Putting Together a Modeling Portfolio
The Planning Stage:
The first thing you will want to carefully consider is what type of modeling you intend to do, and more to the point, what type you are best suited for. Naturally, you will want to lean heavily on your main category when you are putting your photos together. This is where the reality of your capabilities starts to come in. For instance, if you are not quite tall enough for runway/high fashion modeling, you won't want to go to the trouble of including these types of images in your portfolio. In order to give yourself the best possible chance of getting work and giving prospective employers and/or agents the truest sense of your abilities stick to whatever it is you consider your strengths to be.
When you are getting ideas together for shoots, it never hurts to take a look around at the work that others have done. You don't want to copy exactly what you have seen in magazines, etc., but you can use them for a starting point. Find and follow working models whose work you admire and who you feel you might be able to emulate in some way. Again, don't "plagiarize," but show this work to your photographer and the two of you can work together to find suitable setups in which to conduct your shoots.
As far as finding a photographer, if you have an agent, he or she should have a list of tried and true professionals whom they trust to do a great job. If you are unrepresented at this point, you can still use the same photographers, but you will have to do some asking around within the community to get some names and numbers.
Working With Your Photographer:
If you have found a real pro, he or she will have plenty of ideas about how to best represent your abilities. If possible, you two should have a meeting before your shoot to discuss what your goals are, to show him or her any shots you've done previously that you liked, and to figure out times, dates, and locations.
Before the shoot, check and double check that you have everything that you need (wardrobe, etc.), and, if at all possible, make sure to get your hair and makeup done by a professional. Depending on your budget, it might be worth it to have them on hand during your shoot, though if you don't have representation this will be rather costly.
After The Shoot:
Sit down with some trusted people (within the industry if possible) and decide what shots to put in your book. Be sure to include a variety of poses, wardrobe, and locations, and at least one of each of the following: head shot, full body shot, and 3/4 body shot.
Binding it:
A lot of models simply choose to purchase a portfolio case from an office supply store, and that is fine. There are lots of other options, though, and you should take a good look online or go to your local print and copy shop to check out other binding options. Twin loop wire and perfect bound hardcover both create a look that is a little more visually appealing, and for do-it-yourselfers, some of the machines that do this binding are fairly inexpensive.
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Portfolio Career
Do you dread each Monday because another boring, same week lies ahead of you? Do you feel like each work day reminds you of the film “Groundhog Day” ? Do you wish to work more flexibly ? If your answer to these questions is yes, a portfolio career could be the answer for you.
Portfolio career is suitable for people who do not want to work in a full-time job and who want to have a variety in their work life. Rather than working for one company or doing the same work every day, you use your gifts and skills on a variety of activities and projects. An example of a person with a portfolio career is an interpreter who works two days a week with one employer, teaches language part-time at a local college, and works as a freelance interpreter on the side. They can also pursue their hobbies and interests, for example they can design and sell jewelry at local craft fairs.
Portfolio careers bring more flexibility, variety, and freedom to your work life.
If the idea of portfolio work appeals to you, start with asking yourself the following questions :
1. What's important to you in your career now ? If you need stability, the prestige of a steady position and a guaranteed income, focus on finding full-time work. But if flexibility, variety and freedom are your top work values and you want more control over your time, you might consider a portfolio career.
2. There are higher levels of uncertainty and less stability in portfolio working. Are you prepared for this ?
3. Can you successfully juggle multiple jobs ? Are you self-directed and self-disciplined ?
If your answer to these questions is yes but you’re not sure how to go about actually making it happen, here are some tips to get you started :
1. What are your skills and passions ? What are the hobbies or side interests that could become income generators ? List everything that comes to your mind. Ask your friends or colleagues to help you complete your list.
2. How can you market your products, skills, services ? Who are your target markets ? Plan a brainstorming session with a friend to come up with a number of revenue streams.
3. Make a plan. Your plan should include a list of possible jobs and prospective employers/clients, a weekly or monthly schedule, plans for a home office or workspace, and a detailed budget. You should also plan how you will pay for medical benefits, holidays and retirement.
