A Photography degree alone cannot guarantee success and recognition in your field if you do not take the time and effort to build your photography portfolio. It is very important to have your own portfolio. You will need a portfolio to show to your future clients as a reference. This will serve as their basis for hiring you. How you will build your photography portfolio is something that you should take into consideration especially if you want a successful lifelong career in photography.
Here are some of the ways to build your photography portfolio that are worth trying.
1. Offer to shoot without asking any fee
As you are trying to build your portfolio, you will need subjects and there are no better subjects than your family and friends. Attend special events of your family and friends and offer to take photos free of charge. They will appreciate the offer, and you will be building your clientele as you do this.
2. Charge minimal rates
Once you feel you have done enough free shoots, it is time to start charging a small fee. At first, you might feel slightly uncomfortable accepting fees, but sooner or later as you will see your photography portfolio expands. You will make progress each time and soon the process will become natural to you.
3. Make sure you edit your photos
It is always essential to edit photographs. Even if the photos are taken for free or at a minimal rate, that does not mean you just deliver them to your clients without editing them. Later when you have gained a reputation for being a great photographer, all these beginning photos that you took when you were just starting out will stay with your subjects. Imagine if the photos were not edited and perhaps by chance you got to see them again. You definitely would not want to take a second look at them. When you are building your photography portfolio, website or blog, it is the quality that counts more than the quantity.
4. Organize your files well
Every time you are in your photo sessions always bear in mind that from all those shots, you should feature the best ones in your photography portfolio. To save time you need to organize your files by picking the ones that need to be in your portfolio after each session. These files should then be stored in a specific place and again on the external hard drive to serve as your back up. Categorize them into certain types such as weddings, birthdays, portraits, etc.
5. Solicit advice from the experts
Gaining expert opinion on your work can help you excel to the next level with your photography sills. Having an expert look over your work can help build your confidence as they examine what you have accomplished. However, you must also remember that you have your own style that there may be times when what you need is, trust your artistic sense and make the experts’ opinion as a second opinion.