Retouching Portfolio Advice

[Chocolate]

Hey everyone,

Just looking for some advice on how to put a portfolio together. A lot of job opportunities obviously ask for a portfolio to be submitted usually in PDF form. I'm wondering roughly how many images you would recommend to put in the portfolio? I'm very conscious of putting too many in - my initial thought was to include maybe 10 to 15? 15 seems maybe too many but I thought I'd just throw this out there to you guys to see what you think.

Also, is it necessary to include before/after examples for every image? I would prefer to not include before images but again, what are your thoughts/recommendations on this?

Any advice would be very much appreciated.

Cheers

[Clide]

Re: Retouching Portfolio Advice

Probably not the best suited for answering this properly since I am kind of in the same position as you are. However, I think a PDF of 5-10 images is enough to get the idea across. I also might include maybe like 1 or 2 before and afters if you really have to. I am kind of curious to see what other people think too.

[Doug Nelson]

Re: Retouching Portfolio Advice

Not a retoucher, but I've interviewed many retouchers, and they virtually all have said they'd require before/after. But there's no reason to include hi-rez versions of either, just 72ppi is fine for a PDF. If you like you can include something like "full rez available on request" or similar.

Sort your examples by category, and make sure you have categories that match both your and their primary interests. Two different examples of each should suffice, as long as they show different things.

[Jerry1]

Re: Retouching Portfolio Advice

Sometimes you don't realise a shots been retouched if it's done really well (depending on the type retouching required). I work for photographers who want it to look like they've got the shot right in camera. In cases like this I think you definitely need the before images.

Regarding quantity I think less is defiantly better.

A good point Doug makes about categories. I have completely separate portfolios for architectural exteriors, interiors, food shots, small product shots and large product shots.
I can then approach clients and show a portfolio tailored to their needs.