I often hear portfolio viewings are crucial, yet I’ve never seen any locally or within driving distance. Should I consider traveling to a larger area such as NYC to have this done?
Yes, a one-on-one or group showing with your portfolio is extremely valuable. I’d highly recommend these for photographers at any stage of their career. Bring them some chocolate!
What is expected of us these days at in-person portfolio showings? Is there a standard for us to bring, or can we show our website on our computer?
Think about it: this is your one opportunity to show the client you are a skilled pro ready to impress. To stick in their memory make sure you bring options to show it all in a concise professional manner to make it easy and memorable. Our industry is now multileveled, and we have to present ourselves as tech/style specialists with screens for motion and some type of portfolio for stills.
Do Portfolio Reviews bring in work, or is it another scheme to skim money off struggling artists to market themselves?
Portfolio reviews are one of the best ways to get your work in front of potential clients, but you must do the prep work to meet with the right clients for your brand. You are wasting your time (and money) if you don’t research your target market.
Do you have advice on preparing for and making the most out of Zoom portfolio reviews? Do photographers create a slideshow that they present and click through? It feels very different and possibly harder to stand out/be memorable than an in-person review.
Make the most of the marketing wave of Zoom calls:
How do I set my goals when it feels like nothing is working out? I’m feeling discouraged as many of my email promos are bouncing, and things like portfolio reviews aren’t leading to anything. Do I quit? So much of this business is self-motivated that I feel lost and unsure how to have a clear sense of what to do.
WE CAN’T BE GUIDED BY WHAT IS SET UP NOT TO GO OUR WAY. The odds are not on our side in this business. Standard triple bids set us up for failure, email promo open rates are under 20%, and clients barely respond. Career decisions come to play with strategic and well-mapped-out logical analysis. Break down the areas of this career that work for you, what brought you into this and gets you going, and then propel your future directional decisions off of that.
The importance of a photographer’s portfolio cannot be overstated. A strong portfolio is the number one way to get hired in commercial photography. I hate to say it, but even a photographer with a terrible rep can still get work with a great portfolio.
Marketing has so many parts to it, but your portfolio will get you the job or not get you the job. We talk about treatments and creative calls; everything we do is essential, but they’re supplemental to your portfolio. That’s what is going to make or break you. It’s the portfolio. It’s everything.
Your portfolio should not just be the jobs you have already photographed; it should include the jobs you want to be photographing.
Nowadays, a photographer’s portfolio can be seen in many ways – on a website, in a physical book, on an iPad, and Instagram + TikTok. A portfolio should showcase your best work – either for a client or self-assigned.
Three things clients look for in a portfolio:
Quick Tip: Focus specifically on the client/industry you most want to be working with and shape your portfolio around that market. Start with one area and master it. Then you can expand and grow.
1. PORTFOLIO RESEARCH
Industry education and research will help you master the “objective” eye, giving you the skills to edit your work. Familiarize yourself with photographers doing the kind of work you want to make, especially those doing it on a high level. Study them. Understand the difference between a cohesive portfolio with a clear through-line and those with many different styles. Identify your visual instincts and apply them every time you shoot. Learn to become objective in your opinions to be the best judge of your work.
2. CHOOSE THE STYLE
The constant honing-in and forward growth of what your style is about will bring you the control clients can depend on. Clients are always on the hunt for photographers shooting similar vibes as the message their company is portraying. If they are a tech company, they will want to see life scenes created around tech equipment, or a food client will want to see life happening around similar food environments. Build your portfolio showing the look and feel your ideal clients cater to by using “spec” concepts to grab their attention.
3. ATTITUDE (TESTING)
Owning who you are and finding ways to express it allows clients to know what they get by hiring you. Never underestimate the power of self-assigned projects. Integrating work into your portfolio conceptualized and executed by you is one of the most pivotal ways to expand your photography business into new ventures.
Consultants can be game changers because they know the business and how to shape your website/portfolio to fit the current market. When you aren’t hearing back often from clients, give a consultant a try and see what they have to say.
