Building a portfolio

[blackwaterstudio]

Guys I need some advice, places to start etc. I'm looking at starting a portfolio for myself. It would be for freelance, call for hire type work. I'm totally new to doing this so any and all help will be great.

Thanks.

P.S. If you need to see the type of photo's I take, check out my gallery here on smugmug.

[Shay Stephens]

Guys I need some advice, places to start etc. I'm looking at starting a portfolio for myself. It would be for freelance, call for hire type work. I'm totally new to doing this so any and all help will be great.

Thanks.

P.S. If you need to see the type of photo's I take, check out my gallery here on smugmug.
Can you elaborate more on what you need and what you want it to do for you? What kind of work are you hoping to generate? Etc. etc. Don't be shy with the details.

[bikehiker]

Hello JDS, can't help you out much, I'm in your position too. Fairly new to photography also, but thought I'd say hello to you from the other side of the hill, Kingsport, TN. Some nice night shots in your gallery.

[ian408]

I was recently in your position. I needed 10 photos for a class I wanted to take.
Because it was a class, I wanted samples of the types of things I've done. So I picked
10 shots that are representative of what I normally shoot. I struggled because I
still think I have a long way to go learning wise--right now, I'm just another guy
with a nice camera :D

Now if I were looking for work shooting weddings, I'd want wedding shots that
demonstrate ability. Be pointless to show up with landscapes and sports if you
want wedding work :D

I guess the other thing I can suggest is to keep your portfolio filled with fresh
stuff and consider specific selections for the type of work you are seeking at the
time.

Like Shay said, it be helpful to know what you want the portfolio for.

Ian

[blackwaterstudio]

Well I'm not quite sure what I want it for. I want to get started as a part time hobby and make some money. I would imagin that people want to see the work I do before they would hire me to take pictures? This is new to me so I'm not sure what I should be looking for sorry :scratch

[GREAPER]

See, here's the thing... the "Have camera, will travel" is probably not a good marketing plan.

You have to figure out a place to start. Find a market that you are capable of serving, such as product photography for example. Then work on building a porfolio of quality images that would work well to sell a product.

Then show that portfolio to people that have products they need photos of (ad agency's maybe).

Make yourself the best you can be at that one thing. Get so good at it that there is no question that you will finish the assignment with a quality product that will satisfy you customers. Word of mouth, aggressive marketing and hard work will make it happen.

These people will not hire you because of the great landscapes or macro shots you have taken. They dont care about bugs, they care about selling shampoo.

Find the market you want to work in, and make a portfolio that sells to THAT market.

Some ideas of markets (just to throw some out)....

Children's portraits
Senior Portraits
Journalism
Weddings
Product Photography
Real Estate
Fashion
Sports
Travel

[Head in the Clouds]

Ok. JDS, are you basically wanting to work out how to sell your existing work and also get contractural work for various other things : weddings, promos etc?

Is that something that smugmug does?

i'm assuming that there are people on this site who trott along to various sporting events (be it community/childrens etc) and take some snaps, hand out a business card with their smugmug address on it to the various parents/crowds etc and then if they like what they see they can download it for a fee?.....

Is it possible to get your foot in the door that way perhaps? and then, along with the various snaps you have that are on offer for selling, also have a link or something to your 'portfolio' which has a variety of shots in it showing how wonderful you are at photography and the huge range that you can do?????? ..... (weddings/portraits/promos/landscapes... etcetc)

I don't have a smugmug account so I actually have no idea what I'm talking about .... :rofl just dribbling really...... :scratch

anyway, seemed like a good idea to me. nice way to make a few bucks from home perhaps?

good luck. sorry to ramble..... :D

[ian408]

Well I'm not quite sure what I want it for. I want to get started as a part time hobby and make some money. I would imagin that people want to see the work I do before they would hire me to take pictures? This is new to me so I'm not sure what I should be looking for sorry :scratch
If you're not sure, my advice is go start making pictures. Try some of Greaper's
suggestions for subject matter. Organize your pictures into galleries using
smugmug. Keep repeating the process. Eventually, you'll have a body of
work you can use for your portfolio.

