This article is about improving your portfolio. Portfolios are designed for your best work, showing photographs that are classified as everyday makes it uninteresting. Keep your portfolio full of photographs that show the uncommon.
5 Things To Avoid In Your Portfolio Are: –
Cats & Dogs:
I’m not saying you can’t photograph cats and dogs. I just want them to be more inspired e.g. you could have a family running along the beach with their dog in the background or jumping around. If you need to photograph your cat or dog just keep it to friends and family or social media websites. The only time to have cats and dogs in your portfolio is when you are a pet/ animal photographer.
Homeless People:
There is nothing photographically special about a homeless person they are all over the world. Therefore photographing them has no novelty. Be respectful and keep them out of your portfolio. If you still want to photograph them then ask for permission and give them money for the trouble.
Dead Trees or Stumps:
When you see lots of landscape photographs they all gravitate to dead trees or stumps, frequently seen in amateur landscape portfolios. Visible in any park or woods makes them commonplace.
Railway Tracks:
Railway tracks cover most of the world and how products are transported. Used by commuters everyday for transport to work. Planning a shoot at a railway track then I would suggest you think a little harder and find something more inspiring. Unless its spectacular and unseen I would keep it out. Tracks should only be in a portfolio when a classic steam train is above them and has the makings of a great photograph.
Flowers:
Not going to say don’t photograph flowers. Make them interesting with angles you haven’t seen before. Flowers are everywhere and are naturally beautiful. Search online for botanical gardens and photograph a wide variety of interesting flowers that come from around the world.
This article is not to disparage you from taking photographs, but to inspire you to take more interesting photographs and a better understand in what you should include. You can even go out and prove me wrong and get a great image that astounds me.