Photography Portfolios

Transcription

1 Photography Portfolios

2 What We Will Cover Why have a portfolio, types of portfolios Selecting images and building the portfolio Using Digital Asset Management Portfolio media Receiving and giving feedback Practical exercises

3 Portfolios Why have one? Commercial photographer: You need it. Business tool Fine art photographer Showcase your art. Get work, shows, etc Focus the mind Hobbyist Fun Pride Focus the mind improve your game A vehicle for receiving feedback

4 Why Have More Than One? Different genres Difference projects (especially personal) Different customers

5 Selecting Portfolio Images Generically speaking your best images Technical quality Focus, sharpness, exposure, depth of field Meets some minimum image size Technique serves aesthetics Aesthetics Composition Background/foreground Emotion

6 Characteristics of Great Images * Dominant foreground, supporting background Dominant background, supporting foreground Emotion Dramatic lighting Framing Selective focus, DOF Symmetry Pattern, broken pattern Rule of thirds, golden mean Colour in monochromatic scene Silhouette Juxtaposition Motion, implied motion Symmetry Peak action, frozen motion Perspective, leading lines Decisive moment Reflection Story telling Want three or more of these characteristics * Inspired by similar list from Ottawa photographer Blair Gable

7 Great Sports Images Peak action Motion Emotion Iconic images for the sport (hopefully not cliché) Clean backgrounds Usually have the ball, puck in the image Sometimes irony or humour Big name athletes, personalities Event and context (fans, stadium, cheerleaders, etc)

8 Building the Portfolio General case more narrow focus, the better Caution: Narrow focus, but not repetitive (e.g. Too many portraits of same person) Commercial targeted to a customer Fine Art satisfying a project or client

9 How Many Images Less than 30 Even better less than 20 Ruthlessly cull images the portfolio is as bad as the worst image 10 of your best images is better than those 10 plus 5 more that are merely good.

10 Digital Asset Management (DAM) Digital Asset Management - Features Examples: Lightroom, Aperture Database to support searching, sorting EXIF, IPTC Ratings (0-5 stars) Labels Keywords Categories, Sets, Virtual folders Some support for image editing (parametric) Output to web, print, publishing Recommended: The DAM Book, Peter Krogh

11 Using DAM Effectively Apply basic metadata on import Make broad proofing image adjustments Rate photos using Rating Pyramid More extensive metadata and image adjustment are reserved for the highest rated photos Use keywords and/or categories to sort genres, projects, clients For portfolio selection or refresh Highest ratings in appropriate category Efficient workflow saves time and effort

12 Portfolio Media Printed media Electronic media Social media

13 Printed Media Bound book Many online printing services (Mpix, Bay Photo, Canadian options) Adobe Lightroom 4 Blurb Apple Aperture/iPhoto Apple Books Folder/folio with interchangeable prints You want to have consistency Paper and inks Fonts

14 Electronic Media Personal web site, gallery (manual, DAM) Photo blog Photo service web sites Zenfolio, Photoshelter, Smugmug Video of still images Slide show (PDF, DAM programs, etc) Tablet, ios/android apps - rotations Recommended: Get Your Photography On The Web, Rafael RC Concepcion

15 Social Media Special kind of electronic media Social media features Feedback via comments likes, favs Groups Examples: Flickr, Facebook, Pintrest, Google+, Tumblr, 500px Note that there are risks and issues T&C's, permanence and control, image quality

16 Who? Art directors, editors, clients Receiving Feedback Where Online and social media generally not useful Photography clubs, events, portfolio reviews Client sessions, gallery displays Other photographers, artists just ask! Not everyone's feedback has equal merit or quality Everyone has their own bias take grain of salt Seek understanding, don't debate, then thank them

17 Giving Feedback Explain your perspective, bias Give positive feedback first, then suggest improvements. Don't use the word... but... Ask if they have any questions or clarifications Encourage!

18 Fun! Exercise 1: Pick 5 images for portfolio to get hired by a sports media company Exercise 2: Pick 5 images for portfolio to show potential clients, minor hockey parents

19 References Building Photography Web Sites Get Your Photography on the Web: The Fastest, Easiest Way to Show and Sell Your Work, Rafael Concepcion Lightroom Plugins for Web Development The Turning Gate: Photographers Toolbox: Turnkey photo web hosting sites

20 References Digital Asset Management (DAM) The DAM Book, Peter Krogh Keywording in Lightroom