“Please attach a portfolio to your resume” - a similar phrase can be increasingly found in job advertisements. How to prepare a portfolio? And do you really need to do it? To present your own achievements in a beautiful way, read the Superjob tips.

Strokes to the portrait of the applicant
Translated from Italian, a portfolio is just a “portfolio with documents”, but, as you know, HRs understand this word as a “list of completed work”, which allows you to get an idea of ​​​​the applicant as a specialist. And this is not necessarily a folder with photographs, sketches or newspaper clippings, it can be a presentation and a candidate's personal website. Photos, publications, as well as video and audio clips - all this will add the necessary touches to your portrait. Sometimes it’s enough just to attach a few links to Internet resources with your work to your resume.

Do you need it?
Who needs a portfolio? For successful employment, it is primarily used by people of creative professions - designers of all specializations, journalists, architects, fashion models, etc. However, today this tool is becoming more and more popular: teachers, PR managers, programmers often make up portfolios - that is, those who whose work achievements can be at least partially represented visually.

Do you need a portfolio? Probably yes if:
- you have creative work;
- in the process of your work, you create something fundamentally new every time (drawings, design projects, articles, codes, images for photography);
- Your work is project-based;
- the employer asks for a portfolio.
But for those whose work is related to strict adherence to instructions, a portfolio is usually not required. Accountants, secretaries, human resources specialists, system administrators, waiters, salespeople successfully get their dream job even without a portfolio, with only one resume.

List of achievements
Superjob provides the ability to attach a portfolio to a resume. Use it - it will be convenient for the employer to see both the resume and your work at once.

It is customary to compile a portfolio from works of different genres, different styles and trends - in this way you can demonstrate the variety of tasks that you had to face. That is, if you are a photographer, include pictures of all genres in which you shoot in your photo selection, and if you are a journalist, present different types of texts, etc.

However, there are exceptions to this rule as well. If you are applying for a position as a political columnist for a major publication, for example, you should not include your fashion notes and articles about the rules for growing tomatoes in a summer cottage in your portfolio, even if they are written absolutely brilliantly.

A portfolio is akin to the "Achievements" section of a resume - it's customary to visualize what you reported in your CV. Therefore, for inclusion in the portfolio, you need to select your best work. You should not deliberately reduce the level of work for fear that the employer will always expect masterpieces from you later. The employer understands perfectly well that a portfolio is an exhibition of your achievements, and not a report from daily creative searches.

In what order should you submit your work? You can chronologically - in this case, the recruiter will see all the stages of your development as a specialist. And you can - by genre, style or direction: in this case, it makes sense to place the best works at the beginning and end of the "folder" - taking into account the psychology of perception. How best is up to you.

What definitely should not be in the portfolio is your family photos. Surprisingly, according to recruiters, this recommendation is not in vain. Meanwhile, a picture with the caption "I'm with the cat Barsik in the country" is unlikely to contribute to a career.

Is it worth it to print?
Should I print my portfolio or is it enough to submit it electronically? There is no single answer to this question. If you have doubts about the convenience of an electronic portfolio for a particular employer, then it is better to play it safe and provide a printed version - successful projects often only benefit from high-quality printing.

Superjob wishes you a bright portfolio and brilliant employment!

The best way to "sell" yourself as a designer is to build yourself a quality portfolio. In it you reflect your work and attract customers. Every designer should have a portfolio. If so, first ask yourself a few questions: How much time do you spend improving your portfolio? What do you think are the best works in it? One thing is for sure - no matter how your portfolio is presented, it can always be improved.

There is nothing more important than presenting the best of your work in a clear, attractive way. This article will help you achieve all of this. Below are 20 tips for creating the perfect portfolio. These tips are for both physical and online portfolios. Keep these tips in your mind. Sew in the comments what you think - I will be glad to receive a response.

Physical design portfolio

20. Size

One of the main questions to answer is how much work should your portfolio contain? A comprehensive portfolio needs at least 20 examples of your best work to make the best impression. Although practice shows that sometimes 5-6 really coolly designed best works are enough.

19. Relevant Examples

If you are applying for the position of a staff designer, it is better to include examples that are relevant to the position. If, for example, you want to get a job as a web designer, then showing a set of logos to a potential employer will not work. Real or fictional sites and prototypes are what you need ideally.
Reference image: http://www.behance.net/gallery/14739489/PASCAL-QUIGNARD

18. Context

A designer or artist must be able to create graphics that are appropriate for the task. You must be able to understand the brief well. If you have single pictures in your portfolio, add context to them. Where did these images come from? How did the idea come about? What was your train of thought? Anything that supports the concept of an image is a must for inclusion in a portfolio.

17. Work for pleasure

A portfolio should include more than just work for clients. Design should also be your hobby. Post your own projects, because they often turn out to be much more interesting than commissioned work.

16. Keep It Fresh

As experience grows, so does the portfolio, replenishing with more and more new projects. This does not mean that the portfolio should contain all the work. Periodically clean it up, leaving only the best and freshest work.

15. Examples

A portfolio is more than just your work. Very good. when there are recommendations. Highlight them fatter and attach to the work. Moreover, sew transcripts and cases for works, often they also serve as a plus. All this shows your capabilities. If suddenly you ever find yourself without a job, ask at the previous place for recommendations, they always help.

