Making a Photography Portfolio requires a few steps before you begin. You want to make sure you can actually succeed as a photographer and of course, make a living. At this time with the Coronavirus affecting every avenue of photography, you would think our options are limited. But the opposite is true, there are some area that have slowed down like wedding photography. Whereas other areas have increased.
In the Photography field it can be difficult to have a stable career because finding work can be a hit and miss opportunity. There are loads of photographers out there all trying to make some money. And technology has made even the smart phone a suitable camera for many of the Job opportunities.
This means that your schedule for work could be ever changing between over worked and nothing to do. Getting paid for the work that you do can also become a bit of a challenge too.
The solution, to be more visible than the next guy with a phone camera. Build a Photography Portfolio outlining all of your skills, contact and payment methods. Include samples of the diversity of your past work. Also include the variety of photography work you are willing to do. We will cover each of these thoughts today on your road to becoming a freelance photographer.
Creating a portfolio allows you the freedom to generate a regular source of income and specialize your skills into a few sources of photography. Some will pay a great return, others just a small return. Some sources will just get your name and brand more likes and others will save you time in the bigger picture down the track.
What is a Photography Portfolio?
Simply put a Photography Portfolio is a collection of your photo work. It can take two types of Styles and we will consider both now. First it can be a for a job interview. In this case you would present a variety of skills and techniques relating to the job you are applying for. You would include enough to show the flexibility in your style as well a variety of mediums to show your versatility.
The second type of portfolio is one you would make for a display or exhibition. In this case you want to show the link between each photo and the similarity in styles and mediums. It has to flow with one central theme for the whole collection.
This blog will show you how to create a photography portfolio that will showcase your professional photography work. You can create one for each of the avenues you want to pursue. We will help you to filter all those wonderful photos you have already taken into a useful, job winning portfolio.
Where to Begin
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Start with what you love. Write down all the aspects of Photography that come to mind no matter how random they may feel at the time. Place the word Photography in the middle of a blank page. Now draw a line out with the word Wedding at the end of it. Draw another line and add the next word. Work your way around in a circle noting all the topics that you “think” you would like to try or know you would love. Use longer lines if you fill the circle to add as many ideas as you need.
I can think of about fifty types of photography careers that we could all try. They each can generate their own stream of income. You are capable of doing at least a few of these career types at the same time. This helps to generate a regular income, even during the Covid-19 times. In fact, there are a few areas that for me have actually increased in sales since the pandemic started. Stock photography being one of them.
‘Help is at hand… for your photography portfolio’
To help you get started with deciding what you would love to do (or at least try). I have composed a mind map below of about 55 types of photography that can generate income. And in the blog 55 types of photography Careers, I explain what each one does and how you can profit from it. But for now, take inspiration from the chart below.
Each one of these types can add to building your portfolio career. My suggestion to you is to printout your photography chart (or the one I provided). Then get a highlighter and mark all of the income sources that you could confidently do right now. Usually this is contract work for someone else. In a different colour, highlight all the sources you think you would love, but need some experience.
Next in a third colour, highlight all the passive types of income, that you could do (like Stock Photography). These are things that do not pay well but can be regular and consistent and generally cost free. This type of job in your portfolio will provide a base stable source of income, while you pursue the first ones you marked.
You won’t get rich on the passive income, but you should be able to go to the grocery store each week.
Decide on your Goals for a Photography Portfolio
Your goal here is to build your photo portfolio. Decide what works for you as a photography career and then use that to inspire your portfolio. To help you decide on a career path, visit the blog “Photography Career”. Use it to help you focus your goals into a specific niche that you can use to create an amazing portfolio.
The best way to work out what you want is to look at the portfolios of other photographers and get inspiration from them. Be inspired to create the best portfolio that not just meets the brief but excels it in everyone.
Grab a sheet of paper (or a printer) and print out the following questions. Then take your time to answer each question with some detail. This will help focus the main goals you want to include in your portfolio.
Questions to ask yourself…
- Who is your target audience?
- Were you given a brief to follow? Did you follow it?
- What topics did you select above that you love to shoot?
- Will you have a website or a paper copy portfolio?
- What are your strengths and weaknesses in photography?
- Do you photograph emotional connections?
- Do you prefer B&W, colour or other film types?
- What are your strengths in post-processing?
- What is the best photo shoot set you have done to date?
- Do you need to improve an aspect of your work?
