How To Build A Strong Artist Portfolio
As an artist, you’re most likely constantly looking for ways to improve your art and get exposure. What if we told you that one of the best ways to do this is by building a strong portfolio that showcases your work in the best possible light. Without a doubt, a strong artist portfolio is the key to success. Artists need to be able to showcase their work, share what inspires them, and show off their skills in order to attract the right clients. It's important for artists of any level to build a portfolio that reflects who they are as an individual. This blog post will give you some great ideas on how you can create your own powerful artist portfolio that stands out from the rest!
Tip #1: High-quality images of your artwork
You have a collection of incredible pieces of work that you want the world to see and the best way to share it is through high-quality images. So, the million dollar question right now is - what constitutes a high quality image? It’s simple - an image that has high resolution (i.e. more pixels for inch) and clarity and isn’t blurry, poorly lit or awkwardly cropped. Plus, you don’t want any shadows to obscure your piece or any backgrounds to take away from your work. Artwork Archive explains that you want to ensure that “your camera settings reflect the true colors of the work and color correct the image if need to be to present an accurate image” because authenticity is very important.
From their list of tips for photographing your art like a professional, they suggest that you start by hanging your artwork on a neutral coloured (black, white grey) wall. You will notice that the neutral colour will draw more attention and accentuate your work unlike the effect produced by a busy background. neutral colored wall (white, black, gray) Equally, it’s best to hang your work at a height where the middle of your piece will be parallel to your camera.
Their next tip is to make sure that you have proper lighting - “if you are shooting your work indoors, do so in a room with plenty of windows and natural light. Some artists also enjoy photographing their work outdoors when it is cloudy or overcast, as indirect sunlight provides the best lighting. Natural light can be a beautiful way to photograph your work as long as it is indirect.” Artificial lighting is also a great option for the days when the weather just isn’t on your side or if it’s nighttime. Artwork Archive’s cost-effective lighting kit includes two lights (at a minimum for 2-dimensional work) - “We have used lighting stands that you often see in dorm rooms (the ones with three adjustable bulbs) or clamp lights. Place the lights halfway between the camera and the canvas at a 45-degree angle pointing toward the wall (this will help eliminate shadows and “hot spots” on the painting). If you have umbrellas for your lights, attach them now.” They also suggest this awesome light hack: you can use a white sheet or white plastic as a light diffuser and place it between the lights and your work.
Their third step involves checking the camera settings. Having your ISO and aperture at the right setting is key to photographing high quality, clean and crisp images. Ensure that your ISO is low and that your aperture f-spot is between f-8 and f-11 so that your photo will neither be over nor underexposed. Artwork Archive suggests that you set your camera’s timer to 4 or 5 seconds to avoid blur, and shake in your image.
Their fourth and final step is all about editing. Editing is a great way to capture the true essence of your piece but we advise that you do it sparingly as you don’t want to produce an image that doesn’t align with your actual piece. Artwork Archive explains that there are numerous free or inexpensive photo editing software alternatives that you can use for this step such as Photoshop Elements or Gimp which have all the basic features such as color correction, cropping, and other minor adjustments as well as Lightroom which is a popular subscription based programme.
Tip #2: Include links to your online platforms
Including links to your social media accounts, website and newsletter subscription page is a good way to help prospective clients and collaborators get to know you and your work better but one thing to make sure is that the links you include actually work. The worst thing to happen is that an interested buyer or collaborator clicks the link and it’s broken or the site or social media page is not user-friendly and takes too long to load. More times than not, they will simply exit the page and move on which can cause you to miss out a potentially amazing opportunity. Double-checking your links won’t take you long and this simple act can help you a lot in the long run.
Tip #3: Quality over quantity
This is one of the most common but impactful saying. Quality will go a lot further than quantity especially regarding your portfolio. Select a few of your best works that truly showcase your talent, range, experience, strengths and technical ability. It’s also a great idea to choose pieces that tell your story which encompasses your passion, experiences, personality, themes that you’re captivated by and of course, your perspective and voice. Sharing these aspects through your art and portfolio helps you connect with the audience which is essential when selling your work.
Tip #4: Make it user friendly
In your artist portfolio, it’s important to make it as user friendly as possible. You can do this by including key elements that are of interest to the audience such as descriptions of your work (titles, dimensions, mediums, creation date, sale price) as well as your name and contact information. The design or format aspect of your portfolio is equally important for ensuring that your portfolio is user friendly. Because your portfolio is designed to promote your art, in your design you should avoid cluttered backgrounds and distracting fonts. You want the end result to look professional and the best way to do this is to use simple and legible fonts such as Calibri, Arial or Times New Roman and a background that helps highlight your work.
Tip #5: Have a digital and physical portfolio
It’s a useful idea to create both a digital (online) and physical (hardcopy) portfolio as they will both complement one another and be appropriate for different situations. In your digital version, ensure that your images are in JPEG or JPG format and are compatible with any device. Keep in mind our first tip (including high quality images) and to do this, you can use images that have approximately 600 pixels as they will be ideal and viewable on numerous devices.
Tip #6: Keep it up to date
Keeping your portfolio up to date will be very beneficial for you as it will indicate that you are continually progressing in the art world. That means you should double check to see if you have included the most recent and relevant artist statement, biography, and CV/ resume which will all together formulate a great introduction to you, your artwork and your accomplishments as an artists.
Tip #7: Ensure that your portfolio is appropriate for to a range of audiences
When creating your portfolio, you want to keep in mind that a variety of audiences will most likely view and access it. To accommodate for the range of audiences, Agora Gallery highlights the importance of ensuring that “all the different portfolio components are in place. For instance, a gallery dealer will be interested in the visual images, your pricing list, and your resume, while an art writer will want to see newsworthy accomplishments and a collector will primarily want to know if there’s anything to buy. Whatever you choose to include, make sure it’s personal and that it markets you as an artist and generates interest in your work.”
We hope that tips come in handy for building your portfolio that will get you noticed and open numerous doors filled with opportunity for you!