4. Use your network. Your network of personal contacts will be extremely beneficial to you to market yourself and gain new business ideas.
Portfolio work can be very rewarding for people who have a broad range of interests and skills. You can gain work/life balance and pursue your dreams. Most of all, you can achieve personal fulfillment and the satisfaction that your talents aren't being wasted.
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Photography Portfolio
Photographers are known through their profiles
A photography portfolio is like a resume or a portfolio that a super model creates to promote to the public. A well written profile can do wonders for the photographer since the first contact with the art critics and public is through this medium.
As in any profession it is important to sell oneself and the promotional technique used will determine how successful or otherwise an artist would become. One must learn this art of seductive persuasion for attracting the public to make a beeline for one's Galleries.
What are the steps of preparing a Photography Portfolio?
All good things happen in threefold! Let us consider the 3 most important steps to achieving a write-up that everyone will think is written by a professional copy writer!
The first step one should take is conceptualizing the USP of your art. By USP we normally mean the Unique Selling Proposition but in our particular case let's rename this acronym as Unrivalled Self Portrait! What needs to be written or included in good and effective personal achievements in the artistic world?
What ever you have so far completed in terms of picture composing should be placed as a theme in your Photography Portfolio. The theme is what you do best in photography and must be illustrated with an aesthetic design of your theme work.
Maybe you are a black and white photographer of the abstract kind, or a realistic current affairs political events reviewer in pictures, or dedicated to the artistic bent of mind that young children depict and need to be encouraged etc. Always plan your theme presentation before choosing or taking appropriate photographs.
Secondly, be very careful and judicious in picking your best photographs and in case you require a new set for the chosen theme, take pains in creating new photos. A photography profile cannot be just a collage of photographs. They must be systematically placed in the profile document to tell a specific story to the reader.
Out of a multitude of pictures to your credit you must only choose the very best that exhibit your artistic talent and place them interspersed between short text that enhances the art form. It is not that length of your resume matters so much as the relevance of how you promote your acumen towards the theme art being depicted. This makes up the gist of a professional photography profile.
Thirdly and finally you are ready to exhibit your work in the form of a portfolio. This is just what a super model or budding fashion model also does! Become a true salesperson and visit local art collectors and critics who matter.
Learn the art of online and offline marketing to approach your family, friends, acquaintances and show them your aptitude in a subtle manner. Remember, you cannot really promote yourself by giving lectures and talks at seminars etc, but you can surely sell your artistic bent of mind or "camera fingers" by creating an extraordinary photography portfolio.
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Set Up A Portfolio And Work Online
Want to work online? Advertise yourself on the Internet, and get freelance job offers with minimal effort.
There are a lot of ways to work online and make money. If you are a professional who has an expertise in a particular field, you can work online by providing freelance services. There are a lot of websites that are connecting service providers and buyers, and you can sign up for membership to get work online.
Naturally, as service buyers, customers need to have an idea whether you can do the job the way they want it done. You have to give them proof of your skill, knowledge, or expertise. The key is to build your online portfolio so you can find work online, or let the jobs come to you. This is important because buyers would naturally be more interested in providers whose work they’ve already seen. Your portfolio is what will get you those initial projects. Once they become your customers, you can provide quality service to keep them coming back. But you won’t be able to keep them if you don’t win them as customers first. So if you are a freelancer, set up an impressive portfolio to get work online. Before you know it, the customers will start flocking to you.
If you are a web designer offering web design services, you have to show them a lot of past websites you’ve designed. These will help them evaluate whether you’re the designer that they’re looking for. If you are a writer, set up a website where you can post the articles you’ve written. Since there are different writing styles, buyers would also want to check yours. The trick is variety; give them a lot of articles, essays, and whatnots to showcase the different kinds of writing you can do. This way, you can show them that you are a flexible writer and up for any project they may have. If you are a translator, you should also set up a portfolio. Through this, buyers can check your translating style, consistency, and your language use. Buyers would have to make sure that you can translate well, since they wouldn’t want any of their ideas to get lost in translation. As long as you are a service provider offering services online, with the huge number of people doing the kind of thing you are doing, you’ve got to show buyers your edge. Give them a reason to choose you over the other providers. It’s just like marketing yourself.
