Essential Things to Remember When Culling for Your Portfolio
When was the last time you did a deep dive into your portfolio? Like actually went in, updated the images, updated your SEO keywords, and gave it the love it actually needs. For many photographers, the first time we curate our portfolio is usually the last time we look at it. Friends, your portfolio needs love. Maybe not every day, but once or twice a year, we need to check in and ensure it is consistent with our current editing style and brand. To help make it easier for you, here are five essential things to remember when culling for your portfolio.
Show what you want - and only that.
There is one simple rule when it comes to culling for your portfolio. Just because you capture it does not, under any circumstances, mean you have to show it. It may be challenging, but if you don’t want to be known as a baptism photographer, you do not have to show your nephew’s baptism… no matter how much your sister protests.
Your portfolio should encapsulate the essence of your brand. For example, if your brand words are love, chaos, and joy, showing a family photo where everyone looks essentially “perfect” wouldn’t be on brand for you. As you choose your photos, show what you’re passionate about, what creatively fuels you, and what you want your ideal client to fall in love with when they picture their family in your images.
Re-edit and re-use
I’ll be the first to tell you that your portfolio needs a sprucing every once in a while. As your style changes, so should your portfolio. However, that doesn’t mean that you have to lose the photos that you love so much. Instead of putting them in the vault to never be seen again, re-edit them with your current style and repost the photo to your portfolio! This is a great way to keep your portfolio fresh while keeping the images you’re passionate about!
Keep your portfolio to 40 photos or less.
Getting your ideal client to your portfolio page isn’t always easy. Most of our ideal clients see a version of our portfolio on our social media. While we do curate our social media, our pride and joy are usually found on our website. You want to hit them in the feels and drive them to book a session with you.
SEO terms
Use your portfolio to your advantage. Not only are you putting in so much effort to curate your portfolio visually, but you should be putting effort into the backend to support your SEO! Within each picture, you can change the image title and description. As long as you have a variety of keywords, this will help future customers find when searching for photographers on search engines like Google. Having a variety of images will help you have a variety of keywords. Those keywords will help you have a variety of ways to be searchable. It’s a win-win!
Find and utilize help.
You know the old saying, two heads are better than one. The same rule applies when culling images for your portfolio. I know you love your work, but sometimes, we are too close to it to have perspective. Having an extra set of eyes to view your portfolio can help you find areas of weakness.
Friends, hopefully, these tips will help as you freshen up your portfolio. Your portfolio is everything you want your brand to represent and deserves all the love. I am here to help however I can. If you need an extra set of eyes before you hit publish, schedule a portfolio review and receive a prerecorded critique of your work. These are perfect to ensure that you’re speaking to your ideal client.
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You can also find someone to help you with your SEO keywords. The magical unicorn MB Bryant can help you determine your keywords, how and where you should use them, and how to utilize the copy on your website best. She was so helpful when it came to understanding my keywords and how to best incorporate them into my social media, marketing, and other content. If you are also on the keyword struggle bus, check her out!