When you have a body of work to choose from, maybe you can form a better
opinion about what you like to do and go from there?

As I mentioned, it's pointless to try and sell the bride and groom your abilities
with landscapes. It's like showing up to a gunfight with a knife :D

Good luck!
Ian

[blackwaterstudio]

Thanks guys for all the help. I'll start shooting some of the events that were pointed out.

[Shay Stephens]

Well I'm not quite sure what I want it for. I want to get started as a part time hobby and make some money. I would imagin that people want to see the work I do before they would hire me to take pictures? This is new to me so I'm not sure what I should be looking for sorry :scratchWell if that is the case, then the important thing to do is to edit your photo selection. If you have no direction as to what you want to shoot, then you must put your best foot forward. Take what pictures you have and select *only the best ones*. Keep doing that until you can't cut anymore. And as your porfolio grows continue to re-evaluate your best work and only show the very best. Even if this winds up being only a handful of images to begin with.

What a portfolio does generically is tells the prospective client that you know how to use the camera and can create the kind of images they are looking for.

You might wonder how some landscape photos will land you other work like weddings, portraits, or product. Well, there are some people out there that will like your work and be able to extrapolate in their own minds eye your ability to meet their needs. Though it does help to give them some idea you have done somthing similar. I landed my first three wedding clients with no wedding photos to show, only the portrait, landscape, and product shots I currently had. But they liked me and my photos and just knew I would do a good job for them.

In that vein, start shooting things you have not done yet, or only done a little of. Well, actually, start shooting a lot, everything you can. Shoot portraits, candids of people, product, anything you can. This will give you an idea of what you are good at, what you are weak at, and give you a more rounded portfolio of images to present to a prospective client.

Remember to show only your best work. Learn to self-critique images and image selection.

Once you start working, after a while you will be able to determine what direction you want to specialize in. Until then, get experience shooting all you possibly can. It is going to be a lot of hard work, but if you want to be a photographer, that is what it takes.

P.S. Start *now* to learn how to use flash photography effectively. Also learn how to shoot in low light situations. This will save your butt someday, trust me ;-)

[blackwaterstudio]

Thanks, for the advice. Do you know of any websites detailing flash use? I really need to get another flash other then whats on the camera, I was looking at the Sigma Super 500 for my digital rebel.

[mercphoto]

Thanks, for the advice. Do you know of any websites detailing flash use? I really need to get another flash other then whats on the camera, I was looking at the Sigma Super 500 for my digital rebel.

I've seen some decent flash books. Haven't looked online. When looking over a book, look at the pictures. If you don't like the pictures, don't bother buying and reading the text.

If I were you, go with a Canon Speedlite, but I'm biased against Sigma in general. The 420 is an ok unit for most situations, but the 550 has more controls. Consider a 580 if you plan to upgrade to a 20D, but the price delta is huge. You can always use a 420 as a secondary unit to a 550 or 580 later.

You can learn flash just by playing around, as I have. Start indoors with your house, pets, nicknacks. When close, angle the flash up to bounce it. Try taping some white cardboard to form a bounce shield off it. Experiment with flash direction and you will quickly see what I mean. Play with the flash exposure lock on the Rebel (it helps a lot!). If you have an adjustable flash unit play with different settings on the same shot. When far away just aim the flash straight ahead, no bouncing.

What you are looking for in flash is a natural look. Flesh should not become white, shadows should not become harsh and evident. Sometimes you will want the background exposed as well, and sometimes you will not.

Play and have fun.

[blackwaterstudio]

Thanks I've read alot of reviews that compare the Siigma super 500 against the Canon 550 and most seem to think the Sigma comes out on top, not only in price wise, but easy to use, etc.

I try to do alot of research on products before I go out and spend my hard earned money on them :)

[PerezDesignGroup]

I'm in the same boat as you. I've narrowed my selection down to the Sigma EF 500 DG and the Promaster 7500 DX. I like the fact the Sigma has a bounce and popup 'catchlight' but I like the Promaster's secondary fill flash. Seems like it would help more indoors. Arggh...decisions.