I read this pretty kick-ass entry on Scott Kelby’s blog, “How To Become Known As a Better Photographer.” In a nutshell, Kelby suggests posting your BEST work in order to attain the maximum impact on a viewer’s perception of your work. Like many photographers, I have a deep, emotional connection to my images. They take me back to a place in time, they captured a memory–a smell, a sight, a pleasant sound–and some instantly put me in a great mood when I see them. Despite the nostalgia, I understand I have grown as a photographer, and my online portfolio should reflect those changes.
Kelby recommends researching photographers you admire and also engaging in peer evaluation to strengthen the portfolio. Kelby’s right–the photographers I adore only post their best work. One comment on Kelby’s blog by Sally Wehner sums it up:
“The difference between a bad photographer and a good one? You never see the good photographer’s bad pictures.”
I spent the last few days editing my portfolio, taking out some repetitive pieces, some of my older work, and some images that simply do not represent my best work. While the actual process hurt something fierce, my updated work looks fresh, and I do not miss the archived images. On my computer, I have nine rows of images and four columns, totaling 28 images per page for me. I know this varies from computer to computer, but justified my chops by deleting most of the stuff past the viewable screen; honestly, I would not mind making a few more cuts. I still need to work on the arrangement of my photos on a single page.
Friends! I need your help. If I have any images that you feel simply missed the mark, please share your thoughts here. I can handle a good old-fashioned critique, so feel free to voice your opinions. Please refrain from comments like, “I don’t like this picture because the model’s ugly.” That’s not helpful. Neither is, “I don’t like this picture because you cut off her head.” That’s called selective cropping. By way of reference, I will soon merge the Animals & Misc section together–or even purge them all into my Archives folder. I still love the pictures, but they do not represent the type of photos I currently have in my portfolio. As a compromise, I keep a small Archive link on my website so I can look back and reflect on the work I have done and see how far I have come since I first picked up a camera.
A new decade. A new portfolio. My heart flutters to think what the ’10s have in store! Thank you in advance for your time and critique!
xoxo,
Amy
A Sample of My Archived Work:
8 Comments
Amy,
Although I am terribly sad to see many of your shots get dropped from the site, the smaller selection does give a more ‘cream of the crop’ feel to your site as a portfolio. Heaven knows I need to revamp my whole site, let alone my galleries, but as a huge fan of your site, blog and work in general I’ll toss you my two cents!
Beauty – I love it. Something I took from Zach Arias (who, just in case you don’t know has a very interesting series of critiques where people ask him to look at their sites http://www.zarias.com/?cat=82) is to try not to have multiple shots of the same model, especially from the same shoot. The two of golden-amber hair, especially right next to each other, stick out to me. Perhaps it is the striking pallet of colors they use in contrast to the surrounding images, but perhaps one should go. Choosing which would be your painful task. They are both great for many reasons.
Macro- I love these shots. In fact I think it was the shots of the smoke that I first saw on flickr that lead me to your other work. It’s a good selection of shots that show, in my opinion, a creative edge to your talent and work that is not something many other people do. However, the Tamago Kazarimono egg thingies shots grab all of the attention and kind of create a ‘What the….’ moment. I saw the note, I think on flickr, that they were a gift, and it is neat shot with some great lighting, but I just don’t think it belongs with the feel the rest of the page gives. I might mention the kiwi, rose and smoke too… but those don’t distract the eye like dressed up eggs. The shot is perfect for a blog entry, but maybe not right for that page.
Animals- I have more questions than opinions about this page. I’d love to hear what this page’s function is. Without it, your site looks like a portfolio ready for clients to view almost as a menu of the services you are capable of providing. With it, your site seems a bit more like a personal diary where we see your loves and interests through a highly skilled lens. They are great shots, but I would like to know why they get their own page instead of just having two or three of your favorites in with the ‘Misc’ gallery.
The fashion, commercial, and headshots pages are great. I only wish I produced work anywhere near that level and had the problem of having too many great shots!!
Again, I feel like I am throwing stones from the steps of my glass house, but those are my thought. Keep posting. Your posts and your blog inspire us to keep working!!
Amy, I agree with so much of what Spencer has to say.
In the Beauty section, the sets of “doubles” stood out. The two on the top row and the two with the golden-amber hair. I think the ones on the top row might work because of the leaves/tree hanging in the foreground, but the second pair were a little distracting. They were the first images that I zeroed in on. Both beautiful, but I think they’re too similar.
Macro-I love the smoke and can’t think of anywhere else you might want to put those images. I actually think they work well on this page because of the color. The rose, fruit, and eggs, while macro shots, don’t necessarily fit with the style of the other shots. If you choose to do more macro shots of these subjects (the ant on the mushroom), then maybe you can create another folder for them. It seems like most of the photography is geared toward fashion/entertainment/headshot photography though, so they’d probably still fit in with the Misc section.
Headshots-The B&W shot of the man in the third row stands out. I just think he might need to moved to another position on the page.
I’m curious to know if you’re going to be working with more male models in the future? That could be another way to show your versatility as a photographer and would open you up to different markets.
I just took another look and it looks like you made a few changes. I think it looks great!! How do YOU feel about it now?
HUGE thanks! I wrote a long comment but IE crashed. Gah.
Your suggestions mean a lot to me, thank you. As you can see, I implemented most–if not all–of the suggestions. I read them at 2:00 a.m. the morning after I posted this blog, so I haven’t made all the changes quite yet. I am very happy with the results! Jon isn’t. LOL He was more upset about the new Archived photos than me. He said, “Some of these shots are so pro!” Well, thanks! But some of the pictures didn’t quite fit into my portfolio or my current vision. I can’t wait to kick it up a notch, and I’m thankful I have my friends to support me!
Thank you to all the people that sent me private messages, too. I did get a few of those “I don’t like this model” comments, but what can you do. LOL
I crushed the Animals and Misc sections and got rid of repeats. And I pretty much annihilated my Fashion section. Y’all were right about the images I had in my Macro section, thank you. I have been meaning to work with male models, but I never got around to it. Perhaps that’ll be my next step–even though guys get NO love on Flickr. LOL
I feel great, Spencer. The purging process was greatly cathartic, and I highly recommend the experience. Maybe I’ll prune my Flickr page now.
*muah*
Amy
I really like your photography. And I admire your drive to do the “down sizing” of your portfolio. I have to tell you that after you down sized, there is much more impact on your beauty page. I am a hobbyist who gets inspiration from folks like you and another Amy (archerfoto.com). I think I will start downsizing, too. Thanks!!
Thanks, Lee! I’m a huge fan of Amy’s work – she’s amazing, and she provided some helpful critiques as well.
I’m still open to suggestions. Thanks again, and have a Merry Christmas, everybody!
Interesting! With the deletion of the Misc category, I have to get Jon to re-design my homepage.
Love Your work Amy… just add you to my favourites.. keep going!! A kiss from this big admiror
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[...] I never appreciated the concept of revisiting old photographs with new post-processing techniques. I figured the photos you take represent the photographer you are/were at that time. In other words, even though some of my older images could benefit from some fresh post-production work, I like to move forward with my photography and take new photos with these ideas in mind, rather than work on my older photos–especially given the last post, Pruning the Portfolio. [...]
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