A portfolio is a collection of your best work that you show to a perspective employer.  In addition, colleges and art schools will require you to submit a portfolio for approval in order to be admitted into their program. Your portfolio will give the employer or college a chance to see what level of photography you are at and to get a sense of how serious of a photographer or student you will be.  They may even take note of  your "style" to see if it fits with their program or the job they are offering.

                While in college, students will work on building up their portfolios to help them get a job when they graduate.  Material for the portfolio will come from class assignments, internships and most importantly, they should come from work the student took on their own time.

                There are two important things to consider when preparing your portfolio:  What to put in it, and how to present it.   You will find after showing your portfolio to a few photo editors, that while some points are agreed on between everyone, opinions can also vary greatly on both aspects.

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THE PURPOSE OF THE PORTFOLIO

               Your portfolio should give an idea of your level of talent and creativity, and it should be a reflection of your ambition and enthusiasm.  Your collection of photographs will show if you understand how to use the camera and if you use proper exposure and the right lens for the picture.  It will show if you have a strong sense of composition as well as your knowledge of lighting and it will display your ability to "capture a moment."   It will show if you understand depth of field and when to use slow or fast shutter speeds.
               An employer will look at how versatile you are as far as shooting different types of assignments, such as spot news, features, picture stories and sports.  They will also look at your work to see how old your newest photo is and see if you consistently take pictures or if you have long periods of "low productivity."

               Presentation is very important in a portfolio.  You should make your portfolio look as perfect as possible.  This will show the employer or school that you take pride in your work and that you are worth the investment of hiring or admitting into a college.

                A portfolio should not only include a cross section of your work, but it should also include an updated resume, 3-4 references, caption sheet (to tell about each photograph) and if you are mailing it, a S.A.S.E. (self addressed stamped envelope) with enough postage, so they can return your work to you without effort.

                Photographs can be presented in various ways:

• Slides
• Mounted photographic prints
• Digital images on a CD
• A web page

                Photo editors are very busy people and they receive a lot of portfolios.  Here are some tips that may help you help them to be able to view  your portfolio:

• MAKE IT EFFORTLESS TO VIEW:  You want to present your work in a manor that does not take too much of their time or in a way that is inconvenient.  Some photo editors may find it extremely inconvenient if your portfolio is on a web site.  Others may even find portfolios on a disc a bother.  Some may prefer only slides while another may prefer them on a disc.  If you are unsure, check.
• S.A.S.E.:  You want to enclose a Self Addressed Stamped Envelope, so that all they have to do is seal the envelope and not have to type up labels and put postage on it.  Don't make the return envelope way to big or too small.
• CLEAN AND NEAT:  Make sure your presentation is as perfect as possible.  Slides should be mounted straight.  There should not be coffee stains, dirt or fingerprints on your work.  Sloppiness is an immediate turn off for a perspective employer. It says that you don't care or have any pride in your work.
• TOP QUALITY IS A MUST:  My big turn-off is poor slide reproduction or badly toned digital images.  Photos should not be "off color," meaning they should not have a funny color cast to them from bad lighting or poor processing.  Your images should be so perfect, that they reflect reality and the viewer is not distracted by inperfections of difficulty in viewing the image.  If a digital image or slide of a black and white photo is purple or green, that is unacceptable.  Make sure your photos are not too dark or too light.  The reviewer of your portfolio should not know whether your prints are digital images or not -- they must be picture perfect like a beautiful color print. Photographic prints should be touched up to remove dust spots.
• KEEP IT ORDERLY:  You may want to consider putting your work in a folder with the contact sheets and captions on one pocket and resume, references and cover letter in another.  (I have received portfolios in loose-leaf binders which is a good presentation, but if you are sending slides, I have to take them out and put them back in  the binder.  I prefer folders.)
• RESUMES AT A GLANCE:  Don't get too fancy with your resume.  A perspective employer should be able to see all of your credentials by just glancing at the resume and not having to search.  At the same time, keep your cover letters brief.  Too much is too time consuming.

                One of the most difficult aspects of putting a portfolio together is deciding what to put in it and what to leave out.  Everyone has a different idea of what should be in a portfolio.  I have done many portfolio reviews at the National Press Photographers Association annual conferences.  Here students and photographers looking to have their work critiqued go from photo editor to photo editor looking for advice.  By the end of the session,  they always end up in a state of confusion because every photo editor will say something different ...
                One will say "Take this photo out."  while another will say "Leave it in."  One will say "You need more of this and less of that"   while another will say "You need more of that and less of this."
                Some say 12 pieces are enough, some say you should have at least 24.  Some say every portfolio should have sports, spot news, features, and a picture story.  Others will say only put them in if they are good.  Whatever the case maybe, there are no set rules, even though some photo editors will say that there are.

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A CROSS SECTION OF OPINION

                Personally, I love slides, but that is not practical today. Nicely toned images, put together in a simple, well thought out presentation and burned on a CD are nice. I do not like them on a web site if they are the only photos being submitted. 

