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A great photography portfolio can open doors for you as a professional photographer, but how exactly should you go about putting one together? Don’t worry—we’ve compiled some of the top tips for creating a job-winning photography portfolio. We’ll walk you through the best ways to plan out your portfolio, choose your photos, and assemble everything digitally to best represent your stunning work.

1

Set a goal for your portfolio.

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  1. Are you just starting out as a freelance photographer, or are you applying for an official photography job? It’s super important to figure out who your ideal client is so you can organize your portfolio in the most effective, eye-catching way possible.[1]
    • For instance, the portfolio of a freelance real estate photographer will look a lot different from a portfolio of a photographer applying at a portrait studio.
    • Your portfolio represents who you are as a photographer and what you can offer clients, so it’s really important to decide what your portfolio will be accomplishing.
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2

Pick photos that represent your niche.

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  1. Imagine that you’re hiring someone to take photos of your pets. You go to the pet photographer’s portfolio website, only to find pictures of outdoor landscapes. Without any pet photos on their site, you wouldn’t feel that comfortable hiring them as your photographer, right? The same logic applies when you’re planning out your portfolio—your content has to fit the niche you’re advertising yourself for.[2]
    • If you’re a portrait photographer, you’d include high-quality portraits you’ve taken of kids, adults, and seniors, so clients get a sense of your range.
    • If you’re a wildlife photographer, your portfolio could include a variety of wild animals in different outdoor settings.
3

Look at other people’s portfolios.

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  1. Open up a web browser and search for existing portfolio sites that fit within your photography niche. What types of photos do these photographers feature on their sites? This type of research can help you nail down what your client might possibly like, and what types of photos work well on a live website.[3]
    • Search terms like “wedding photographer site example” or “beautiful wildlife photography portfolio” can bring up helpful results.
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4

Select your best photos.

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5

Pick a website builder for your portfolio.

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6

Settle on a simple website theme.

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  1. Don’t pick out a theme with a distracting background—after all, your photos need to be the star of the show! Instead, pick a theme that meshes well with the aesthetic and purpose of your photography portfolio.[6] Here are a few examples for different photography niches:
    • Wedding: A dark background and white font offset with bright, colorful wedding pictures
    • Portrait: A high-quality portrait used as the main backdrop for your site
    • Documentary: A plain, white background to complement the photo’s complex colors and subject matter
7

Choose a sleek, readable font.

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  1. Stick with plain, easy-to-read fonts that don’t have a huge size difference between caps and lower case letters. Take a peek at Google’s Web Font directory if you’re thinking about mixing and matching different font styles together.[7]
    • You can check out Google’s font site here: https://fonts.google.com/
    • It’s hard to go wrong with classic options like Helvetica, Helvetica Neue, Univers, and Avenir.[8]
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8

Shrink your portfolio down to 8-12 photos.

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9

Structure your pics so they horizontally scroll.

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  1. Use your website builder’s interface to arrange your photos in a horizontal line, rather than in a vertical line or grid. This way, the user can click or swipe through your pictures and see how each photo connects to the next one.[11]
    • This isn’t to say that other formatting options, like grids, are bad. It really depends on what kind of story you’d like to tell on your website. Most website builders provide plenty of design and layout options that you can play around with.
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10

Organize your photos intuitively.

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  1. This doesn’t mean that your photos all have to come from the same set or series (though they can if you want!). Instead, make sure all of your neighboring pictures have a similar color palette. Depending on your portfolio niche, you can even organize your photos by mood to create a narrative for the viewer.[12]
    • Some photographers like organizing their photos by composition. In a wedding photo portfolio, you might take a zoomed-in shot of the bride followed by a zoomed-out shot of the bride and groom together.
11

Label each photo with captions and alt text.

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  1. SEO is all about boosting your portfolio site’s ranking on search engine result pages (SERP). Image captions and alt text not only make your site more accessible, but they also give search engines more helpful information about your site—this helps it rank higher on the SERP. Make sure to include captions and alt text for each photo on your portfolio site so it’s more likely to show up in Google searches.[13]
    • Alt text is a short description embedded into a photo that’s automatically read out loud to visually-impaired users.[14] Most website builders have built-in features that let you easily add it to photos.
    • A portfolio picture of an open beach might have alt text that reads “New Jersey beach at sunrise.”
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12

Describe yourself on an “about” page.

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  1. Include a professional headshot on the page, and explain what photography means to you. If you’d like, give a little background on how you started as a photographer, and explain how you have the experience and skill to bring their vision to life.[15] You might write:
    • “I graduated from Brigham Young University in 2017 with a BFA in Photography, but my passion for capturing the world around me started much earlier on.”
    • “To me, photography isn’t about freezing a moment in time—it’s about capturing a story on film for years to come. I want to help bring your story to life.”
13

List your prices on a separate page.

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Join the Discussion...

WikiIbisWhisperer796
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I love photography and think it would be super cool to pursue it as a career! But I've heard that it's really hard to break in so I'm not even su... Read More
Brynne Zaniboni
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I got started in photography by taking courses in college. I started looking into photography, photographers, and types of photography areas in L... Read More
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Kari Bjorn
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If you have access to any photography classes, I would highly recommend taking them just to get an intro into how camera options, the exposure tr... Read More

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  • Question
    Can you put videos into a portfolio?
    Janice Tieperman
    Janice Tieperman
    Community Answer
    Definitely, as long as that's something you specialize in! Most website builders let you embed both pictures and videos on your portfolio website.
  • Question
    Is there a specific website or software that I can use to create a portfolio digitally?
    Community Answer
    Community Answer
    I use PhotoSmasher, but there are many other host sites available, unless you wish to buy and create a website yourself.
  • Question
    How big should the photos be in a portfolio?
    Community Answer
    Community Answer
    It all depends on the size of the book. You want to try to fill each page with one photo. You should probably not to go any bigger than A4.
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Tips

  • It never hurts to have a print portfolio in addition to a digital one, especially if you’re meeting with a client in person.[19] Follow the same 8-12 photo rule and present your portfolio in a photo book or self-published book.[20]
  • Your photography skills are constantly evolving, so make sure that your portfolio reflects that. Update or add to your portfolio periodically so it accurately represents your skills and capabilities as a photographer.
  • Ask a mentor or trusted friend to browse through your portfolio website before it goes live. They can point out any blind spots in the design and layout.
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Warnings

  • Keep your portfolio website as sleek, polished, and minimalistic as possible. Extra features like a music player will only slow down for your potential clients.[21]
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About This Article

Cory Ryan
Co-authored by:
Professional Photographer
This article was co-authored by Cory Ryan and by wikiHow staff writer, Janice Tieperman. Cory Ryan is a Professional Wedding Photographer who runs Cory Ryan Photography based in Austin, Texas. She has over 15 years of photography experience and specializes in weddings and events. Her work has been featured in publications such as The Knot, Style Me Pretty, and Junebug Weddings. She received a BA in Media Production and Broadcast Journalism from the University of North Carolina - Chapel Hill. This article has been viewed 210,684 times.
6 votes - 100%
Co-authors: 24
Updated: January 2, 2024
Views: 210,684
Article SummaryX

To create a photography portfolio, choose 10-20 photographs that showcase your best work. Try to tailor your portfolio to your audience or potential employers. For example, if you want to be a wildlife photographer, you should choose photos of animals. Once you've settled on your photographs, you can either upload them to a digital portfolio using websites like Zenfolio or Smugmug, or you can make a physical portfolio. If you make a physical portfolio, mount your photographs onto backing paper or store them in plastic sleeves so they look professional. To learn how to choose the best photos for your portfolio, keep reading!

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