14. Step back

Look at your portfolio from a third-person perspective. Look at it with an experienced eye, instead of waiting for criticism from real customers. It is very important that you know your strengths and weaknesses. Based on this, you can prioritize how to improve and practice graphics.

13. Demonstration of skills

Think of a portfolio as a creative biography. You need to impress, show that you are a professional. Make a solid note as your professional skills course including communication and especially meeting deadlines. Try to give the impression that your skills include communication and meeting deadlines.

12. Sell yourself

What other creative talents do you have? Are you a good photographer? Or even a singer? You need to let your potential employer know about your other creative abilities as well.

(picture from http://lizz.es/)

11. Portfolio Indexing

When you're reading a book, or skimming through it, or surfing another site, you tend to bookmark or favorite pages of interest. That is exactly what your potential employer will do. This is easy to do - make sure all pages have numbers (websites have unique URLs).

Online Portfolio

10. Platform

To build your portfolio online, there are several options. If you want a clean, personalized space, you can simply buy a domain and build a website for yourself. Or just set up a WordPress site yourself. If you are not ready to spend so much effort, try special sites, for example,.

9. Goals

You need to make sure that you understand the purpose of creating an online portfolio. Is it a means of feedback? Or is it for employment? The answers to these questions will help you better set up your portfolio and increase your chances of success.

8. Be selective

You don't have to post all of your work online. Be selective - choose the best ones and different examples. Nobody has to see everything. You have to make people want more, that's what your portfolio is supposed to do.

7. Present your work carefully

An illustrator from London says: “Lay out your work neatly. The same wishes for an online portfolio as for a physical one: you have to tell a story and show projects so that a common flow is created and everything interacts. If that means the old project has to be removed and replaced with a new one, so be it."

6. Show, don't tell

A website, like a business card, says a lot about you. More precisely, it reveals a lot about you. You need to make sure your visitors get the first positive visual experience before they start reading.

5. Constantly update

It is very important to constantly replenish the portfolio with new works. If you leave your site without an update for a few months, people will no longer want to buy what is already hosted there.

4. Update fast

You need an effective design in order to update your portfolio regularly. It should be easy, two or three clicks, no more. If not, then you will get tired of posting new pictures due to the complexity of the process.

3. Photos of printed projects

Have you thought about showing your printed work in an online portfolio? Take a good camera, position your work in good light, use equipment if necessary. Make sure the photos come out really well, otherwise the audience won't be able to appreciate the finesse.

2. Marking

Publish your work online. This will allow your clients and visitors to link to your work when they talk about you.

1. How did you work?

It is important to show the final product. But more importantly, show how you managed to achieve the final product. Give your clients an idea of ​​how you made the details

» »

actors, models, TV presenters.

Description

Tell about yourself with this website template. Any element changes according to your desire. The main page uses anchor links that will help you easily navigate through the main blocks: bio, resume, gallery and contacts. The summary consists of three pages, you can add more or remove any. Place detailed information about your work, for example, in cinema, theater and television: simply replace the texts, photos and videos of the template with your own.

Price: Free

The best way to sell yourself well is to create the perfect portfolio. A portfolio is a reflection of the results of your work, your work. A good portfolio is very important to attract clients. A designer simply must have a portfolio.

And, if you agree with that, ask yourself a few questions. How much time are you willing to spend improving your portfolio? Are you sure you are using your best work? One thing I can say for sure.

It doesn't matter if your portfolio is digital or paper. The main thing is to keep improving it.

As your career progresses, you will realize that nothing is more important than presenting the best of your work in a clear and compelling way. This article will help you do just that.

Here are 20 tips and examples for creating the perfect designer portfolio. These tips are divided into tips for paper and online portfolios. If you want to be a leader in this business, keep these tips in mind.

And yes. Your opinion is important to us. Your comments are welcome.

Paper portfolios

20. Volume

When working on a design portfolio, the first question to answer is the amount of work it should contain.

For a comprehensive portfolio, you'll need at least 20 of your best work to make the right impression.

19. Suitable examples

If you are applying for a full-time position, it is best to include suitable examples of work in your portfolio. You must be sure that the examples are relevant to the position you are applying for.

If you are applying for a digital artist position, you must submit digital drawings. Sketches made with a pencil will not work here:

18. Context

Whether you are a designer or an artist, it doesn't matter. Because in any case, you will have to create graphics based on briefs from creatives. You will need to be able to interpret the brief carefully.

If your portfolio has scattered images, this is not enough. You need to provide them in context. Where did these paintings come from? How was the idea formed? What is the chain of thought?

Anything that can help unlock the concept of the images should be included in the portfolio.

17. Work for pleasure

Even if you are in the process of creating a portfolio for a specific contract or position, include more than just commissioned work. After all, a designer is not only a job, but also a hobby, right?

You can include any work in your portfolio. If, for example, you're an illustrator looking for freelance work, having projects you've done not commissioned will definitely help.

16. Expiry date

As you gain new experience over time, your work will also change. This does not mean that it is worth putting new works on top of old ones.

Depending on how much new work you're doing, it's worth cleaning up and updating your portfolio from time to time.

A portfolio is not just a collection of your design work. It is worth highlighting some recommendations in bold. Insert them directly on top of the work. Moreover, recommendations in real life will help even more.

All this shows your capabilities. It doesn't matter where or when you left your job. Make sure you get on great terms with your colleagues and ask them for recommendations. Recommendations always help.

