Building a Portfolio

[BabyHopes]

I'm not in a season of life where starting a new business is feasable. However, I do get requests from different people to do portrait sessions and I've started to wonder about the possibility of registering a DBA and getting a tax ID. It's been fun working for free and just getting a better feel for photography in general. But the truth is, I've started to realize that free doesn't keep me going even as a "hobbiest."

Plus, one day, I might entertain the idea of shooting professionally. So in the mean time I would like to grow my portfolio. I'm curious if anybody has any ideas of how to make that happen?

Should I just charge for proofs and offer the session free?

Charge a nominal session fee?

Do it all as charity and be glad that I have people interested in sitting through my bumbling portrait attempts?

How do you perserve your portfolio?

Back in the day I would keep my art pieces (painting and sketches) in a large leather folder. But that doesn't seem adaquate for photography. I've thought about just printing a photobook of select pieces... But obviously without collecting $$ for the session fees, this ends up being a fairly costly adventure.

Advice?

[Bella]

Manda,

I'm in a very similar position as you are, so you can take my thoughts for what they're worth . . not as much as the more experienced photographers on this board ;)

In order to build my portfolio, I am offering dirt cheap deals to family and close friends/neighbors. Basically, the cost of prints, plus a couple of bucks per print. All I'm trying to do at this point is cover my material costs (the prints) while gaining more exposure and experience. I'm making it very clear to everyone involved, though, that this is more or less a promotional deal. That sometime in the near future, my prices will be more competitive with the local market. Also, in exchange for the cheap prints, everyone is signing model releases, especially for the minors, just so I make sure I'm covered in the future.

Hope this helps, and hope some of the more experienced photographers in the business have some advice for us both.

Cindy

[HotHolly]

If you ever want to go from hobbiest to pro, people are going to have HUGE issues with being charged a nominal fee and then being charged a pro fee. Its kind of an all or nothing.

To build a portfolio, I would suggest working with models. That way you can take your time, get expereince shooting, and get what you want. Plus a pro MUA will make your images look 100x better. MUA and new models will often trade services - which helps you get started. Option #2 - go to a shoot, workshop, class. You'll get awesome images to add to your port.

As for portfolio - I know what you are talking about for art work. I have one of those big things too. For photography just use something that showcases your work in the size you that best suits your needs. A really nice album is a good way to keep the photos fingerprint free and showcases your stuff much nicer than some of the plastic binders they have out there.

[BabyHopes]

I would love to take a class. I had thought about taking a natural light class that was offered in January, but got in a car accident and got pregnant in December. Not to mention we bought a home and had to move. It was insanity and something had to give. (phew!)

Right now I'm nursing a newborn and know that an all day class will probably be out of the question until she's older. Probably even closer to a year, if history has anything to say with how things go. A class is, however, on my list of things I look forward to doing when I have more free time.

Can I ask how a person goes about finding models? I'd be happy to do a trade-type-deal, but I don't know any models personally...

And in complete disclosure, I'm a bit worried that a model would see right through my "amature" status.

Hows that for newb jitters?

[HotHolly]

You can look at modelmayhem.com or onemodelplace for a new model (caution OMP has a lot of ummmm, well, nudes. I don't look there much b/c I usually feel like I want to gouge my eyes out when I am done. If MM fails, I go over there).

Odds are the newB models will have jitters too - so don't worry about it. If you use a more experienced model - you might want to offer a stipend rather than TFP - your port will look better (unless you are super good at posing). You can offer the TFP for MUA on MM also.

Several people offer classes - some are all day, some are 1/2 day, some are 2 days. Keep watching the workshop thread for something to turn up.

[Aric C. Hoek]

Put your portfolio on an iPhone and cary it with you everywhere. Plus you can add additional images to it at no charge to you.

Just a thought.

[Bella]

The above suggestions from Holly are just one of the reasons I'm driving up to Dallas to go to the JumpStart Your Biz workshop she's holding next month . . I need the kind of advice she gave and then some :)

-Cindy

[karibethn]

Originally Posted by BabyHopes

How do you perserve your portfolio?

Back in the day I would keep my art pieces (painting and sketches) in a large leather folder. But that doesn't seem adaquate for photography. I've thought about just printing a photobook of select pieces... But obviously without collecting $$ for the session fees, this ends up being a fairly costly adventure.

Advice?

I feel your pain- because I am not specialized, and have had a piece in an art show as well as people interested in portrature AND event coverage, I needed to make 3 different portfolios- not cheap if you are getting real books done!

For now I am printing my own stuff (I have an HP printer and I use the HP glossy presentation paper)- it makes for easy portfolio updates and control, plus I can make them nice and BIG- the presentation binders I found at Office Depot hold 8.5x11 paper. Basically, I have made something for now that will get my point across, and when the dollars come pouring in... well, I'll probably sink it all into lenses- who am I kidding!

Sure, it's not professional. But then again, neither am I.