Top 5 Things to Consider When Creating a Portfolio

Portfolios are an area of the business that is near and dear to my heart.  As a businessperson, I use my resume to showcase my skills and talents to prospective employers.  I have one or two pages of white, or off white, paper to explain what it is I do for a living and why I would be the right fit for a certain job.  As an artist you have a portfolio. 

So what is a portfolio?  What does it look like?  These days a portfolio is anything that showcases your work.  It can be a website, an iPad, a printed book of samples, it can be boxes of past invitations you’ve created or a coffee table book of past weddings you’ve shot.  It can be three things, or it can be 100 things.  There is no “right” or “wrong” way to create a portfolio.  There is however some guidelines that I think should be followed here are my:

Top 5 Things to Considering When Creating a Portfolio

1) Less is more
 Just because you’ve shot 1000 weddings or done makeup on 500 brides does not mean I need to see all of it.  Quantity is not important, quality is.  Clients would rather see 10 of your best images, or samples, than 50 mediocre examples.  Your portfolio is a chance for you to show me what you are capable of and your strongest work, not everything you’ve ever done.

2) Presentation matters
How you showcase your work is as important as what you showcase.  If you are using a printed portfolio, the book itself should be well made, I suggest a leather portfolio.  You can find some great ones at House of Portfolios.  The prints should be high quality photographic prints, not something you printed at your local drugstore.  If you are using an iPad or laptop, make sure that the program is easy for your client to flip through, and that the images are all formatted correctly.  The last thing I want to have to do is look at a laptop sideways because you forgot to change the orientation of an image.

3) Make sure it flows

Every portfolio should have a logical progression.  It can be in chronological order or you can match the background colors of your images.  Another option is to group similar styles of images together.  How you organize your portfolio doesn’t matter, what matters is that you do organize it and that it takes your customer on a journey through your work.

4) Customize to your audience

I think this is the most important tip; you want the portfolio to speak to your clients.  If you are meeting with a bride that dreams of a soft and romantic wedding, then show her images of other wedding you’ve done in that same style.  By creating a custom presentation for your customer it tells them that you have the same vision as they do for their wedding day, and that you have the experience to make that vision a reality.

5) Variety is key

You don’t want a portfolio of all the same type of images or samples, it should show a range of your work.  You should have some “safe” or traditional images or samples, and some samples that push the envelope. But don’t go overboard on the creative images.  I always tell my artists it’s OK to show your creative side in one image, but you don’t have to showcase ALL of your creative ideas in that same image.