How to create an award-winning photo portfolio
Can you compile an eye-catching photo portfolio? Our expert resident photographer and Wanderlust Travel Photograph of the Year judge shows you how
13 May 2014
Ever since the Wanderlust Travel Photograph of the Year competition opened a Portfolio category, the judges have been arguing about what you have to do to win: notably submitting five images that work together, but avoid repetition.
The 2013 competition’s winning entry by Renny Whitehead seems to ignore this, but only when you look closer do you realise that these pictures are a testament to individual difference in a uniform world – here, he explains the stories behind the shots.
The first stage in putting together a portfolio is to come up with a theme. When you have this, make a list of vital bullet points about it, and then take an image to illustrate each of these. Use all of your skills and a variety of techniques. Vary your viewpoint, subject distance and even lens choice to make your pictures visually different.
Many portfolios fall down with the editing. Most photographers form an attachment to certain pictures, with one weak picture often letting down the entire portfolio. Learn to be dispassionate: only include one picture per bullet point, and avoid visual duplication. Finally replace any image that is weak – no matter how much you like it personally.
Many portfolios fall down with the editing. Most photographers form an attachment to certain pictures, with one weak picture often letting down the entire portfolio. Learn to be dispassionate: only include one picture per bullet point, and avoid visual duplication. Finally replace any image that is weak – no matter how much you like it personally.