                As far as content goes, I don't care what you put in, as long as YOU feel is a good representation of your abilities, YOU like it, and YOU are proud of it and YOU think it is acceptable work to be published in a community newspaper.  I want to see if you can feel, then photograph and deliver emotion to the reader.  From there, I can pick up your style and see your potential, no matter how inexperienced  you are.  I want to see dedication and enthusiasm in your portfolio.  I want to see if I think you have to ability and desire to learn.  But keep in mind, I also need to know that if I send you to a sports assignment you can do it.  Here are some things I do hate:

• Shots that are copies of great photos, like the oh-so-common photograph of "a person walking with an umbrella from a birds eye view" or the "man putting up a new billboard" shot.  If you are going to put these in your portfolio, they had better be REAL good, have something different about them and not be cliché'.
• Large oversized S.A.S.E. envelopes, that are twice as big as your portfolio -- they are hard to store and pile up with others.
• Poor presentation of work, especially  dark, ugly, off color images -- which I see a lot of.
• Phone calls at my office even though I put "No phone calls please" in my ad.
• Long, boring cover letters and resumes that are so poorly laid out, I have to read the whole thing to find out where you are working now.

                Here are some opinions of other editors:

Clem Murray
Dir. of Photography
The Philadelphia Inquirer

Curt Chandler
Pittsburgh Post Gazette

Jim McKnight
Photo Chief
Associated Press / Albany

Bill Ostendorf
Managing editor/visuals
The Providence Journal

Alan Youngblood
Photo Editor
Star-Banner
Ocala, FL

Bob Croslin
Staff Photographer
The Tampa Tribune

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Clem Murray
Dir. of Photography
The Philadelphia Inquirer

"It's important to show the reviewer that you can handle the typical
newspaper assignment of news, features and sports.  The challenge is to make
each and every image in the portfolio "sing".  You make them sing by
capturing fleeting moments; by getting a unique angle that no one else sees;
by unique composition of elements; by use of different lenses.  In this age
of  visual overload, our job as photojournalists is to surprise the readers.
Show them something they didn't expect.

If you're trying to get a job, you have to surprise the photo editor with
your images as well.  I know that each and every photographer on the planet
can get a cute photo of kids playing.  I don't need to see it in a
portfolio.  Same goes for entertainers performing or famous people at
microphones.  Or silhouetted firemen against a blazing inferno.

To stand out from the pack of photojournalists competing for the relatively
few number of jobs you have to demonstrate that you can get beyond the
obvious photo.

I always want to see a long-term photo story as part of a portfolio.  It
shows how close, in terms of capturing the true essence of a subject, a
photographer can get to his/her subjects.

As for format, I don't really care how people send their images:  slides,
CD, Zip, prints.  Even clips or xeroxes!  If they are submitted digitally,
please make sure they are in a program that automatically displays them.
Nothing is harder, and more time consuming on a photo editor, than to open
20-40 images in Photoshop.  Don't do it, it's a real big turn-off.

Resumes should always contain named references.  Don't make the photo editor
have to call you to get names.  What a waste of time.  Put them on the
resume so s/he can check up on you first before starting the interview
process.

Make sure your portfolio package is addressed to a person and not "Dear
Photo Editor."  Make sure it's the right person too!  And finally, make sure
your cover letter and resume contain no mistakes.  I usually get a
half-dozen letters a year where the name of the paper is spelled with an "E"
and not an "I"!"
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Curt Chandler
Pittsburgh Post Gazette

       " I want to see a photographer's best work in their portfolio. I
don't care if it is digital files, prints or slides as long as its good.
The number of images is not as important as the quality. One of the best
portfolios I've seen recently had two picture stories and four singles.
Not much volume, but every frame was a killer. I want photographers to
be passionate about their best work, so I look for people who can edit
themselves well enough to demonstrate that they know the difference
between an outstanding photo and a routine image.

        A portfolio should demonstrated versatility and range, but also
reflect the type of work a photographer wants to do. If you hate sports,
show me in one frame that you can do it in a pinch. If you love fashion,
show two or three examples of your best work.

        Picture stories are important. They demonstrate story-telling
ability and motivation. I see lots of good singles portfolios, then hear
tons of excuses about how the photographer doesn't have time to shoot a
story. Put yourself in my place. Who is going to be a better hire, the
photographer with all the excuses, or someone who found a way to beat
the odds in a bad situation and produced a great story?

        I look for photographers who generate good ideas, then use them
to produce great pictures. Nothing looks worse in a portfolio than a
poorly executed copy of a photo that won in a contest the year before.

        Finally, I look for style. Photographers who see the world a
little differently can shoot the same old thing, but produce pictures
that tell wonderful stories in a way I haven't seen before. I like to be
surprised by a fresh approach or a different point of view."