If you don’t know where to get started, you don’t have to set up your own website right away. Set up a blog, instead. There are a lot of blog sites that you can sign up with for free. It’s the easiest way to get started on getting work online. You can set up a blog in just a couple of minutes, and all you need to do then is start posting. Make sure to choose your best works to impress buyers and lure them in, but make sure you also provide them services that are of the same quality. A portfolio can help you win the first few projects, but you can make a fortune by building a loyal customer base as you work online. And to do this, there is no portfolio better than the excellent work you provided them. So showcase your skills and expertise, and work online now.
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6 Tips to a More Successful Portfolio
One of your biggest marketing tools, as a model, is your portfolio. A portfolio should contain at least 6 to 8 pictures, and no more than 24 pictures. Every picture needs to be of a very good quality, although it isn't necessary to pay for professional photography from the very start. As you progress through your modeling career, winning your first shoots and working with photographers you should aim to include the best shots from each of your jobs. If you can afford an expert portfolio photographer then it may pay dividends towards landing your first shoot.
Your First Portfolio
Your first portfolio should consist, at the very least, of two different head shots, two fashion shots, and possible even an action shot. One full length body shot, including feet, should also be included.
Balance
Try to get a strong balance in the photos you include. Try to include studio shots and outdoor shots. For the head shots use two different expressions and you might also consider using one color photograph and one black and white. In one of the head shots you should use very little makeup so potential agents and clients can get an idea of your natural look.
Tailored Portfolios
Once you have a greater stock of photographs to choose from, you can tailor each portfolio to the particular person viewing it. If you're contacting an agency that deals primarily in fashion shoots then provide your fashion portfolio. This means that the agency has much more information to go on in order to determine whether you have what they are looking for.
Quality Over Quantity
Quality always wins out over quantity when choosing pictures for your portfolio. Average and even good photographs simply do not belong in a successful portfolio. Those pictures that will make you stand out from the crowd should take pride of place for any portfolio and including sub-standard photographs only detracts from the high quality of your best shots.
Magazine Tears
To start, six to eight photographs is ample. You may include more, even as many as 20, but it is essential that you only include photographs that are all a very high standard. Once you have some shoots to your name, you can begin to include tears from magazines and other publications to also show off your experience, but primarily because these are the exact types of photographs that agencies and clients are looking for.
Presentation
The quality of your portfolio is also portrayed by how well kept and presented it is. Keep your portfolios in excellent condition and they will do the same for you in return. If necessary, get another copy. Always check your portfolio before attending an interview or call and look for crumpled, bent, or torn photographs and remove them.
Using Your Portfolio To Sell You
Your portfolio is what will sell you to agencies and clients. Everything about the portfolio needs to smack of quality and really stand out when people view it. Offering a good range of high quality pictures makes it much easier for an agent or client to see just how good you look on camera.
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How To Create An Awesome Model Portfolio
Creating a model portfolio is a process.
Ok, you're ready to create your portfolio. All you have to do is contact your local photographer, set up a photo session, have prints made and put them in a book, right? WRONG!!!
You want your model portfolio to be professional, complete, and impressive when you show it. This is one of the single most important steps you'll take other than promotion so get it right!
What is a model portfolio?
Your model portfolio book will be made up of a book with anywhere between 10 and 25 photos normally consisting of 9x12 prints.
You will want a good selection of different types of "looks" in your portfolio. For example; have some photos created indoors in a home setting, some in the studio, some outdoors in different locations.
Also include shots which may be considered commercial, fashion, casual, and editorial content. Ask the photographer to help you with choosing looks that best fit your personality and the type modeling you wish to pursue.