There are so many things that are right and wrong about websites – one thing we know for sure is they have to be fast. Include an overview on your website because clients won’t have time to click on different topics. They want a quick read to see if you are suitable for the job. The overview
brings you up a professional level, confidently having them scroll your best images without needing to click and search to get an immediate cohesive impression.
Since websites need to be easy, quick to read and serve the purpose of showing off your images in a constructive way that makes sense, select a company like Photofolio that has many different layouts. If you want to create your design, companies like Squarespace, Format, and PhotoShelter can be good options, but Photofolio has all the details already figured out for you.
What hurts your website:
Printed portfolios can allow the viewer a much-needed break from screens. I prefer one image per page, as it will enable the image to sink in without distraction and project confidence. Exceptions to this could be if you’re using a designer and they are creating a specific look with multiple images per page. But I usually lean towards less is more.
I know photographers who present their work on printed 8x10s inside a beautifully made box as a way to stand out. The client can always see your website or social media feeds to get a fuller picture of your work. Create a well-designed package that feels like you and understand that the presentation might change to reflect current trends in a year or two. Keep it fresh – the bottom line is you want the client to see your style while having your images speak louder than the actual portfolio.
Today’s world is indeed an all-digital space, which is why a printed book can stand out even more. It’s old school, but it can demonstrate your style and allow people the luxury of taking in each photograph more thoughtfully than clicking. It can also provoke more conversation than simply clicking through a series of images. I highly recommend printed portfolios.
Quick Tip: A handy rule for promos and portfolios is never putting the date on them because it makes them unusable very quickly.
Have your IG work for you instead of against you. We all know that Instagram is the way to be seen and discovered – it’s a portfolio and email promo coming together. We must stick to the times and lead the way if we want to get the jobs.
Websites and Instagram are two places you must keep strong and constantly updated, allowing them to sell you. Some clients will go to your website, and some will go to your IG account – some will go to both. Just as your website has your ABOUT section, which brings a bit of personal info to it – the same goes for Instagram. I suggest your Highlights be 80% portfolio images and 20% more personal or BTS.
Personal images should still be images that are interesting and educational to your clients. They want to know who you are and your hobbies, but they don’t need to know what your pets look like. They love seeing fun locations they’d want to visit, knowing where you are working, and learning interesting information about you.
You should post to Instagram as much as you’re comfortable. You don’t have to post daily, but it’s great if you can. The main thing is to be consistent – every two weeks is the minimum. You don’t want to be a month out from posting something and a client to come to your account and see that you haven’t posted in a month or two – you don’t look current, which can work against you in getting the job.
Portfolio reviews are a savvy way to get that one-on-one memorable personalized attention. These in-person and online events can connect you with the right potential clients that may offer valuable feedback. Be ready with your purpose to get the most out of your online/zoom portfolio reviews. What do you want to get out of it? Have your points of interest and questions ready to keep the topic flowing in the direction that fulfills your goal.
Standalone: Portfolios image selection has a different purpose with Ad Agencies vs. Client Direct work. Client-direct companies will be more understanding of various types of images. Ad agencies have so many photographers to choose from with an ever-changing artistic flow that they will choose the one who specializes in each specific topic repeatedly. The smaller, in-house companies will often use one photographer for all their photo needs. If Ad Agencies are your goal, identify your specialty and commit to excellence in that category.
We know you probably aren’t a salesperson if you’re reading this, but you are a creative business. You need a sales or elevator pitch for portfolio reviews. It should express who you are or how you dealt with something on a shoot that makes you more valuable to them. You need to know your client, who they work with, and what scenarios might come up for them. Have a few stories or topics to discuss that show you can handle the job. Have these talking points ready so when you’re in the moment, you have these keywords to remember if there’s an awkward moment of silence or you only have one minute to make an impression. How are you going to say what you need to say? What would you say to this person? What do you want from this person? Do you want to take them to lunch? Do you want to have a meeting? Do you want to talk to them about an idea you have? Have it prepped and ready.
Do:
Don’t:
Quick tip: We have better odds that clients will remember our work if we don’t speak as they flip through the portfolio pages.