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Jim McKnight
Photo Chief
Associated Press / Albany

   "NO "famous" people.  Beginning photojournalist seem to think that it is important to include some "famous" person in their portfolio.  Most times the image would not be put in anyone's portfolio if it were not a famous person.

    Less is better and never two of the same thing.   Never, never have two images from the same sport.  This allows the viewer to think " image A is better than B, why did the photog put B in their portfolio?  They should know that A is better and therefore left out B."

    Put different sports in the portfolio.  Stay away from football, hockey,
baseball, all the normal stuff.   The viewer may have just put down the
latest Sports mag with some knock-your-socks-off images of the sport you
have in your portfolio.  Bet you don't see many curling, soccer, bocci,
lacrosse, field hockey, speed skating, or snow boarding in most sports
portfolios.

    And lastly, no clippings.   I don't care if you have ever been
published.  I only care about the images you produce.

    So you now have had an interview at the Daily Weekly.  How do you keep
bugging them about a job without bugging them?  Use the medium.  Once a month
send them a photo postcard with your best image of that month. Don't send a
letter.  Just a nice 4x6 or 5x7 print sent as a postcard with something like
" I shot this last week and thought you might like to see it". They can put
it in your file, or toss it but it takes up little of their time to look at
the image. They don't even need a letter opener."

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Bill Ostendorf
Managing editor/visuals
The Providence Journal

        "Portfolios shouldn't be assembled like a grocery list: 2 from sports, 2 from
news, 2 from portraiture.  Many students put weak photos in their portfolios to
show they can shoot sports or have photographed famous people.  These images
stand out in their portfolios immediately because they are often the weakest
pictures. They also put some photos in because they were hard to get or they
fondly remember the situation. None of this has any place in a portfolio.
        Tight editing is critical. Only your best work should be in your portfolio.
When editors sort through dozens or hundreds of portfolios, it is the weak
images that quickly sort out the also-rans.  Think about it:  If I see three or
four weak photos in your portfolio, I can safely assume you don't have any
more good work to show.  But if everything is strong, I assume there might even
be more excellent pictures than you are showing me.
        Cropping is also important, especially to students who often haven't yet
learned to crop in the viewfinder. Crop each image carefully. When you think
you are done, crop again. Only leave in what portions of the frame that
contribute information.
        What do I like in a portfolio?  Storytelling images.  Pictures that have
emotion, humor, personality. Good use of foreground and background. Variety.
Compassion. Content. Good use of light, color, patterns and texture. Technical
quality. Respect for subjects. Style. Risk taking. Surprise.
        And don't forget to keep your portfolio in perspective. I don't hire
portfolios.  I hire people. I hire their intelligence, ethics, energy and
experience.  I look for team players and people who know they can learn more
and get better.  I want people who care and are curious.
        I meet photographers every year who spend endless hours working on their
portfolios but don't think for five minutes what to say to me, what questions
to ask, how to present themselves as people.  And they wonder why they never
get hired.
        As far as follow-up goes,  I generally prefer to make the phone calls.  Written
or e-mail follow-up is fine, but if every applicant called me, I'd never get off
the phone."

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Alan Youngblood
Photo Editor
Star-Banner
Ocala, FL

        My first experience hiring as a Photo Editor,  I posted an ad on the
JIB and I thought I was very specific - It was not an entry level position it was
a spot for an experienced person:  5 years minimum experience, location
lighting experience, sports, etc. etc. etc.
        The portfolios I got were unbelievable.  I received over 70 portfolios
and 80% of the applicants did not meet my minimum requirements for
experience that I had posted.  I looked at each and every portfolio, and the
photographs of those 80% had images that matched their skill level, not the
experience I was looking for.  There were no diamonds in the rough there.
        Hence, my advice for students and others when applying for jobs is to
read the ads and comply with what the perspective employer is asking for.
Make an honest self evaluation - If the job is beyond your skill level at this
time, DON'T APPLY.  You will just be giving the already busy Photo
Editor more work to do.
        Most of the time I take Ed's advice - "You can't win if you don't enter."
However, in the hiring process, I'll remember those applicants that completely
disregarded my request and bogged me down with a bunch of unnecessary
work next time.

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Bob Croslin
Staff Photographer
The Tampa Tribune

        Having looked at a bunch of digital portfolios lately, the thing that struck
me the most was that everyone of them had glitches:  Pictures wouldn't show up,
some photos looked flaky, etc.

        I've heard it said before I agree:  Instead of a slide show app, do it with html.
Put together a clean and simple to navigate web site and save the whole thing to
removable media.

        Doing it this way will also ensure that it is cross-platform.  In my case, I
work for a paper that has PCs in the photo dept. and a few Macs in graphics.
It's always a pain to find a Mac workstation so it's work to look at some of the
portfolios.  In some cases, if it's work to look at a digital portfolio when there is
a light table and a nicely presented slide portfolio sitting nearby -  the slide
portfolio will be the first to be looked at every time.