What Does a Photography Portfolio Look Like?
The right photography portfolio can help you attract new clients or land a job. Originally just large presentation books, portfolios featured archival paper and plastic sleeve covers to protect your work. Today, photographic portfolios come in several styles and even online formats. Your portfolio should put your photographs in their best light with clean presentation and informative captions.
Function
A photography portfolio highlights your best photographic work for review by potential clients or employers. Portfolios are typically simple in form, allowing the user to focus on the images.
Considerations
Determine the purpose of your portfolio. Are you hoping to attract traditional clients, clients with an edge or foreign clients? The style of photographic portfolio you choose should mirror your business image.
Traditional
Traditional portfolios are large, flat books up to 30 inches on a side. They are often leather or faux-leather bound, with ring-bound pages to allow for easy adding and sorting of the portfolio images.
Non-Traditional
Photographic portfolios are now found in several forms, including briefcase-like binders, aluminum boxes with photos mounted on individual cards, pocket folders with mounted loose-leaf images and small, deck-like sets of photo cards.
Online
Online portfolios and gallery services offer an inexpensive way to present photographs to clients or employers around the globe. Many of these services offer free packages for photographers, including custom page designs and photo printing (see Resources).