You'll also want to include a good headshot (without makeup) and a good body shot (swimwear or tight-fitting clothing) especially if you plan to apply to the larger model markets. These larger markets such as the top NY agencies like to see exactly what they are getting when they view your photos. They don't want to see fancy posing or clutter, just you so keep this in mind when creating model photos for them to view.
Do not think that "more is better". It's much more effective to have 8 absolutely beautiful, perfectly shot photos in your portfolio than 100 mediocre ones.
Please keep this in mind when putting your portfolio together because it's very important! If you have to really pine over whether or not an image makes the grade for quality or belongs in your model book, it most likely doesn't.
A professional photographer or agent can help you decide when it comes to quality of photos so ask for advice if you're not sure. Also, you can view model images on agency websites or on my on site at www.bobpardue.com/model/photo-gallery to see if the quality of your image is up to standard.
Let's get started
Now, let's get started in developing your model portfolio. A really good, complete model portfolio is not created overnight. You will develop it as you develop your talent by working with different photographers.
Different photographers? Won't this cost a fortune?
A terrific model portfolio won't cost you a fortune if you follow the simple steps below. Your model portfolio will not be free, mind you, but way less expensive than paying several different photographers to shoot each section.
Step One - Paid Photo Session
If you are working on a tight budget, this may be a little painful to you but worth it if you are trying to build a killer portfolio.
Finding a photographer for your first model session
Although your local portrait photographer may be teriffic in doing family portraits or weddings, he/she may not know all the ins and outs of creating a model portfolio. You may want to check to see if they offer this service but I would check places like One Model Place or Model Mayhem for photographers who are well experienced in portfolio work.
You should be able to hire a really good photographer for anywhere between $300. to $1,000. with the latter being the extreme in a high-end market area. I would think the average would be around $600.
When choosing your photographer, don't just base your decision on price. If the photographer can't produce those perfect images for your portfolio, it doesn't matter what it costs!
What you should ask the photographer..
Below are some questions to ask your photographer before agreeing to hire him/her for the job of creating your model portfolio.
Ask if he is experienced in model portfolio development - Be sure to choose a photographer who is used to creating model portfolios so that there is less chance of confusion about what you need and desire in your portfolio
Ask where the photographer is located (This really seems silly but I have received hundreds of contacts from across the US just because models brought up my website when they did a search on photographers in their areas)
Ask for references of recent model shoots (contact at least two models)
Ask for the price range for portfolio packages, how many photos, etc.
Tell the photographer the type 0f model images you need and ask if she has the ability to create them
Ask who will provide the hair and makeup artist(s), you or the photographer. This varies greatly and I would suggest having these services no matter who provides them
Ask if he provides retouching or airbrushing services and whether this is included in the original fee given
Ask how the photos are delivered - This also depends on the photographer's way of doing business so is very important. For instance, we deliver all our images on cd but in printable and web formats so that the model can have copies made whenever she needs them. Also, this means she does not have to print every photo to get what she needs.
Ask about usage rights - This question relates to the previous one. It's very important that you receive usage and reprint rights for your promotions. If the photographer does not offer reprint rights, ask about usage of the prints. You may be able to work something out with him
Ask how long it takes to receive your images after the shoot. You don't want to wait for an eternity or until you are six months older before receiving your portfolio photos.
Ask about clothing and props - What should you furnish and does the photographer have any props and/or outfits on hand
Ask if she will assist you in your posing - Tell her that you are new and ask for posing suggestions
Ask if you can bring a friend or parent (If the photographer refuses this request, I would suggest looking for a different photographer)
Ask if the photographer will help in your promotion - Not the usual job of the photographer but some will. We offer an online comp card album online for six months with each model portfolio session.
Ask the photographer if she offers a guarantee. You should be well satisfied with your photos. After all, it's your model portfolio you will be showing to the world so you'll want it done right!
Whew!!! You may say, "That's a fountain of questions!! A geyser!!" but all these questions are essential to choosing your photographer wisely and will help you to have a better chance of working with someone you can trust to create your all-important model portfolio.
I hope that this report has been helpful to you and I hope you lots of success in your modeling career!
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