14. Step back

You can view your portfolio from a third person perspective. Surely you already had experience when more experienced employees looked at your portfolio, and you expected their criticism.

It is very important that you know your strengths and weaknesses. Based on this, you will be able to prioritize the growth and practice of working with graphics.

13. Show off your best

Think of a portfolio like your creative biography. This does not mean that you should only show your designs. You need to give the impression that you are a professional.

Emphasize that you are a professional in everything. Both in communication skills and in meeting deadlines.

12. Sell yourself

What other talents do you have? Maybe you are a good photographer? Or a singer? Let your future employer know about all your creative options, not just the main ones:

11. Portfolio with indexes

When you read a book, or flip through it, or browse a website, you mark pages of interest or bookmark them.

Imagine your employer would do the same. Make it easy for people - number the pages.

Online portfolio

10. Platform

There are several options for publishing your online portfolio. In the case where you need a clean, personalized portfolio space, you simply buy a domain and ask someone to create a website for you.

Or install WordPress and customize it for yourself. If the above is beyond your power, IM Creator is at your service.

9. Set goals

You should make sure that you understand the need for an online portfolio. What is the purpose of your portfolio? Feedback? Or employment?

Answering these questions will help you better customize your portfolio and increase your chances of success.

8. Be selective

Don't post most of your work online. Be selective. Choose the best of your work. Make sure they display the most of your options. Don't show everything at once.

Make people want to see more of your work. This is exactly what you should do with your online portfolio:

7. Edit

Malika Favre, an illustrator based in London, puts it this way: Curate your work. An online portfolio should keep the same pace as a print portfolio: you have to tell a story.

Arrange your projects so that they flow from each other, complement each other. If the old project has to be removed to fit the new story, then so be it."

6. Don't talk - show

A website is like a business card - says a lot about you. And more precisely, it shows. Therefore, you must be sure that visitors to your site will first see what you want to say, rather than read it.

5. Update

An important task in developing a portfolio is to regularly update it with your latest work. If you leave your site without updating even for a few months, people will not buy what you have already hosted.

4. Possibility of fast updates

You need a site design that allows you to quickly, in two or three clicks, add new works and delete old ones. If updates take too long, you will get tired of doing them regularly, as you will be loaded with current work.

3. Portfolio in the form of photos

Have you ever thought about how your printed work will look on the website? Find a good camera, set up a light and shoot. Make sure the photo looks realistic. Otherwise, no one will appreciate the grace.

2. Names

Give names to your work that you publish online. This will allow your future clients to easily refer to examples of what they want to see as a result.

1. How do you work?

It is important to show that you are getting the job done. But what is often more important is to show how you do it. Let the client enter the creation process. This will give your customer the opportunity to feel happy.

Reading time: 18 minutes

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From this article you will learn:

• What is a portfolio
• What are the main types of portfolio
• How to make a portfolio
• What to consider in its preparation for the designer
• How to make a photography portfolio
• How to make a portfolio on the stock exchange

A story about a company, a person (designer, freelancer) is just a set of beautiful phrases if it is not supported by examples. A portfolio is a passport of a person of a creative profession, his visiting card, without which one cannot enter the world of serious clients. Therefore, it is important to be able to correctly design it. Here are examples of a portfolio, how to avoid mistakes in its compilation.

What is a portfolio

What is hidden behind this foreign word? Surely you have noticed that today, when applying for a job, candidates for a position are increasingly required to bring a portfolio, namely a selection of examples of the most successful work, projects and achievements in their field.

Far from any specialist needs such a dossier, for example, what is it for a nurse, driver or call center operator? In the same way, a resume for a personnel manager, a sales consultant or an accountant is quite enough.

If this is true, who needs to have a portfolio?

Usually it is asked from representatives of creative professions: actors, fashion models, journalists, artists, designers, architects, copywriters, photographers, stylists. The fact is that only by their work can one judge the level of professionalism, creative talent, and creativity of thinking.

It is also worth mentioning professions for which a portfolio is not mandatory, but with its help, the applicant can stand out from the rest of the applicants for the position.

Suppose, among the successes of a lawyer, there should be examples of won lawsuits, a teacher should have the development of methodological recommendations, publications on the experience of using innovative teaching methods. A programmer should talk about the programs he developed, websites, applications, give an example of a program code.

Main types of portfolio

• Printed portfolio.

This is the most traditional option, that is, a folder with examples of work. Its advantage is that it is convenient to go to interviews with it, and the employer immediately sees all your best achievements.

Special folders are sold in regular office supply stores. Do not forget to include information about yourself in the first file: name, education, work experience, contact information.

Next, arrange the best, in your opinion, of the examples - so you can immediately make the necessary impression. If the size of the work is too large, there is no need to invent anything, just take a picture of it and attach a picture.

How to post samples? Most often they are laid out in chronological order or by style and genre. The second option is preferred as it provides a more structured presentation.

If you are a designer, artist, architect, and you have a sketchbook (album for sketches, creative ideas), choose the most successful things in it and also put them in your portfolio as examples.

Applicants for non-creative areas can provide, as a self-presentation, documents indicating the level of their professionalism, that is, certificates, diplomas, licenses, diplomas, letters of recommendation, patents for inventions, publications in thematic publications.

