Photographing Your Work
It is very important to produce quality reproductions of your work. Whether you are publishing it to the web or producing slides or prints, your work should be as close to the original as possible.
Unless you are a very experienced photographer yourself, I would recommend hiring a professional photographer. This is an area where it’s well worth investing some money. You can buy cheap materials to produce your work, but if your portfolio is full of mediocre reproductions, you’re selling yourself short. When you have your photo shoot done, you can ask for slides, prints, and negatives. The negatives are a good thing to have if you need more copies in the future. You can get copies from slides, but these are never as high-quality. Try to get as many slides per piece as you can afford.
For the non-digital artist, scanning your work can be a great asset. The equipment is expensive, but a good scanner and accompanying software is all you need. Once scanned and imported into your computer, you can do a thousand things with your images. Even though the scanner is an easy way to document your work, I would still recommend getting the photos taken, especially for larger pieces which have been scanned in several parts and reassembled.
Putting it all Together
There are many ways to put together a portfolio. It can be fancy or simple. I think that since the artwork is a reflection of you, the packaging should also reflect your aesthetic.
A physically strong portfolio is important. You want it to take some punishment and still look good. To keep the pages clean, I like to use plastic sheet covers. Make sure each page has your contact info clearly marked. Any additional paraphernalia included in the portfolio should also be labeled. Never assume that if you send a portfolio it will be sent back. If you want anything returned include a self addressed stamped envelope.
A good heavy duty slide sheet is also a must. Each slide should have the title, size, and date of the piece, as well as an arrow indicating the top. A slide list should always accompany your slides, and the numbers should correspond to a number on the actual slide. Depending on the quality of the slide, or even the position of the image in the slide you may need to tape. Taping is done to get rid of any excess space around the image. The tape to use is specially designed for slides. It is silver in color and will block the light of the projector. When the slide is viewed, all you will see is the image surrounded by black. This helps make the slide look clean and professional.
It is very important to customize your portfolio according to where you are sending it. If you’re proposing an exhibition, applying for an illustration gig or entering a contest, make sure your portfolio has all the required elements. If there are any submission guidelines, make sure you follow them to the letter. A personal touch is always a great addition-a cover letter is often all you need to accomplish this.
I hope this simple guide filled out your knowledge base. Being a professional artist is definitely about producing great artwork, but it’s also about acting, talking and walking like a pro. If you take yourself seriously, others will too.
Article by Erika Schulz.
