tips for portfolio photography

When I visit a photography portfolio or even a showcase, I expect all the time to be able to see the pictures in full size if I click on them and it would better be huge. I want the pictures to look good and fit my screen if I would like to have it as a desktop background. And not only about this but if I want to see all the details, I canandt do it properly on a small picture.
To avoid keeping the visitors wait too much, have two versions of each picture you can resize them with a JavaScript too. This way if somebody is interested in seeing one of your pictures larger, he knows that this comes with the price of loading time.

According to official statistics, less than 1% of the internet users have 800?600 displays. However, this does not mean 800?600 is the smallest resolution you have to design for think of mobile devices as well. It is not highly probable that a potential client will want to use his bandwidth with your pictures, but what if they are on a wireless connection? This means you have to think about all the possible resolutions.

This is also for the web designers, not only for photographers. It is always good to make a point fast and then let the visitor make a decision the World is moving fast and we donandt have time to view all the crap work people have done. Therefore only show the top notch work and let the potential client move on, if he wants to. Donandt keep him tight he will leave without seeing every piece of your work anyway. Is is also a good idea to order your pictures. Even if you select your best work, some of your pictures simply have to stand out. Put them first and leave the other good ones for the second page.

When potential clients look at pictures, they want to know who it is they are looking at. They might also want to hire one of the models, which is not a bad thing either. Write short notes about each one of your pictures and let the client know what is he looking at. It is also much more important to give each picture a short description than a title. Naming the tools youandve used for shooting and post processing might be a good idea too.

Sure, the most important thing is to show your work, but how does this help if you do not get clients? It is important to lead the visitor to your contact page if possible, otherwise always make it clear that he can contact you right away. Having the e mail address in the footer might work too, but it depends a lot on your layout. It is entirely your decision which information you give out, but I would also show them I am present and active on social media.

I never release a website before asking for feedback it is just in the manual. Always ask the others experts or not about their opinion on how your site looks. It is really important to know what the others think, especially because after hours and hours of looking and analyzing your portfolio, you do not notice the small details anymore and this is crucial. Never release a website before asking people for opinions.

By this I mean that you have to keep your portfolio updated. It is not difficult to do this anymore thanks to the bunch of tools we have at our disposal. Nobody wants to see a good photographer not uploading his latest work and potential clients do not enjoy this for sure. Never replace old strong images with bad ones. Donandt forget about tip 6, showing only the best work.

A portfolio is an opportunity for you to present your work, but it is important to consider what the portfolio is for. Are you taking it to a job interview, or are you looking to get your work exhibited at a gallery? Maybe you just want to bring your work together to present it? Whatever the reason, it is vital that you create your portfolio with this in mind. A job interview might require you to display a variety of skills and techniques, whereas a collection for an exhibition would require a single unifying theme and will need to be presented with the gallery setting in mind.

Once youve decided your intentions for your portfolio, you need to consider the audience youre looking to reach. Try to consider what reaction you want to evoke do you want them to be pleased, surprised, shocked? Not everyone is going to want to see your favourite landscape shot or generic shots that they see day in day out, so do you best to make your shots stand out and get the reaction you want.

At this point you need to decide what format you portfolio is presented in. In the past, everything was on paper, but technology has introduced the option of presenting your portfolio on a PDF, JPEGs or through an online medium. Being able to email a link to your portfolio through to potential employers is obviously extremely convenient. I would argue that the process and final product of a beautifully printed out paper portfolio far outweighs the option of viewing photos on screen. For more on presenting an online portfolio, check out our Quick Tip article on the subject