• Electronic portfolio.

The electronic version of the portfolio differs from the traditional one only in that it is drawn up in digital form. In other words, its basis is also information about the applicant and examples of work.

When creating such a dossier, Microsoft Word, MS PowerPoint, and an HTML editor are used. It is best to have an example portfolio on a disk or flash card.

As practice shows, you should not send it by e-mail, since unscrupulous employers are often found in the labor market who are ready to appropriate the fruits of your creativity.

• Online portfolio.

A portfolio posted on your own website always looks very advantageous. In order for a potential employer to look at examples of work in advance and get an idea of ​​\u200b\u200byour qualifications, give a link to your resource in your resume. It should also be placed on your business card, in an ad on the freelance exchange, on forums.

We advise you not to neglect special services where applicants can post their online portfolios. The main thing is that the resource you choose should have convenient functionality that can provide access to all information: resumes, cover letters, contact information. Group data in a way that makes it easy to use.

Another possible option for posting works is social networks. To do this, you only need to create a separate album and give a link to it to potential customers. This option is more suitable for people of those professions whose skills are easy to assess from photographs, that is, designers, artists, photographers.

4 stages of compiling a portfolio

1. Highlight areas that you would like to highlight in your portfolio. For example, for a copywriter, the following are suitable: commercial offers, texts for websites, naming, slogans, and for a photographer: reportage photography, portraits, wedding photography.
2. Select your best work and average quality projects for each of the areas. Usually there are 10-20 papers per block of the dossier. This volume is quite enough to give the client an idea of ​​your skills.
3. Think beautiful design. So, a freelance copywriter should prepare one .doc file with all his commercial offers or create separate files for each text. The main thing is that they have the right design. Another option is to create separate folders for work in each area.
4. Place your portfolio on the Internet, on your personal website, upload it to a flash card or disk. It is better to always keep it with you so that you can be ready for a chance meeting with a potential client at any time.

When creating a portfolio with examples of work, the question always arises: which ones to indicate? If you are just starting out as a freelancer, you need to include all of your projects. So far, quantity is working for you, since you probably have not reached the “quality of a guru”. Therefore, you need to convince the customer that you already have experience and a lot of ready-made projects.

If you already have a thousand or two written news, articles, hundreds of existing sites in your piggy bank, of course, you need to choose the most interesting examples from the whole variety. And it is not difficult, because you are a professional and you know exactly where you showed yourself best.

But do not unnecessarily embellish your creative biography. The dossier should contain both the best projects and works of an average level. It is important for the client to understand what quality materials you can give out on an ongoing basis, and not just in cases where creative insight descends on you.

Designer portfolio examples

For a designer, a portfolio is the most important thing, because it is thanks to him that customers can find out about the level of professionalism of a specialist. The best places for placement are the Internet, a personal site.

We have collected the most unusual and creative examples of portfolio websites. Already from the first page it becomes clear that we have a professional, a master of his craft. Here you can easily find bright graphics, beautiful fonts, great illustrations, dynamics and ideas.

Due to HTML5, scripts and other technical tools, a website is obtained that will definitely be appreciated by designers, web developers and, especially, ordinary users.

TOP-5 designers for creating a designer portfolio

• Do not overdo it.

Too much creativity is no better than a boring dossier. Instead of being overly creative, talk about what the client's challenge was and how you accomplished it. To do this, show the prototype, interaction with the customer (screenshots of letters), the resulting result. At the end, attach a testimonial and a photo of the client.

If the latter agrees, it is worth indicating the cost of the project so that potential customers can imagine further costs.

It’s bad if your very beautiful site lacks logic. Discard animation and other special effects if you haven't thought of everything properly. Initially, a weak project will not save anything.

• Don't do designer work.

On Behance, 80% of the work is seen by designers, and only 20% of the views come from clients, and mostly from abroad. In other words, it is a specialized social network for designers.

Of course, no one will forbid you to post your work there, but until you get to the TOP, it is unlikely that large foreign companies will notice you and entrust you with a big project that can turn your life around. Usually, posts on Behance turn into chasing likes from colleagues, but you definitely won’t be able to earn money that way.

• Set the right goal.

In theory, the right goal is new orders, which means new money. Another goal is also possible: to surprise friends, people and comrades in the workshop - here we return to the conversation about "Behance". You must decide for yourself that the second way is not interesting to you. If you do not agree with us, you can close the article, because then we will talk about achieving the first goal.

5 typical portfolio mistakes of young designers

If you look through the thousands of example dossiers of novice designers posted on the Web, you can see the shortcomings that are typical for every second.

1. Indication of your age.




It may seem strange, but web designers often post this information on the Web. They feel like they need to make the page more personal, and specifying the age is the easiest way. As a result, we constantly see: "I'm a 22-year-old web designer from Papua New Guinea."

Of course, this is not the worst of the existing errors, but it just screams that we are dealing with a beginner. It's unlikely that anyone would be proud to be a 43 year old web designer. Only youth considers age one of its assets.

Venerable designers boast only of their experience. It may look like this: “I have been creating websites for various companies for over 10 years,” and this is really a figure that should be proud of.

In fact, you have rather mixed feelings when you read information about the age: what is it for? Do you want to be invited to the project for your talent and experience, or just because you have beautiful numbers of the year of birth? If you're not ready to be judged based on your age, why are you mentioning it?

