer is at the mercy of what the client wishes and not left much space for personal tastes and creativity. This is especially true on industrial and commercial jobs where an art director is involved. This is not to say, that you should not include personal shots, just to keep them to a minimal. Possible clients do more often than not like to see an image that reflects the photographer’s heart, just not too much of it. Creating a portfolio of a fashion shoot will not get you a job working as an industrial photographer.
The only example of something that breaks this rule might be for some gallery presentation, but even then, the gallery is interesting in selling, and most people rather buy the best the photographer has to offer, as it represents the most valuable works created.
Choosing a Case
This is a fairly touch one at times as a case represents personal style. Here are a few suggestions:
For weddings I suggest placing wedding shots in a wedding albums, that way the client usually the bride and groom get a good idea of what they will get after the wedding is complete.
When doing press-photojournalism (or commercial-industrial) using a zippered 8×10, or 11×14 portfolio case with unmatted prints works well here, as you can include both prints and tear sheets into the sleeves.
And for Gallery Representation and Art one can buy 1×14 or 16×20 portfolio boxes that open flat and can hold matted prints. The portfolio box can be placed in a zippered leather or nylon transport case for movement.
There are many options available for portfolio-presentation cases out there. I personally use a vendor, Light Impressions who supplies museum quality presentation items, as well as achieve grade matting, and storage supplies. The US Library of Congress uses them! They can now be found on the World Wide Web at www.lightimpressionsdirect.com and are priced pretty well.
How Much Do I Need to Spend?
There can be another pitfall, but this is very easily something that can be overcome, and that is price. Creating a portfolio can cost money, a lot of money. So picking the portfolio style that meets your budget is critical, as a portfolio that will cost more to create than funds available will lead to an incomplete and unusable portfolio. Create a portfolio within not just your needs, but budget.
My main portfolio has ten hand printed 8×10 by a master of the darkroom, one with fifty years of enlarging, a master, and all professionally matted. The case was a portfolio box, and padded portfolio case. Total cost of this gallery worthy presentation? Six hundred dollars! And that’s for only ten prints!
But don’t fret. I have made many portfolios in my day. My most recent portfolio I did for next to nothing, and it looks great. I ordered 8×10 zippered portfolio case with 10 archival grade sleeves for thirty bucks, and had ten 8×10 prints made on a Fuji Frontier machine at Wal-Mart for two-fifty each. That’s fifty-five dollars total for a small portfolio. I use this one when traveling light to show off to friends and family. So pick a style that fits your budget, there are always ways to make a portfolio as cheap or as expensive as needed.
Closing
Don’t get overwhelmed by the dozens of books the size of a boogie board about intricate ways to create a professional portfolio. They usually require much money, and years worth of work in the field. In time, once you have gotten your foot in the door, and have the money and experience to build the five thousand dollar portfolio. Well that’s it. If anyone has any question feel free to post them In the portfolio forum of this web site.
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