Photography Portfolio Best Practices

“Portfolio” is a word you’ve probably heard already in the context of photography. We can define a portfolio as a group of work collected in a specific format. One of the main characteristics of a good portfolio is that it applies to a specific topic or niche. Somewhat like workflow, a portfolio is sometimes misunderstood (as curation, or something like that).

What follows is not the ultimate guide to portfolio crafting, but I’ll try to define the true purpose of having a consistent and targeted portfolio.

Formats

Portfolios used to be simple: it was just a bunch of photographs inside a sober black box. Nowadays we have a wide range of format options — web pages, videos, PDF files, photo books, and printed versions. There is no perfect format, and some options are better suited to certain situations than others. (For example, it’s easier to share a link when dealing with clients abroad than to show them a printed version of your portfolio.)

Audience

This is the first thing you should consider before starting to craft a portfolio. There are several people you might want to show your portfolio to — from museum curators to family and friends. The most common audience — from freelance clients to executive officers — comes into play when you’re looking for a certain job. In that case…