Remember: a potential client will think twice about ordering services from a contractor only when he sees his age. Even if you are incredibly talented, the age in your portfolio will easily turn off many people. We would definitely not entrust the development of the site to a 20-year-old specialist.

The customer does not care how old you are, what type of computer mouse you prefer, how long ago you bought new sneakers. Therefore, tell us what exactly you are doing, illustrate your words with convincing examples. And now we come to the second mistake.

2. Demonstration of school projects.




Let's say you recently graduated from high school, college, or any other institution, meaning you have no experience in working with clients. It is best at this stage to create the simplest site, it will act as an example. Believe me, most potential customers will not object to this approach, especially when your inexperience is complemented by a low price.

Once you've successfully completed a few projects and can use them to present yourself, it's best to put away your student work. Otherwise, at any moment you can find yourself in an awkward position when the client will look at your projects and think: “He really is good! But what is it, student work? He is a beginner, I will look for a real professional!”

So many double standards here! Even when they like your work, a person can be repelled by the very fact that they are student work, because this indicates your inexperience. It's a shame? Not! Fair? Also no. But this is the usual course of events.

3. Lack of confidence.

There are situations in which modesty becomes an ornament, but not during the presentation of examples of their work. Really talented inexperienced designers often fail to present their services to a potential customer beautifully, speaking in short, slurred phrases.

“I'm just getting started” or “I hope one day I'll achieve...” - all these phrases destroy the consumer's confidence in your ability to deliver great projects. If you yourself do not tell the client that he is just an amazing designer, believe me, he is unlikely to be able to guess at a glance.

From your text, a potential customer receives only a fraction of information, but they can be important when choosing. If you are not confident in your own skills, you will simply lose the client, or he will take advantage of your weakness. The result is more work for less pay.

But there is a downside to the coin, when confidence turns into arrogance. If self-confidence literally “splashes” from your portfolio, the client will disappear just as quickly as if there was no confidence. You need to find a balance in this matter. On the one hand, the client must understand from your speech and examples that you are a really cool designer, but you can’t brag about it.

Perhaps the most convenient way to do this is to let the work speak for itself. If it is actually done brilliantly, the customer himself will believe that you are good at your job.

4. Grammar.




Most designers face great difficulties here. This may seem strange, because many specialists in this field blog, write more often than develop websites. However, in their texts, anyone can detect a grammatical error.

In fact, we are now raising a very serious topic, which is worth paying attention to many, not only designers.

Of course, the world will not collapse if you make up a story about yourself from continuous participles, or if there is a pretext at the end of the sentence. But we advise you to first make sure that an outsider can read your thoughts without wondering how you could get a certificate.

The designers with whom we often communicate are striving to rectify the situation, however, for many of them, the Russian language can hardly be called a strong point. Unfortunately, this is immediately evident from the examples of their completed portfolio.

Mistakes are dangerous if you only speak one language. And if you own at least a couple of foreign ones, you can be called a unique person. But you should understand: even speaking fluently in German or French, not everyone will be able to write a quality text “About Me”.

Therefore, as soon as you want to prepare a self-presentation in several languages, seek the help of a specialist. Yes, you will have to pay for his services, but you will get a good translation.

5. Blogging neglect.




Often when a designer starts a new blog, they are enthusiastic and take care to update the information frequently. At the first stages, you publish posts, give useful practical advice, show examples of your work, but after a few months, your excitement disappears, you relax and see how the blog has become useless and uninteresting.

It is highly likely that you have not taken into account the message that everyone who views the examples of work in your creative dossier will see. What does a person do when they visit a blog? Looks at the date of the last post, because this way you can quickly understand how useful and relevant the information in it is.

The client does not see new articles, notices a dismissive attitude, and immediately begins to doubt your competence, that you are able to complete projects. It may well be that you have long found yourself a stable job, giving up the field of freelancer.

As you can see, a blog is a great addition to your creative dossier, but it's useless if you don't work on it properly. The way out of the situation is simple: either you must consistently devote part of the time to compiling quality content, or immediately abandon this idea.

It is not necessary to write posts daily, even every week you do not need to do this. Try to post something once a month, so you can interest the visitors of your resource.

If you're creating a blog, make it a place to share knowledge, spread information, and measure traffic. There is no need to post photos of your cats in it and thoughts about delicious coffee from the nearest coffee shop. This is purely personal content and should not be taken professionally.

How to create a portfolio for a photographer

What are your thoughts on this work? Do you need to make the main tool of a photographer, without which a client cannot be found? No, although such a dossier is useful, it is better not to think about it.

Decide in what sequence to work, who will be the first to see your work, what a person should think, feel, so that you want to collaborate with him. Guidelines for compiling such self-presentations usually call for choosing the best examples of work.

We offer a different approach: think, decide, make a selection, think again, design and show.

Be prepared for the fact that the creation of such a self-presentation will require your time, effort, financial investment. Therefore, do not rush, it is better to compose it taking into account the viewer, and not your capabilities, because they will grow:

1. it takes time to master technical skills, and you have it;
2. it takes desire to capture the missing shots, and it will definitely appear, because you are minding your own business.

Much more important is the theme that can unite the work, original style. We will try to simplify your task by describing the sequence of actions:

1. Studying the target audience.

Even good examples of photo portfolios do not evoke enthusiastic emotions in every viewer, which is quite normal, because not every visitor is a potential client, there are also those who:

• just like to look;
• interesting to discuss/condemn;
• like it but won't buy it.

