Context

This week I finally completed the HNC in Photography and handed in my portfolio. I’ve been studying part time for the last two years or so. Overall, it’s been an enjoyable course and I’ve learned a lot. It always feels a little strange when you complete something you’ve been immersed in for a couple of years. On the one hand, I felt relieved to finally finish it, but on the other I felt a little sad that it’s over too.

The final assignment involved developing a portfolio within a specialist area of photography. I chose landscape photography. As this is my first ever portfolio, I was acutely aware of my inexperience in this area and needed to find out more about what the key components of a good portfolio include. Although there are some obvious components, such as images and contact details, these components still require some unpacking and raise further questions, such as – how many images? Which images? Do they need to be themed? And so on.

Most photographers have thousands, if not tens of thousands, of images they have taken. However, the majority of these will not be suitable for your portfolio for a whole range of reasons. 

Simply the best …

According to FORMAT (2023), the online photography magazine, the first step is to painstakingly review and select the very best from your image pool. It’s not just a case of selecting either – thought needs to go into how these images are presented. 

Images cover a dizzying array of topics. Ask – what is the purpose of your portfolio? Who are you trying to attract? What kinds of images are they likely to be looking for? 

If you put yourself in the shoes of the client, they don’t want to waste time scanning through images that are not likely to meet their brief. Considering my own skills and interests are best suited to landscape photography, this helps whittle down the images I intend to include. Although I have covered themes like portraiture and event photography, this is not my primary focus.  

Landscape photography itself has many subgenres and is a fairly broad term. Do I want to follow in the footsteps of Ansel Adams and include landscapes predominantly devoid of people? What about wildlife? Do I want to specialise in a certain type of landscape or area? If you specialise too much, you are likely to limit your potential client base, whereas if you are too generic, you will find it harder to distinguish yourself and your unique style in the field. Ultimately, your portfolio is a reflection of you, so careful thought needs to be given to its curation and presentation

Images aside, there are also many other points to consider when putting together a portfolio. I’ve summarised the key points below

Organised structure and easy to navigate

This sounds obvious, but putting time into ensuring the platform is easy to navigate and showcases your work in a way that is easily accessible to your clients should not be underestimated. 

This is one of the reasons I chose Microsoft Sway for my portfolio. The client does not need any specialist software or even a good level of digital skill to access it. It’s all available through a web browser, and the navigation buttons allow forward and backward motion through the portfolio, so the client can skip sections if desired or go back to ones as needed. Potential clients may not be tech savvy and you don’t want to put any unnecessary barriers in the way of them viewing your work in the first place.

A short introduction is also important. The client doesn’t need your full biography here, but it helps to set the scene by explaining your passion for photography. This will impress upon your clients that you will bring that same passion to the work you do for them.

Images that showcase your unique style and vision

It’s important to add titles or captions (or both) to your images because this helps to tell the story. Microsoft Sway allows you to add captions, which I’ve done to add a sense of place to each image.

Regardless of the number of images you include, it’s important to showcase your best work and most attention-grabbing images at the beginning of the portfolio. These are the images the client will see first, and if they’re pressed for time and you have a lot of images, they may not even get round to looking at later images. One of the most striking landscape photographs I have is one of the sunset over Porthcawl harbour – I have used this as the cover shot for the portfolio as well as in the opening section.

Testimonials or reviews

Positive reviews from former clients are definitely worth including, especially as most work will come from referrals:

‘Repeat business or referrals make up 75 percent of the shoots we deal with. It is mostly a case of the clients wanting to work with a photographer they have worked with in the past, wanting to work with the agency again (or both), or a referral by someone who has worked with the photographer or us in the past.’

(Pritchard, 2017).

Personal projects

Where relevant, you may want to include any personal projects you have undertaken. This provides the client with more insight into your area of expertise and also evidences your project management skills in practical terms.

For this section, I decided to include the project I did on sustainability in a previous assignment for two reasons:

1. The project is closely aligned with landscape photography.
2. There’s an opportunity to demonstrate many of the skills present in job advertisements for landscape photographers while providing details of the project:

Brand development

When we think of a brand, it’s tempting to think of logos or straplines, but a brand goes much deeper than that. I find Pritchard’s (2017) definition helpful when approaching matters of brand – you are a brand. Your brand is something that should impact all areas of your work.

‘The style and subject matter of your actual photography is obviously a big part of it, but just as important is the voice and personality that comes through in all your points of communication – from your marketing, to the way you lay out your initial estimates, to the actual shoot experience and everything in between.’

(Pritchard, 2017)

There is something quite aspirational about Pritchard’s definition. When we think of someone as a brand, we tend to think of very famous people or people that have been established in the field for a long time. Although that may not ring true for a photographer just starting out, it’s important to set goals and consider how every action you take is an opportunity to promote your brand. 

Pritchard also advocates having a unique selling point (USP) in order to differentiate yourself from your competitors. A USP also helps clients understand the work you do better, ensuring that you are the right fit for the work. This is something I need to work on more. I enjoy landscape photography that has a mythical or historical dimension. It’s clear from my portfolio, which includes castles, abbeys, fey woodland, and sites of ancient hill forts (Allt Goch) that this is an area in which I could develop my USP.

Your brand isn’t just apparent in your images but also in your written communications. Your branding should be consistent throughout your work, not just in your portfolio but in letter headers, social media, email signatures, and so on. All of these channels will impact how a client perceives you as a professional.

Reflecting on my USP, I’ve incorporated a logo within my portfolio that oozes with myth. The name “Odyssey” conveys the sense of adventure and journey I mentioned in my welcome page. There’s also a nod to mythology within the reference, as it recalls ‘The Odyssey” of the ancient Greek poet Homer and the journey of the Greek hero Odysseus. I have a genuine passion for Greek Mythology (my first degree was in Classics many years ago) and would like to focus future images on the many archaeological sites of ancient Greece throughout Europe.

Contact information

You want to make it as easy as possible for your clients to get in touch with you. Details such as your telephone number, email address, appropriate social media links and website information are all relevant here.

References

FORMAT (2023). ‘Photography Portfolios 101: How to build an amazing photo portfolio.’ Magazine [online]. Available at: https://www.format.com/photography-portfolio#:~:text=Now%20comes%20the%20question%20of,to%20your%20very%20best%20shots [Accessed 4th July 2023].

Pritchard, L. (2017). ‘Running a successful photography business.’ Bloomsbury Academic.