How to create a photographer's portfolio

It is important for novice photographers to remember that The presence of a portfolio in itself will not make them in demand. Correctly compiled photographer portfolioraises the chances of getting an interesting and worthy paid order, but if you made a portfolio "out of the box", you can scare off a potential customer and earn a bad reputation in professional circles.

In the case of the photographer's portfolio the principle "the more the better" does not work: it is unlikely that a potential customer will wantview too many photos. But too small the number of pictures should not be: they should be enough to really make an opinion on your competence.

For the portfolio you need to select only the most successful pictures. When selecting images, you need to clearly presentYour target audience, as well as your advantages over other photographers. On the basis of these two criteria, photos are selected: they should be appropriate for the target audience and at the same time display your personality as a photographer. It is advisable to include images of different genres (portraiture, wedding, advertising photography, etc.) in the portfolio, focusing on the genre in which you plan to work.

It is best to select photos in several stages: select good photos, give them sometime to "lie down", then choose from them the most successful. After that, compare the selected photos: if among them there are pictures, very similar in color or color, one of the pictures should be replaced. Give the final collection a little more "lie down", then take a fresh look and make the latest changes, if necessary.

When the photos are selected, it's time to issueportfolio. There are four main options for designing a photographer's portfolio, each of which has its own disadvantages and advantages. The most conservative option - paper portfolio. Photos are printed (usually in the format of 20x30 or 30x40), and then collected in a folder with files or pasted into an album.

The second option is portfolio as a video presentation. A video file is created that is a slideshow from the pictures. When creating a video, you can use various transitions and effects, overlay video music, add captions to photos, etc.

The third version of the photographer's portfolio is own page in a popular social network or on a specialized website for photographers. You just create an account, fill in personal information and upload photos to albums.

Finally, the fourth option is creating your own site with photos and contact information.

Each type of photographer portfolio has advantages and disadvantages. Paper portfolio can be carried with you and show to potential customers, regardless of the presence of a computer and the Internet. However, many customers such a portfolio may seem conservative.

Video presentation looks impressive enough, but not always potential customers have the opportunity and desire to watch the video completely. In addition, there may be problems with playing the video file.

Online photographer's portfolio on a specialized site is good that hiswill see many people at once. However, note that on this site you are just one of the mass of photographers: you need to come up with a way to stand out from the crowd, otherwise your portfolio will not bring you customers.

Finally, personal photographers site very presentable looks and gives you a certainindependence: you can arrange it as you want. However, the creation and support of the site cost money, besides, you will need to promote the site so that Internet users can find it.

The final choice of the type of portfolio depends on theyou, but we advise you to have at least two portfolios of a photographer of different types, for example, a paper portfolio and a page on a specialized website. So you will be prepared for different situations. And one more tip: whatever type of portfolio you choose, The most successful photos should be placed at the beginning and at the end.