So look for people who, having seen your work, will say: “What you need! When can we talk about cooperation?” With your dossier, you need to remove the curious from your own environment and attract those who are willing to pay for the work.

How to do it? You need to study all the characters in this situation, and you should start by drawing up a portrait of the client. Disassemble such characteristics: age, field of work, social status, financial and emotional data, if these indicators also play a role for you.

Think about the person's hobbies, his habits, problems, desires, including hidden ones, if the customer himself is not ready to confess. In some cases, it is necessary to think over the appearance, favorite dishes, music and clothes, attitude to cosmetics, the presence of a car.

Separately, consider important dates for a person, the traditions of his people. As you can see, the criteria are very diverse. They, like a mosaic, form the image of the target audience, allowing you to choose the volume, direction, style of the dossier.

1. Selection of pictures.

The scope of work has been chosen, the audience is known, it's time to select personnel, it remains only to understand which ones are needed and in what quantity? There is no hard and fast rule here, but you can use the comments of experts:

• Quality.

It is important for you to show the customer that all your work is equally good, as this speaks of professionalism. Forget about the popular belief that two photos are important: the first and the last, because between them there are low-quality frames posted only to increase the overall volume.

Your photos must have a general technical performance or style (not stylization). There is an opinion that one bad job can spoil the impression of hundreds of good ones, which is evidenced by the social networks VKontakte, Instagram. It is important that the examples attract the eye, evoke an emotional response in a person. All this cannot be given by mediocre shots.

• Quantity.

It is optimal to include 20 works in the dossier. But it is better to make a selection, having at least a hundred in front of you. Stop at the 30-40 best pictures, in your opinion, and give them to friends or relatives for judgment. The main thing is that these people understand this kind of art and look like a portrait of your target audience.

Feel free to discard those frames that could not evoke emotions. Do not worry if you have not 20, but, say, 12, 21 photos, because the optimal size is not a strict requirement, this is just a useful recommendation.

For self-selection of works, forget about the numbers. The most important thing at this stage is to imagine where the client recognizes himself (since we “try on” the images we see), what opinion he will have about the specialist. It is important for the customer to be confident in you, so he studies portfolio samples with examples. Those who like them ask about money.

1. Format selection.

• Digital portfolio.

Pictures in this format have a lot of advantages: you do not depend on geography, save time, effort, and potential customers can independently view examples of your work, because those are available around the clock, and the presence of the author is not required.

But this great option has one technological drawback. Devices are different, their screens usually do not go through colorimetric adjustment, and, most annoyingly, an electronic photo is a screen glow, and paper photos, like everything we see in the real world, are reflected light.

It remains only to come to terms with this, to choose one / a number of options in addition to the material carrier.

• Personal site.

Advantages:

Confidence. Often, those who do not understand the design of sites are well aware of the costs, the intentions of those involved in the development and updates. Usually, customers prefer examples of work from the portfolio on the site, and not in social networks.

Independence. You do not adapt to the moderators, their emotions, rules, technical limitations, you are not afraid of legal juggling in the user agreement. Of course, there are situations when everything is very difficult, but most often the service does not owe anything, the photographer is nobody.

Versatility. You do not need to create an account, enter personal data and use any services. You simply collect all the information about yourself in a single project: contact details, price list, the most relevant questions for customers, reviews.

Quality control. This item applies to images. The client sees your creative dossier at its best, without noticeable distortion, as well as the rest of the site. For example, some need comments, while others don't need them.

Attention management. In your project, you get complete freedom. Try to use different presentation schemes, using the most suitable sequence, viewing speed, remove all distractions in the interface.

Flaws:

For a long time. It should be understood: the site is a separate project, so it takes time to prepare, create, implement. Separately, it should be said about tests, making changes, promotion, regular monitoring and improvements, such as updating examples, structures.

Expensive. Development and support require investments, and when you order creation from a third-party company, the costs will be considerable. As a result, you will have to study (that is, spend not only finances, but also time resources) or endlessly pay for the services of a hired specialist.

A responsibility. Of course, you are your own boss, but do not forget about one serious limitation, namely the legislation of the Russian Federation.

• Social networks.

Advantages:

Fast. It will take you no more than an hour to set up an account, post works, set up a page / community. You will spend a couple more hours on mastering the advertising account, without which work in social networks is useless.

Is free. This advantage is debatable.

Flaws:

Lack of freedom of action. You depend on leadership, promotion, audience. The user agreement, for example, changes without agreement with the user of the resource. The photographer is deprived of the opportunity to remove the data if he has to change the site (the “delete” button is nominal).

Restrictions. Viewing is open even for unregistered users (unless you yourself close access for them), but you can only communicate with the photographer from your account. It’s easy to post examples of your work here, but you can’t work with the quality and order of displaying images.

fragility. Blocking social media is just becoming an actual trend. Under the influence of politics and augmented reality, domestic sites will disappear or lose their former glory.

• Photosites.

Advantages:

Status. In the portfolio on PhotoVogue, photos go through the editors of Vogue.It. On "MyWed" you can see the image of a wedding photo from Runet. Behance is an association of creative people and employers from all over the world, where consumer confidence is formed through the approval of like-minded people.