The business of photography depends on who sees our images; we have to find every potential method to put ourselves out there. Depending on your type of photography, we have some excellent options today with companies like Komyoon, Workbook, At-Edge, Blvd, Behance, Wonderful Machine, PhotoPolitic, LeBook, Production Paradise, and Found. They all have different purposes; go through them and see where you fit best. I suggest asking clients you want to work with where they look for new talent. After you give one of these a try, you can SEO your website and use Google Analytics to see where the traffic is coming in. It’s a timely process with no easy answer, but if you pay attention to your analytics, you can see what works for you.
Hi Andrea, great Insta feed. Your tips are really helping me. Am I free to ask you for some advice? I’m convinced my portfolio is good and I have a lot of experience (15y). But I’m not where I want to be. And I really have no clue how to approach new clients like magazines or advertising agencies. What do I write in my email pitch? What’s the key to get the clients I want? I know it’s not about the portfolio, so how do I convince them to do a shoot with me? Thanks 🙂
The answer usually comes down to your portfolio of images. All the other parts of our business need to be in place, but it comes down to your portfolio being the right fit for what a client is looking to bring to their project.
Research to know that you are contacting the appropriate people and have your “elevator pitch” ready to go with keywords they can search for when they are looking.
Write a quick and concise email as if you were receiving it. Don’t sound like a sales pitch; sound like a human connecting to another human, and then stay on their radar with your marketing plan. You wrote this question in a very thoughtful and sincere way, so stick to that and be yourself!
What are the best networking options these days?
Photographers have to create their own networking as it’s on a more individual basis instead of group events. Directly contacting clients is much more acceptable than it used to be; it’s even more expected these days. Get yourself out there with all the social media platforms and zoom portfolio reviews. See what interests people, notice what they said on a webinar or their LinkedIn post, use all of this as a more human approach to doing one-on-one connective networking.
How do you not waste any precious time with your portfolio reviews?
I just did a portfolio review with ASMP on the East Coast, and it was really interesting to find some ways to get the most value out of these reviews. Time goes quickly, so it’s important to have a clear introduction and purpose. Let the reviewer know your intent, why you are there, and what you hope to get from the review.
Have your questions and topics prepared in advance. Know what you want to discuss, and if there’s time, decide which questions to ask and which parts of your website or business marketing you want to focus on. Be open to feedback; I found that I sometimes dominated the conversation and didn’t get as much out of it because the other person wasn’t talking as much. Listen carefully and be receptive to their contributions.
When it comes to presenting your work, consider using a website over a PDF. A website provides a comprehensive view of who you are and what you do, which is important for marketing and ensuring that reviewers remember you. A PDF might be useful if you are showing a specific portfolio or book to a particular client.
Finally, if you are sharing your screen, move through your website quickly to keep the review engaging. Reviewers may be tired, having seen many portfolios, whether in person or on Zoom. If you can find a way to engage the reviewer, help them relax, take a breath, and rejuvenate, it will make the experience better for everyone. I highly recommend it.
Have a genuine self sales chat (elevator pitch) ready to go for an awkward portfolio showing or a zoom meeting when you need something to share about yourself.
Be prepared with a few tidbits that won’t sound like “sales,” but more like you sharing a story of an experience you had that shows how you like to work.
We know that you probably aren’t a salesperson if you’re listening to this and you’re more of a creative person, but you are a creative business. You need to have a sales pitch, or an elevator pitch. It needs to express who you are or how you dealt with something on a shoot that makes you more valuable to them. You need to know your client and who they work with and what kind of scenarios might come up for them. Have a few stories or scenarios to discuss because it shows that if something happens during a shoot, you would be able to handle it because of a past experience. Have these talking points ready to go so that when you’re in the moment you just have these keywords to remember if there’s an awkward moment of silence or you only have one minute to make an impression. How are you going to say what you need to say? What would you say to this person? What do you want from this person? Do you want to take them to lunch? Do you want to have a meeting? Do you want to talk to them about an idea you have? Have it ready to go.
