portfolio

Andrea K · Feb 19, 2005

i just got this thing in the mail from UPenn about a summer course and one of the courses you can take is in photography. i would love to try to get in, but 1) i dont know if i have enough experience/am talented enough (i think ill give it a try anyway) and 2) they want a portfolio...my biggest question is, how do you make/set up a portfolio? they say you can have one on a cd or web site

thanks

Hertz van Rental · Feb 20, 2005

You select a bunch of your best pictures - ones that you feel good about - and use those. 20 - 30 is about optimum.
As for experience and talent - I wouldn't worry. Give it your best shot. If you don't get in it doesn't mean you are no good, it just means that your pictures are not to their taste.
I once went for an interview to do a Masters Degree in Photography. The lecturers were taken aback when they saw my CV and pictures. I quote: 'we've never had anyone apply to this course who could do photography before'.
Go for it.

spike000 · Feb 20, 2005

Show a few different styles in your portfolio.

I primarily shoot wildlife so my portfolio consists of 15 wildlife shots then.....

4 portraits of people (2 in studio and mix of colour and B&W)
4 landscapes (including night scenes)
2 abstracts
4 Candids (street work mainly)
and...
Some general travel shots of particular locations - tailor these to your audience - when I recently did some work in the galapagos I took a lot of my Madagascar shots as they have a similar endemic animal population - but I mixed these in with some shots of other South American cities to show that I was more than capable of handling the travel etc.

Make sure that it is very well presented - I tend to use 8"x10" and 10"x12" as standard sizes and present them in my book with mounts.

Do a CV explaining where you want to go with your photographs - what you enjoy and what you want to improve. Particularly mention any published work - even if it is merely a local paper as this shows commitment to the photographic medium and shows that you are aiming to work as a photographer.

The whole end result should look like you are a very capable photographer who wants to become an excellent one.

Good luck

Spike

Rob · Feb 20, 2005

No sunsets or mountains or cheesy holiday photos. No squirrels, or pictures of your cat/dog. That'll make your portfolio about ten times "better" and more unique than all the other applicants, guaranteed.

Rob
p.s. There's nothing wrong with the above images, but anyone who looks at a lot of photos will be bored with them, so they need to be better than the next person's idea.