Quality. The color profile is not deleted from the file, the optimal size of the photo for the Internet, colors, detailing is preserved. Therefore, here you can safely place a dossier with examples of work.

Is free, which cannot but rejoice.

Flaws:

Addiction. Now you are dependent on the owners of the photosite. It is not known how long the portal will exist, what changes it will undergo over time, what will happen if your customers cannot get used to the new design.

Uniformity. It is impossible to adjust the layout, design to your tastes, start using new technology, since the entire technical component is hidden from the author. Of course, often this is even for the better, but the restriction is always perceived as a minus.

• Slide show.

Advantages:

Is free. This is a relative advantage, since you still have to pay for normal software. There are free solutions outside of "Windows" such as "Linux", but it takes time to get used to this operating system. Then you will have to select a program, understand its intricacies. As you understand, this is a controversial advantage.

Qualitatively. The only limitation is sRGB (photographers already take it into account: when printing, publishing on the Web, viewing from devices). Everything else is limited only by experience or choice: to pinch or not (photos and videos).

attention management. It all depends on your imagination. You can control the attention, mood of a potential client. You will definitely need the skills of a builder, director, designer, marketer, psychologist.

Flaws:

uncomfortable. Any portfolio must be updated, which is not possible when choosing a slide show. That is, if you need to change something, for example, the order, you will have to create a new project. In essence, this work – This is building a house of cards.

Waste of time. On the one hand, you need to master the software, choose the appropriate plot, speed, music, on the other hand, this option is not interesting to anyone, its time has passed.

• Photo archive.

Advantages:

Missing. This is not a portfolio in the truest sense of the word.

Flaws:

In general, this is the wrong approach.

Perhaps it used to make sense to send work to the customer by mail, only this option has nothing to do with the examples of ready-made portfolios that we talked about above. Today, it is impossible to demonstrate works in this way, it is necessary to prepare thematic collections. The viewer should see a complete product, and not an incomprehensible "vinaigrette".

An e-portfolio is part of an internet marketing strategy, and a photographer should develop it before even picking up a camera. Therefore, we advise you to evaluate the possibilities of each of the solutions, and not in a global sense, but in a narrower sense - for yourself.

• Printed portfolio.

The traditional option always looks elegant and solid, it is great for personal communication with a client, finding a mentor, visiting a colleague, if it is better to communicate outside the virtual world.

When viewing a classic printed album with examples of work, a person has tactile sensations, and without them it can be difficult to assess the real value of the work. Also, prints are required if the photographer wants to collaborate with agencies or magazines.

• Imprints.

Advantages:

Photo. Before us is a real photo, for which the paper, conditions and printing method are correctly selected. A person holds in his hands not a semi-finished product, but a full-fledged product, which is exhibited, fixed, decorated.

Tactile sensations. Without them, photography is quickly forgotten, because our information field is already overloaded, there is no need to keep one more abstract picture in memory. Another thing is if we touched it, felt the weight and texture.

Visibility in reflected light. This is the most familiar way of perceiving information from the surrounding world, it is for them that traditional photography is valuable, even if modern devices are capable of reproducing large color gamuts.

Flaws:

Expensive. It all depends on the size, printing method and type of paper, but the average cost ranges from 40-50 to 900 rubles per A4 print. If you regularly update your dossier, replace damaged photos, you will face costs equal to the average budget lens.

short-lived. It's all about paper though. Accidentally spilled water, an overturned cup of coffee - and the picture is hopelessly damaged, costs increase.

Personal contact. The traditional option of demonstrating examples of work must be able to be presented in order to interest the customer. A photographer needs qualities such as communication skills, experience in marketing, so you will have to work on self-education in this area.

• Passepartout prints.

Advantages:

Durability. The cardboard base retains the print better, since it is not afraid of kinks and chips, but for absolute protection from moisture and ultraviolet radiation, you need a complete design (baguette and glass). Looks and is expensive.

visual perception. Passe-partout is not a piece of cardboard, but a separate artistic element that allows you to control the visual perception of the work. You just have to choose the right size and color.

The final look of the photo. There is a museum design standard that achieves 200 years of print preservation and aesthetic viewing pleasure. This is an ideal example of a portfolio design for a mature author, owner of a photography studio.

Flaws:

Dimensions. Due to the design, the weight and size of the prints increase significantly, which is not always convenient, especially when it comes to a meeting outside the photo studio. As you understand, your own premises are a prerequisite for demonstrating such a dossier.

Price. Quality is expensive, the price of the museum version is even higher.

• Photobooks.

Advantages:

Comfortable. Usually they are packed in "boxes", which are easy to take to a meeting or pass on for review. You can also choose the format you want.

original. The book becomes an element of the brand. You have no restrictions on layout, paper, and all standards are deeply conditional and exist only for those who do not want to use a creative approach.

Flaws:

Collage. A photo book and a photo album are two different things. There is no scene in the book, no understanding of the plot, free space is decorated, due to which unnecessary visual noise is created. Photobooks are only suitable for continuous shooting.

Price. A quality product is expensive, packaging is even more expensive. As a result, the price of printing is lower than the cost of production: the photographer does not pay for the view, he invests in production, despite the fact that he needs a portfolio.

fragility. Usually, poor quality printing is used, which the author is not warned about, because he will throw the book away much earlier: the frame is outdated, it cannot be updated. If you want to add, print again.

