1.2 What Is a Portfolio?

In this lesson, we'll talk about what a portfolio is and we'll also look at an overview of the four main portfolio types and discuss their different purposes. So let's talk about what a portfolio is. A portfolios is a collection of your past work that represents your photographic focus as well as the type of work that you want to get in the future. It can be used as a tool to showcase your work and it demonstrates your abilities to your target market. It can take on many forms such as digital or printed, and many photographers choose to have more than one portfolio. So yes, you absolutely need a portfolio because, when done effectively, it can attract the type of work that you want. And it's advantages are many. It represents you. It opens up a dialogue between you and your target market about your work and your mission as a creative. Choosing the right type of portfolio for your personal goals is one of the most important decisions that you will need to make. So first we have the web portfolio, which is your images on your own website. The purposes and benefits of a solid web portfolio is that it's always there, and it's also easy to refer people to with a link. Generally it's expected that you have a web presence at minimum, because it is your online presence you want this web portfolio to allow your photos to be the star of the show. So, it's generally recommended that the design be clean and non intrusive, so that viewers can focus on looking at your work. Next, we have the PDF portfolio, which is a collection of your images in a multipage PDF. The purposes in benefits of a PDF portfolio is that it's easy to send to clients electronically, or refer them to it from your website. It's something that they can take with them. They can download it via email or get it from your site and look it over on their time. Next, you have the tablet portfolio which is a collection of your images on your tablet. The immediate purposes and benefits of a tablet portfolio is that it's portable and doesn't necessarily have to rely on an internet connection. If you're using a portfolio app, you can take it with you to show people one on one in person, and even allow the viewer to scroll through the photos at their own pace. And finally, we have the print portfolio. Now in the digital age, a well put together printed portfolio can arguably have the greatest impact simply because there's nothing like viewing high quality photos printed on high quality paper that's professionally presented in your encasement of your choice. It's great for presenting to reviewers. While it can take considerable effort to put together, it is traditional and has an impact all its own. Examples of print portfolios include hand made books, leather satchels, display cases and archival boxes with prints. Really the sky is the limit. And so, as you can see, you have a variety of ways to display your work in a portfolio. You want to choose the form that is the most appropriate for whoever will be viewing your work, and also for your brand. That brings us to the end of this lesson. In this lesson, we talked about the different portfolios and what their purposes and benefits are. In our next lesson, we'll look at the difference between putting together images for a general portfolio versus assembling images for a series.