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Creating a portfolio is one task a lot of photographers avoid but over time come to realize how important it is to build a photography business. As a photographer, the first proof of your professionalism is your portfolio, which shows the number or body of work you’ve been able to create since you journeyed into photography.
A portfolio gives the photographer an opportunity to share their work with potential clients and with his/her audience. A great portfolio attracts plenty of work while bad ones will bring little work.
HOW TO CREATE A PORTFOLIO
- Build Your Base: New photographers who haven’t found their footing in the industry should look at the rate card of other photographers, and charge at a lower price. For starters, you can ask friends or family members to model for you, you can also shoot for free at any event but ensure that there is some form of collaboration.
- Choose a Subject Matter: You can decide to shoot as many different genres of photography but to a prospective client, too much portfolio can look unprofessional, disorganized, and unfocused. Choose one or two areas you’re passionate about and arrange them sequentially.
- Edit and Always Ask For Opinions: In building your portfolio, putting out the strongest image is paramount. Sometimes you may feel that the images you have chosen are the strongest until you share them with someone else, then you realize they were not as strong as you thought they were. If you are confused about what to put in your portfolio, you can send your work to expert photographers, editors, or mentors to go through your work and select the best for your portfolio.
- Select Works That Are Intentional: It will interest your audience when you put out work that is intentional, like capturing a protest in your locality; that really passes a strong message.
- Sequence Your Best Works: Once you’ve whittled down your photos to the best of the best, it’s time to lay them out. It might help to have small printouts of your photos, so you can physically rearrange them on a flat surface.