Inconvenient format. It cannot be updated, it cannot be considered with the customer: even a frame that fits on a spread is small. For the studio, such a dossier is also not very suitable, because it cannot be hung on the wall.

The printed album always looks beautiful, it is durable, but it has one inevitable drawback: it is not clear what to do with outdated photographs. With electronic photos, everything is simple - they can be deleted, but what to do with printing? We advise you to simply give: please those who are in the frame and those who like your work.

Of course, everyone has different genres and styles, but try to combine different formats, types and versions. Do not forget about the portrait of your target audience in order to stop the interest of those who are not ready to pay for your services in time.

1. Design choice.

The first stage of registration is the choice of format. It is most convenient to look at pictures 20x30 (A4) from the hands, if we are talking about a printed version of the demonstration of examples of work. Basic design, a passe-partout is not always appropriate, a folder made of leatherette or leather with transparent files is better.

You can choose ready-made solutions (on the Internet and beyond), but we advise manual work, because it frees your imagination from the framework. But do not get carried away, because the lurid design is dangerous, and not because your taste will not be appreciated, you just need to show photos without distracting the viewer.

It is difficult to talk about the design of books - many photographers do not like them.

The electronic version does not need a design, this is its charm. On the contrary, it needs to be cleaned up: to get rid of advertising on social networks, unnecessary buttons and ads on photo sites, and small garbage that we ourselves flood personal sites with.

Look at the pictures and the portrait of the target audience: what spoils the viewing experience? When designing, you need to show only what the client would like to see and reproduce at a higher level, and not all of your skills. Remember: the design of the dossier speaks about your taste.

1. Update.

The photographer hones his skills, finds new solutions, so the portfolio should reflect this. Here one cannot do without self-criticism, "the ability to draw one's own" (F. M. Dostoevsky). However, it is a mistake to thoughtlessly remove the old for the sake of the new, because the date of manufacture is not a criterion for selection.

The photographer needs to imagine what new pictures are still needed for the dossier, what will change after such “edits”.

How often to update?

• The frequency of updates is an indicator of the stability, completeness of the project. If edits are made every day, then the work is being done to maximize audience coverage. The price of such a project is low, but the value is not worth talking about.
• The schedule of updates, in principle, cannot exist. As soon as a valuable shot appears, it must be included in the dossier, if this does not happen, you need to continue to work. A snapshot is not a fixed result, but a share of luck.
• When updating, you need to work on quality, not quantity. Sometimes instead of three frames you insert one, the total volume decreases, but the picture becomes clearer, which is most valuable.

With the help of a competent update, it is possible to highlight the basis, photographs that attract attention, testify to the skill of the artist. They bring a customer who is interested in a specific author, and not the price of the issue.

How to select pictures? In answer to this question, we will give our opinion, but you can stick to other options:

• Ignore fashion. Instagram loves seasonal trends, but the social network has nothing to do with artistic photography. Think about what is valuable for your client, publish timeless photos in which the client will find himself.
• Durability–basic feature. Passage shots or sketch frames will not be able to please for many years. Refuse to post them even on social media, try to talk only about what is meaningful and valuable.
• Post pictures you forgot. If you liked the work, hide it for a month, six months, a year, then your emotions, thoughts associated with the frame will disappear. If you still find the photo interesting, publish it, if not, just throw it away.

Photographer Portfolio Examples

How to make a portfolio on the stock exchange

On many exchanges, you can enter the name of the work, a short comment (about 300 characters), put a photo and give a link to the source. For a portfolio of a graphic designer, as an example, you can put a screenshot of a personally designed site. But what about journalists?

In the same way: put a screenshot of the page with the article. For large text, take a picture of only a part, then attach a link to the original. The programmer should describe the essence of the work in the comments, give a link to the site where you can see the action of the script or control system. You can also post a screenshot of the CMS admin panel.

Most of the freelance exchanges that currently exist allow you to specify a specialization. And for each direction, you can add examples of work. The main thing is to stick to one rule: for all declared types, you need to prepare at least one to three examples.

To clarify: a person needs to prepare an article, he is looking for a freelancer, he finds you, but there is not a single real example of work in the profile. How will the potential customer react? Find another artist.

Separately, let's talk about the number of attached works. Many exchanges maintain a rating of freelancers, where the position often depends on the number of examples attached. So, Free-Lance.ru gives about five points for one job, which means it is beneficial for freelancers to put as many examples as possible!

There are such dossiers, where more than a hundred, or even two hundred works are posted! But is it worth it to actively promote yourself? Of course, 20 works is already 100 points. But think about the customer who has to look through all this, and he is simply unable to work through such a volume of information. He will probably try to close such a portfolio as soon as possible.

There are other ways to improve your rating - use the following factors: attendance, customer reviews. In fact, they affect a freelancer's ranking and success even more than the sheer number of jobs.

We advise you to post up to 10-15 examples to fill out a portfolio in each direction. On the one hand, you will not overload your profile, and on the other hand, increase your rating by 50-75 points, and the customer will represent your abilities.

If the work is not enough, share. Suppose you are writing news for the portal, then do not put them in one paragraph, but display each text separately. As a result, you have not one job, but 10. No one will definitely mind, because everything is according to the rules. And the rating will rise not by five points, but immediately by 50.

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