How to Make a Photography Portfolio in 5 Steps

Curating a portfolio of images is tough work. But thankfully there’s a simple process to it. And once you know this process, it gets a whole. Lot. Easier.

We’re going to break it down together step by step so you can create a pitch-ready conservation photography portfolio on repeat with this 5-step process!

Contents

1. Know your goals and the portfolio’s purpose
2. Start with the wide edit
3. Curate the best images in the final edit
4. Create a visual flow with the order of your images
5. Review and reorder for your polished photography portfolio
6. Where to put your photo portfolio: Online and printed portfolios
7. How to create an online photography portfolio site
8. FAQs

You would think after planning, shooting and processing your images, the hard part is over, right?

Actually, one of the most important and difficult steps awaits you.

Polishing your portfolio into a tight, cohesive, effective set of images is an agonizing but vital part of high-quality visual storytelling.

I know that dread. I know it well. You have a new opportunity – a pitch, or an application – and you need to pull together a portfolio of work to go with it.

This portfolio is going to say something big about you. In fact, it says everything about you as a photographer.

No pressure, right?

And icing on the cake… You have hundreds, even thousands of images that need to be whittled down to the dozen or so that will be the key to this door of opportunity.

How are you supposed to pull out only the best?!

The questions start spiralling in your mind:

Which of them even are your best? Which of them go well together, add on one another? How many photos is enough and too much to include? How should you order them? What is your portfolio supposed to say about you?

It’s tempting to just slump down in your chair at this point. I know it’s not easy… but this is so doable.

You just need a process to tackle this task piece by piece. And I outline that process for you here.

Plus, this can be fun! Let’s ease the difficulty by breaking the whole process down into 5 manageable steps.

Before you get started, you need to know why you’re editing your portfolio. Who will ultimately see the portfolio, and what is your goal for how they respond?

• Is it a “best work” professional photography portfolio for your website where potential clients will see it?
• Are you trying to get a stock agency to accept you as a contributor?
• Is this for a grant for a project?
• Are you pitching a story to a magazine editor?
• Is this for a photo essay competition?

Knowing why you’re creating a portfolio – whether it is to highlight your specialties and skills as a hobbyist or to attract clients and grow your photography business – will drive the selections you make and the narrative you build when you order your images.

This might seem like a step to quickly brush past.

But when you take the time to really consider who is seeing the work, what you want from them, and what they want to see, you’ll enter the entire process with a clear head, and a reference point in case you start to feel lost during the process.

Pull in everything that can or should be considered for your edit. Likely, this will be in the range of 40-60 images.

It’s helpful to use a tool like Lightroom where you can use things like flags, star-ratings, color labels or other ways to organize the images you want to mull over.

This is your chance to ensure you’re truly grabbing your best work – and a diversity of work. If you’re creating a photo essay, are you hitting on all the key elements of storytelling? If you’re showing your best work, are you including wide shots and detail shots, a range of colors, and the right subject matter?

Pull images that show the range of your skills and style while sticking with an overarching theme.

Now we really start to fine tune. This part might be the most painful.

It’s critical at this point to refer back to Step 1 and keep your “why” and “who” in mind as you edit. You can’t make the correct decisions without knowing your viewer and desired outcome.

In fact, write this out on a post-it and put it next to your computer screen. Every time you feel stuck in narrowing down your selection to the very best images, re-read the post-it.

Start eliminating any image that:

• is redundant of a stronger image in content
• can’t hold its own if viewed individually (unless it is a critical part of the story)
• stands out from the others in a jarring way, in terms of style, content or quality

It might be helpful to pull a friend or two into this process. Meet at a coffee shop or (as I mentioned in the episode works for me) pile out on the living room floor with a bottle of wine (or whiskey).

Talk through the pros and cons of certain images, and listen to their input about your work. Really listen. They’ll help you look past emotional attachments you may have to certain images and select what is truly your best work.

The final number of images in your portfolio will depend on your goal.

Typically, a portfolio has between 12-25 images. But the specific number of images you end up with will be based on whether or not you’ve been given a requirement by a photo editor, grant guidelines, and so on.