- Finally, Pick ONE photo that could sum up what your photography career represents, just one?
Once you have answered these questions you should have a fair idea of the content of your first portfolio and a theme is going to follow.
If by chance you are not yet confident with your direction, I recommend you have a look at other photographers’ portfolio’s. Especially those in the niche you are considering.
I have created another blog identifying some of the best photographers currently working on the planet in a blog I call “The top 50 Photographers on the Planet”. These people are all still alive and working to give you inspiration for your own photography portfolio.
Who is your Audience?
One of the biggest steps you need to sort out before you progress, is to decide who you are creating this for? Who is your target audience? Also, do you want your audience to be surprised, pleased or shocked when they see your work?
As part of the CSF Blog Planner available here on this website is the sheet called the CSF Ideal Customer. You can use this sheet for Free to help work out who your dream visitors are likely to be. Print it out and fill it in now.
Once you work out who your customer is then it is time to decide on the Style and Theme of your portfolio. Use quality photo paper and make the size about A4 (210 x 297 mm) or Letter (8″ x 11″)
With your theme, you need to be consistent. If you are creating a resume for baby photography, only include these or family types of images. You can mix up the textures with Black and White or Sepia for effect. DO NOT add a mix of photos and styles unless you have a really good reason. It just does not come across as professional.
If you are putting one together for an exhibition, then a theme is even more important. You want to show that your work flows and tells a story through your images.
The Next Step
Now you have a list of the types of photography careers that are available, and the audience you want to address, you need to decide what your portfolio will contain.
If you are applying for a job or already have a job and are putting a portfolio together for your customer. Read the Brief Again. No matter how great your work is if it is NOT what the employer (or customer) is asking for then it is worth NOTHING. Read the brief – the job requirements – and follow them to the letter.
In time you will abandon some of the content in your portfolio as you get better in specific areas of photography. Things you thought you would love. This is when you settle on your Niche, what you actually love and what pays the bills.
Choosing the Best Photos
If you are like me, every photo you take has some meaning at the time you took it. That makes every photo special, so how do you choose specific photos for your portfolio? When you consider every bit of value you put into your own work, the setting, the effort and the post editing to make it perfect. (In your eyes), it is hard to choose.
The problem is, you are biased and don’t appreciate the photos for the beauty or the story they tell. Remember the brief, you do not want the best photos, you want the ones that will make your target audience smile and pay you for the work you completed. Maybe even buy something related. You need to be objective.
Something to consider is that after several surveys, it was found that most employers will decide if they want to work with you in the first 6 seconds of viewing your portfolio. Just 6 seconds is all you have to WOW your employer before they move on. Make sure you do.
Start with all the photos relating to the brand you want this portfolio to be about. Remove any that have a flaw or a focus issue, yes even if it is otherwise the best photo you have. Remove it. Then review again after re-reading the brief and remove any that are not exactly what the customer ordered.
‘The goal is 15-30 images’
Get a friend whom you trust to remove a selection of photos. Then you remove a few more that convey the same image or message from a different angle. Remove one of them. Your goal is to get between 15 to 30 photos for your portfolio.
Next upload all of the images to your social network and see which ones get the most likes. More importantly, which ones do not. Remove the least liked photos for another day.
Now you need to arrange the photos into a logical order. Be it chronological or changing in emotional feeling to convey a mood with the audience. This may reveal a few images that, although great, do not fit into the arrangement. Remove them.
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The Exception
If you are planning to become a freelance photographer and you are just starting out, then this is the only time to break all the rules we just highlighted above!
You want to showcase your versatility in your freelance work. It is not just about the amazing still life of a bowl of fruit you can do. It also needs to include that amazing portrait you took last year, the wildlife shot you captured of a koala baby playing, the highspeed action shot of the rally race you went to. The list goes on, you know what your good at, and your customers need to know too.
Also include samples of post processing, colour, emotion, detail, montage, night-time, black & white, a theme or description.
Every customer for a freelancer is different and they want different things. You need to show the variety of what you can do for them as well as the quality of your work.
A great option here is to link to a photography portfolio website about yourself and a gallery of your past work. Include details about you, your skills and samples of what they can expect. (more on websites below)
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Consistency
Use the same background or border for each image to show consistency too. It just looks a lot more professional if all your images have some similar features around them.
The last step in creating your photography portfolio, is to add some other information.
