1.3 Singles vs. Stories

In this lesson we will explore how editing for a single set of images, from a larger story, is different than the process of editing various images for a general portfolio. When choosing the shots to use, you will most likely encounter two common scenarios. In our first scenario, you will be putting together various images for a general portfolio. A common scenario for this, would be if you're going to show your work at a job interview. In this case, keep in mind that you may want to demonstrate your skill set range, and so you would select images from various shoots and scenarios that you've done. The viewer is able to get a feel for what you're capable of, as well as for your overall style. Okay, let's take a look at a portfolio that displays single images from several different shoots. Here I am ad davidbodephoto.com and I'm within his commercial gallery. And so scrolling down you'll see, that he has many images that display his range of capabilities within the commercial photography genre. They obviously come from different shoots and yet they communicate to potential clients that he is not only willing but more than capable of handling commercial photography assignments. Clients and reviewers will get a feel for his style as well as his experience, and if you select any one of the images you're able to look at it on an individual basis. Now, let's talk about the common second scenario. Editing for a single set of images that expresses a narrative. These are known as stories. This requires a different, more focused, approach. This can be for a specific series with a theme, and is commonly done when preparing work for submission to an art gallery, for example, where the images must relate to each other and express a narrative or story. These images can come from a single shoot or from a series of shoots that relate to each other. In this case, the goal is not to display your range of skills, but rather to show more concentration on the chosen subject matter, theme or concept behind the photos. It's important to keep these differences in mind when choosing the shots to include in your portfolio. Okay, now let's take a look at an example of a portfolio that utilizes a related series or story of images. I'm over here at Jessica Hooper's photography website, photos.smallbuteffective.com, and I'm within her Like Being Underwater gallery. And one big clue that this is a story of images, is that it has a title. One title for numerous images and, as I begin scrolling though the images, you'll see that they're from the same scene. And so while each shot varies, they're obviously from a similar location. There's a single unifying theme that ties all of these photos together. A lot of times you'll see a series of images that tell a story, within photo-journalistic photography for example, and so this gallery is different from David Bode's gallery and that she's telling a story with her photos, as opposed to having multiple, single shots from different shoots. And this is Jessica Cooper's style. There's no one style that's better than another. It's best that you know before you put your portfolio together, whether you prefer to shoot stories or single shots from several photo shoots. Many photographers go into this without thinking about it. They just naturally gravitate towards one or the other. However, I challenge you to be crystal clear on your style of shooting and how your photos relate to each other. That brings us the end of this lesson. In this lesson we talked about the difference between selecting photos for a general portfolio versus selecting images for a focused, narrative based portfolio. We also took a quick look at two separate portfolios that display the difference between the two styles. In our next lesson we'll talk about how to set goals and craft a vision for your portfolio.