There are several ways to approach ordering your images, again based on your goal. It can be based on story flow, or visual flow.

Story Flow

If you’re pitching a story or trying to win a grant, you’re probably going to go with a story flow. Consider how you make a great first impression with a “hero” image, introduce the characters, build tension, and provide visual diversity while advancing the plot.

Visual Flow

If you’re building a “best of” portfolio for your website, stock agency or a potential client, you’ll probably go with a visual flow.

With this approach, you’ll take into account things like subject matter, color palette, and other aspects of style to move a viewer seamlessly from one image to the next, providing cohesive diversity.

Use a tool like Lightroom Collections to drag and drop images so you can reorder them quickly and easily as you change your mind.

Once you’ve completed the ordering, do two things:

1. Get honest feedback. Send the portfolio to at least two people who you trust.
2. Give your eyes and mind a solid break. Wait at least 3 hours before you look at your portfolio again. Then you can go back in with a fresh outlook and make savvy decisions about swapping out images or changing the order.

And there you have it! A cumbersome and often emotionally difficult process is far easier when you can take it step by step!

Oh — and actually there’s one more step in the process: send your amazingly perfect portfolio out and WOW your audience!

Where To Put Your Photo Portfolio: Online and Printed Portfolios

In this digital age, it’s essential to showcase your portfolio online. Even a very simple, one-page photography portfolio website can make a big difference for providing a great first impression and way to share your work.

This can be as simple as a dedicated page on your own photography website, or you could use a platform specifically designed for image portfolios.

Websites like Behance, Adobe Portfolio, or 500px are excellent places to display your work in a professional manner. They’re also frequented by industry professionals, offering greater exposure if you’re looking to boost your photography career.

On the other hand, don’t underestimate the impact of a printed photography portfolio. There’s something profoundly tangible and personal about flipping through a beautifully printed photo book. It’s a classic method that allows for a deeper appreciation of your work’s texture and quality.

If you’re a professional photographer meeting a potential client or attending a networking event, a printed portfolio can be a game-changer.

Ultimately, the trick is to use both methods.

Online portfolios cast a wider net, making your work accessible to people all around the world. At the same time, printed portfolios add a personal touch and a sense of permanence that digital ones may lack.

So, diversify your approach and make your work available in both online and printed formats. This way, you’re ready to wow your audience, whether they’re scrolling or flipping through your work!

Let’s break down setting up a photo portfolio site into easy-to-follow steps.

❂ Choose a Platform

First off, pick a website builder or portfolio platform. Wordpress, Wix, and Squarespace are some popular ones, and they come with some snazzy photography templates that will make your work pop.

❂ Get a Domain

Next, get yourself a custom domain. It’s like your internet address, and it helps to make a professional impression. Plus, who doesn’t love having their own .com?

❂ Upload Polished Images

Now, it’s time for the spotlight – your photos! Upload low-resolution photos that are large enough to display well on a full-sized screen but small enough to load quickly. Slow websites are a bummer for visitors and could mean visitors leave before even seeing your photos because they take too long to load.

❂ Organize Your Work

You’ll likely come up with several photography portfolios. Perhaps based on locations, species, or topics you specialize in.

So, organize your shots into different galleries or themes, but remember, this isn’t a photo dump. Keep it selective and coherent.

You also want to make sure the different galleries make sense together. It’s confusing for a visitor if your galleries make you look like you’re a food photographer, a new york fashion photographer, and a wildlife photographer… now you just look confused. So, keep your galleries as cohesive as the portfolios within them.

❂ Include an About Me Page

Don’t shy away from sharing a bit about yourself. A good story can make you more relatable and attractive to potential clients.

❂ Optimize for SEO

And last but not least, sprinkle some SEO magic. Use relevant keywords in your descriptions, tags, and headers to make your portfolio more discoverable on search engines.

And voila! You’re now the proud owner of a shiny, new online photography portfolio.

🔥 Pro Tip: Your portfolio is a living, breathing thing – update it regularly to keep it fresh and relevant.