- Decide whether you want to include a title, camera details, location, date and settings with each image.
- Will you include a cover page?
- You should include an artistic statement, highlighting the concept or theme of your work.
- A TOC listing each of the photos by title
- A brief description for each photo or explanation.
- A thumbnail contact sheet for each image included.
Each of these pages are optional, but could have value for different scenarios for your use of the portfolio. It is your choice, just keep the detail brief, concise and the pages clean.
A Digital Portfolio
A digital portfolio is a webpage on your own website. There are various ways to start your own website and we will address some of those here.
It is not just about throwing images on to a webpage, you have to plan and put effort into the appearance and location of every photo you use.
This will show to employers and visitors alike that you are professional in your work ethic. You first need to choose a website builder that allows you to insert your own personal design, templates, galleries and themes. It needs to be fully customisable.
The problem is that most of the “free” website builders lock you out of much of the design work as well as they place their own advertising on your pages, which will deter some customers.
There are server website hosting services that will allow you to do everything yourself and provide several themes that are specifically related to photography and portfolios. There are also website builders (people) who will set the whole website up for you catering for all your particular needs. Places like Fiverr.com. If you know how to setup your own website then places like BlueHost.com offer hosting and a FREE website name for just $3.95 per month.
The Other Option…
The other option is to take my FREE course on how to set up your own website and I will send extra information on turning it into a photographic gallery for your customers as well. Using the backbone of a WordPress Blog site can add an additional bonus to your business too.
Blog Websites are great in that they help your clients to know a little more about you. They increase the SEO features that allow search engines to find you with potentially new customers. You can document your photo journey as new images or stories develop in your life, building a repour with many of your clients. Establish your brand as an industry standard.
WordPress has an email plugin so that you could set up a regular email subscribers list. You could send an email every week to ALL of your clients showing the latest image or comment about your latest project. You could sell your work or promote a new product.
Who knows one day you might be listed on my top 50 photographers’ page!
Steady Progress
Keep progressing with your photography portfolio. Update it as you get new related images. Just remember to use the criteria above to decide if one image is worth replacing another. You do not want to increase your portfolio. It may be better if time has passed since you made it. To start again for this particular portfolio.
Having multiple portfolios that cover the different areas you have chosen to specialize in is a great option to get more incoming work for yourself. Have each one on your website as both a gallery that you can show to clients and as a pdf file that you can email to clients. On the spot. It shows them you are prepared and organized. You are confident in your skills.
It will take a long time to build up various website portfolios that are just right for the majority of people you will meet, but it is worth it in the long run.
If you continually create photos of one subject, for example flowers, then you can send a copy of your digital portfolio to Landscapers, Garden Designers, Magazines, etc. You will get a reputation as the person to go to for quality floral designs and build your business yet again. The best part is that on the contact page of your portfolio, you can put links to your other works which will get more jobs for you as people pass on your pdf file. Learn how to grow your portfolio, keep reading, researching and learning.
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Be Active and Consistent
Just start and keep going. Right now, you should be out looking for that next great photo, especially at the Golden Hour (or Blue Hour) for great images and scenes. Finish this article first of course…
Be consistent, once you start, don’t stop. Keep looking for new angles, new idea and new scenarios to take photos of and expand your portfolio collection. Try new areas, if one fails that is Ok, you still will have others that have succeeded and that’s where you focus your attention.
You can do it as long as you are consistent, persistent and always on the lookout with your camera in hand and your smart phone loaded with all your pdf portfolios.
In Conclusion
Building your photography portfolio is a lifelong experience which will lead to a very rewarding career. I personally love what I do and although I only started a few years ago, I have decades of experience in graphic design. I was always on the other end of someone else’s photos to edit. Now I take them for myself.
Another feature to attract more customers and to get your name out in the community is to leave a calling card. Have a set of postcards made with one photo or a collage of photos taken from each of your portfolios. Then when you meet new people or prospective employers, give them one. On the back will be your contact details (and website address).
Alternatively, a set of business cards in the same manner. These may appear more professional to some potential clients. The choice is yours. Also keep a digital copy on your smart phone that you can text or email to people you meet.
In fact, you should put your best one in the footer of EVERY email you send. And a link in every SMS text or social post you make.
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The main point is that you put together your own photography portfolio and then get it out there to everyone who will read it and appreciate it. Send me a comment as to what you created (or a link), I and our other readers would love to hear about your personal journey.