Portfolio

How To Make Your Portfolio Better Than Your Competitions

by Virtual Photography Leave a Comment

Competition is fierce in the world of photography.

One of the driving factors in creating a successful business is having a dynamite portfolio. Yet what should you put into a portfolio to make it different from your competition? And not just different, one that stands miles above the crowd, and says “I’m the one” over and over again?

You may think the obvious choice is to have a variety of photographs. Yet your portfolio is really a lot more. Your portfolio not only shows what images you’ve taken in the past; it also shows your business savvy, your thought process, and your personal style.

Let’s take a look at how to build up a dynamic portfolio that can stand over and above your competition’s portfolio.

Photographs

The first and most obvious is photographs. That’s what people are coming to you for, so that’s what you need to show them. Yet a portfolio should be more than your select favorites. A portfolio should also be built to show your talent based on what people need and want. If they are getting married, showing them wedding photographs is great. But if you can also show wedding photographs from their reception site, you’ve just taken your portfolio up a notch.

Series

Showcasing your favorite, award winning images is a great touch. But can you provide professional coverage through a long day of shooting? That’s where series come in to play. Show a dozen images from a portrait shoot. Show an entire album, beginning to end, of a wedding client. Show an entire magazine layout, showcasing a variety of your images from a daylong shoot. People will feel more comfortable if you can provide consistency.

A Great Story

I love photographs, and spend a good portion of each day looking at them. Yet sometimes a photograph can take on a whole new meaning when you know the story behind it. Don’t just fill your online websites with photographs and galleries, put some words behind it too. Showcase images of you and your family in the About Us section. Tell us why you got into photography. On your clients’ galleries, talk about the event. What made it special? Why did you enjoy working with a client? Think of it as a reverse testimonial. And if every other photographer is only showcasing their work, your stories will be the “edge” that sets you apart from your competition.

A Great Design

In today’s world, the most obvious place to put your portfolio is online. Not only can people view it anywhere in the world, it also gives you flexibility in being able to showcase your portfolio. With a computer, tablet or even mobile device, your portfolio is instantly waiting to be shared. However, keep in mind that people will be viewing your portfolio from anywhere. Is your website tablet and mobile ready? Do you use a lot of Flash and complicated coding that makes it difficult to load and view? Functionality is the most important factor – if its not accessible, it won’t be viewed.

Show Your Personality

In the world of blogging, Facebook and Twitter, sharing your personality is mandatory. People want to get to know you. They want to feel comfortable with you. If they can read through your site, your blog posts, and follow your Facebook trail for a while before contacting you, the relationship will already be partially developed.

Stay Connected

Once you build the relationship and start the connection process, be available to your visitors and potential customers. Provide a wide variety of contact information everywhere. Provide your phone, email, Twitter id, Facebook account, and any other information useful to your client. Then use it. If you only get on Facebook once per month, don’t use that as a connecting point. It will only frustrate your prospects if they can’t connect with you.

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Effective bloggers

8 Habits of Highly Effective Bloggers

Mon, Feb 7, 20111. Notify Your Clients & Get Them to Forward The Link When you blog a shoot, send an e-mail and say: “I loved your photos so much. I just had to post them on my Blog! Here is the link: … Feel free to pass this onto your family and friends!”

That last line, “Pass it on!” can account for a LARGE portion of traffic to your site. Not everyone will think to pass the link around, this is a surefire way to make it happen. Chances are, your bride is sending it to friends who may be marrying soon as well.

An important note: Don’t include extra stuff in the e-mail, things like payments, their next appointment, etc. If the e-mail is fairly plain, they’ll feel comfortable just hitting the forward button.

2. Ask For Comments In that same e-mail, say, “P.S. — Don’t forget to comment on the pictures!” This will get them to say something nice about the photos, giving you a testimonial on the spot.

If your client does just hit the forward button, they’ll see the note about comments and get the idea that they should post comments, too! Think about that, their friends and family members will also add compliments. I had one couple get 51 comments on their wedding pictures. That was AT LEAST 51 people who saw the images. How do you think the couple felt about their pictures after 51 people told them how great they were? What about prospective brides who see 51 unsolicited testimonials from friends and family? Powerful stuff.

3. Update Often. Sounds like a no brainer, right? I see lots of blogs that don’t get updated more than once a month. Blogs are great at creating repeat site traffic, but if you don’t always have something fresh and new, chances are, people will lose the habit of visiting often.

Twice a week is the bare minimum. Four to five times a week is ideal. If you don’t have anything to blog, write about something personal.

4. Be Yourself. When I first drafted this tip sheet a few years ago, I warned about getting too personal.  These days, it seems like the more personal you get, the better.  Granted, it’s better to show personality than it is to let your clients know more than they should about you.  Posting things like your kids’ birthdays and fun vacations make you more human and less corporate. On the other hand, writing about your personal struggles, or pouring your heart out on a political issue might be a little “too real” and may not be completely comfortable for your readers. Do get personal, but do have taste.

5. Beware Double Meanings. Every piece of communication has two meanings: an intended meaning and an interpreted meaning. For example: If you blog about getting images published in a magazine, you might be intending just to share how you’re excited about it. People might interpret that you’re a good enough photographer to be published. It also can work against you. Say you splurge for a $200 pair of jeans and blog about it. If not properly worded, you might sound snobby. Know that what you write, and what others read can be two different things.

6. Link Back To Your Site. Be certain to link back to your site. Your blog link often can get passed around more than your main Web address. If Aunt Betty sees your blog and wants to hire you for a family shoot will she know where to go? Make it DEAD OBVIOUS.

Better yet, if you can, use a blog system that is fully integrated into your site. Then people can go straight from a post to your pricing page and right onto contacting you. The FundySOS site is an example of this, and many photographers these days are even moving straight to having blogs only.

7. Anti-Perfectionism. Another departure from my original writing.  I absolutely believe spelling and grammar are critical to portraying yourself as knowledgeable.  It’s not something you should just gloss over.  That said, perfectionism breeds procrastination.  It’s better to get it done with a typo or two, then to never finish it because you hate proofreading.

8. Blog About Other Vendors This was something we covered in an earlier blog post, but this list wouldn’t be complete without it.  Take time to blog about other vendors. They love it when you do and it’s a great tool for networking or introducing yourself to them. If they’re running a special event, say something about it. If you just did a wedding with them, mention it. If it’s well written, your brides will appreciate it, too!

Post Author: Timothy John

Blogging, Copy and Paste,

http://stpatricksday.tipjunkie.com/rag-garland-st-pattys-style

http://go.tipjunkie.com/sp/213/oneprimchick.blogspot.com/2011/02/rag-garland-st-pattys-style.html

Bloggin in Nashville

http://www.tennessean.com/article/20110306/NEWS01/103060372/Blogging-Middle-Tennessee-women-transform-passions-into-profits?odyssey=tab|topnews|text|FRONTPAGE

Blogging

http://www.thestoriesofa2z.com/2009/12/blogger-and-blogging-tips-for-photos.html

http://www.thestoriesofa2z.com/2009/12/blog-unto-others-how-you-would-have.html