A portfolio is a necessary tool for any professional photographer, and is often required for applying and submitting to art schools, galleries and museums. The portfolio is often the first impression an artist gets to make, and it is also used by selection committees when they decide whether to accept or reject a photographer. Arranging and putting together a professional portfolio requires more than selecting the best examples of your work -- you must also consider your audience, and present your work with the right support materials.
Instructions
1. Research the gallery, program or museum to which you plan to submit your work. Visit their website and, if possible, the location itself to see examples of the kind of work they have accepted in the past. Do they typically show traditional fine arts? Politically charged pieces? Abstract art? Consider the work you see already there when you choose your own submission pieces.
2. Select no more than 20 photos, keeping your audience in mind. Make sure that there is a consistent theme in your selections.
3. Ask a few other people, such as your art professors or fellow photographers, to review your selections and offer their opinions.
4. Contact the gallery, program or museum and inquire about their submission guidelines. Some places will accept a traditional portfolio; others will accept only digital submissions.
5. Prepare your prints for your portfolio. Choose only finished prints, and organize them by subject or style. Group horizontal and vertical images separately, and also separate black-and-white and color images.
6. Prepare an artist's statement and list of titles (table of contents) for your portfolio. If you are making a physical portfolio, print it out on good-quality paper.
7. Scan your images if you are making a digital portfolio, and organize them in a folder or on a CD, along with your artist's statement, a list of titles and contact information.
8. Sign, date, title, number and stamp each of your photos if you are making a physical portfolio. If your photos are printed on heavy fine-art paper, they don't need to be matted unless they will be framed right away. If your photos are printed on semigloss or glossy paper, you will need to mat them to prevent scratching. If you aren't sure mat, have it done professionally at a frame shop.
9. Organize your photos in a professional photography case. Include your artist's statement and table of contents at the beginning.
10. Place tissues between each of your photographs for travel, but remove them before showing your portfolio to a reviewer.
