How to Build Your Photography Portfolio
Knowing how to build your photography portfolio is so important when you’re a new photographer! A lot of people get a DSLR camera, take a few pictures, get excited and start a photography business immediately before they even know if taking photos for clients is something they will enjoy, or which genre of photography would be the best fit for them. When I started out, I did a couple of free portfolio building photo sessions in each genre of photography I was interested in (families, seniors, maternity, etc.), but I look back now years later and wish I would have had way more experience under my belt before officially starting my business and beginning to take paying clients. That’s a mistake that many new photographers make, but I hope that if you’re just starting out, this post will help you understand how to build your photography portfolio and why taking the time to build up a strong portfolio of images BEFORE charging money for your photos is always a good idea.
Why should I build a strong portfolio before charging money for photo sessions?
Building up a solid portfolio before getting paid a single penny as a photographer is an investment of your time that will pay off in the long run. One major reason for that is to make sure that you’re truly committed to operating a legal photography business before you accidentally commit tax fraud or get sued. When I first started out, I wanted to make sure I had all my ducks in a row with the IRS as well as the state and city levels to run a legal business, and that was a good thing because when I began to have paying clients, I knew I had everything set up correctly to legally accept their money, collect the appropriate sales taxes, etc. But before I got my LLC and website up and running I had maybe 10-12 free portfolio building photo sessions under my belt and I cringe to realize that! I was so eager to officially start my business and start making money that I wanted to start taking clients right away, but I definitely could have benefited from lots more practice before calling myself a professional photographer and charging for my services.
I feel really fortunate that every client I worked with at the beginning of my career was very kind and gracious and that no major problems came up as a result of my lack of experience, but I have heard so many horror stories from photographers who made mistakes of one kind or another and were sued by clients for not delivering the quality of photos they were expecting, or slapped with huge fines from the IRS from not paying taxes on business earnings correctly, etc.
Though setting up a legal business right from the start is certainly a better choice than charging $25 for an hour photoshoot without having a business license or paying taxes on your earnings, it’s still better to have lots of portfolio building practice first, because you might find out you don’t like photography enough to do it as a job. Maybe it truly is just a fun hobby for you, but turning it into a career would take all the joy out of photography, and if that’s the case, that is OKAY! Running a photography business is a lot harder than it looks, and it’s easier to come to the realization that maybe photography as a job is not your cup of tea while you’re practicing and portfolio building than when you have clients counting on you to capture amazing, sometimes once-in-a-lifetime photos for them while you’re feeling burned out.
How do I actually start building my portfolio?
It may seem like such a basic answer to the question of how to build your photography portfolio, but it’s still worth saying–practice, practice, practice! Have your family and friends model for you, and shoot as often as possible! Don’t forget to have them sign model release forms so that later on when you want to share their photos in your portfolio on your website, social media, etc. you have their legal permission to do so. The Lawtog is a great resource for model release forms, contracts, and more legal documents created specifically for photographers.
Keep in mind that you are the boss of portfolio building sessions! You choose the location, you request that your models dress in a certain way, you decide the time limit of the shoot, how many images they’ll receive in exchange for modeling, etc., and they can comply with your requirements or say no thanks. Set those expectations and boundaries when you initially contact people about modeling so that you don’t have a situation happen where your model takes control, demands more out of your time, energy and sanity than the photos were worth and you feel like you just got run over by a steamroller.
Shooting in lots of different locations, in different lighting circumstances, different times of day, etc. will help you identify and overcome technical issues that you may struggle with at first. I recommend starting out with asking just one adult to model for you rather than children or family groups because it’s easier to pose one person at a time and to move around with them to different spots in the location as the light changes than it is to try to get multiple people, especially kids who may not be so willing, to cooperate and follow your instructions. Having a willing and cooperative model helps you feel more at ease and less pressure, which gives you more freedom and mental energy to focus on getting your camera settings right and practice the technical aspects you’re working on.
What photography genre should I focus on when building my portfolio?
Most successful photographers have chosen a particular niche or genre of photography to specialize in. The phrase “Jack of all trades, master of none” has some truth to it in photography because there are so many different niche types of photography and they all have different challenges and skill sets that need to be acquired to create great photos in that genre. Let’s compare a real estate photographer to a newborn photographer. Even if they were both great photographers and might even shoot with the same camera, you wouldn’t ask a real estate photographer to take newborn photos of your baby, and you wouldn’t ask a newborn photographer to take photos of the home you’re trying to sell. They are two completely different types of photography that take time, education and experience to master.
The more you spread yourself thin across several different photography genres, the longer it will take you to become an expert at one of them. Maybe you already have an idea of a photography niche that really interests you, but whether or not you feel pulled toward one genre of photography or another, this is the time to experiment! This time while you’re building your portfolio is a great time to try out several different kinds of photography and figure out what you enjoy, what you are good at, and what kind of photography job will best fit into your lifestyle. I will be sharing more in depth advice on choosing a niche in an upcoming post.
How can I make sure that I’m growing and improving as a photographer while I build my portfolio?
As you practice taking photos of people, experiment with camera settings, and explore different styles of photography, get a notebook and take some time after every photo session to write down notes about your experience. What did you really enjoy about the photo session? What made you feel excited and confident in yourself as a photographer? What challenges did you run into? Is there a technical issue with your camera settings or lens that you need to research and fix? Did something unexpected happen that you weren’t prepared for? Have you figured out that you really like or dislike a certain genre of photography?
As you take the time to examine your photography experiences and write down your insights, you will start to notice your own strengths and weaknesses. You’ll begin to identify which parts of photography are becoming easier for you and which parts you need to work on more. This introspective reflection on your photography experiences as you build your portfolio paired with action to continue honing your strengths and improving at your weaknesses will really help you experience significant growth while you’re building your portfolio.
How to Build Your Photography Portfolio | Utah Brand Photographer
