How to Create an Impactful Photography Portfolio

How to Create an Impactful Photography Portfolio (And What to Cut!)

Recently, when I worked through a long overdue website update, I combed through literally thousands of photos from the past couple of years to try to get my portfolio revamped. I have loved the photos on my website (and my template is recent) – but my style has shifted over the course of the last two years and this portfolio update is both necessary and exciting.

And also… a huge pain.

Sure, I could have slowly refined my portfolio each month or so, adding some new favorites and removing some dated images. This is a good way to maintain your portfolio and make minor adjustments.

But sometimes, a total overhaul is just the right way to go. My work has shifted too much over the past two years to just swap out a few photos here and there. I’ve been slowly heading in a new direction, and what felt subtle at first now feels clear and distinct. 

And since I’ve been slogging through this tedious, yet incredibly important and impactful task, I want to share my tips for clarifying your portfolio, as well as the reasoning behind it. Let’s go!

How to Create an Impactful Photography Portfolio

What I mean when I say ‘portfolio’

I want to clarify quickly what I mean when I refer to a portfolio – I’m referring to the page on your website where you’re showcasing your best work. If you don’t have one of these pages, you need one. Yes, you can show your work through galleries and blog posts, but those shouldn’t replace a more concise portfolio page. It’s really important to snag people’s attention as quickly as possible, with as few clicks as possible!

Why you need a clear portfolio

Creating a clear, focused portfolio is crucial – it can make or break your bookings! People make decisions incredibly quickly, and have very short attention spans. This means that we don’t have much time to convince them that they love our work – so our portfolio needs to be making the case clearly and concisely.

Your portfolio should be a curated collection of your best, most scroll-stopping work. It is not intended to show off all of the good work that you’ve ever done, or all of the variety you might offer – that can be done on your blog or in featured galleries that clients can visit if they want a more in-depth view of your work. Your portfolio should be curated ruthlessly so that it tells a clear story of your style, as quickly as possible.

Of course there are times we fall behind on updates, and that’s understandable – most of us are running our businesses without any help, and the work is endless! At the same time, we can’t let this task go for too long, because it is quite literally the visual way we’re selling our services. It matters a ton!

What to cut

I know it’s hard to narrow things down – I’ve spent hours putting together an updated portfolio, and I haven’t even finished yet! (What’s live on the portfolio page on my site as of today is not what I’ve been working on). Curating involves a million micro-decisions and can be mentally fatiguing. 

But if you really want your portfolio to have power, it’s time to commit to making some tough choices. Here’s what to cut:

1. Anything That Doesn’t Reflect Your Current Style
   It doesn’t matter how pretty a photo is –  if you shot something a few years ago but your style has shifted, take it out! Your portfolio should reflect the photographer you are today, not the photographer you were. My new portfolio will not include so many images I love, not because they aren’t still beautiful, but because they’re not what I focus on producing these days.
2. Images That Aren’t Your Best Work
   This one might seem obvious, but it’s easy to hold on to images because they’re sentimental or because you worked hard for them. The reality is, clients won’t know or care about the story behind the shot—they just care about the end result. So if the photo doesn’t wow you or your audience, it’s time to let it go.
3. Lots of Variety
   Yes, variety in our work is incredibly important. That’s not what I’m talking about here – in this case, I’m referring to the pressure we can feel to include images from all of our sessions, or all four seasons, or indoor and outdoor, or showcasing each type of photo we include in our galleries. But our portfolio doesn’t need to cover all of this – it needs to convey a clear and succinct message. We can showcase all of the variety on our blog instead, which is perfect for giving clients an idea of the range of images they might get at their session.
4. Anything that isn’t a resounding YES
   lf you’re not sure if you should include a photo in your portfolio, don’t include it! It’s so much better to have a smaller, more powerful portfolio, than to have a cluttered portfolio with no clear message. Unless your immediate reaction is that you’re excited to share an image, leave it out.
5. All the excess
   Our portfolios should not be made up of hundreds of photos – no one is going to invest the time to scroll through them all! Our portfolio can be robust yet concise: not so small that anyone is wondering where the rest of our work is, yet not so long that they quit scrolling a third of the way through. There is no magic number of images to use – just exercise your best judgment. And if an image feels less important than the rest of the photos in your portfolio, just get rid of it!

How to Create an Impactful Photography Portfolio

My process

If you only need a little refresh, start by cutting anything from your portfolio that fits the guidelines above. Then, go through your favorite recent work and add only a very few photos at most from each session. It’s easy to clutter your portfolio right back up with recent work, so add carefully!

If you need an overhaul like I did, here’s my process:

1. I went through my best client galleries in Pic-Time (the service I use to deliver my photos to clients) and chose my favorites from each gallery. I like selecting favorites in my client galleries because it prevents me from being tempted to re-edit anything, and keeps me undistracted. All I can do is add a photo to my favorites, or skip it. So straightforward!
2. After choosing all of my favorites, I downloaded the web sized files. I knew I needed to cull down even further and I wanted to be able to look at all of my favorites at once. I imported them into Lightroom, and chose my favorites from there.
3. After culling down to the favorites of my favorites, I exported these photos and uploaded them into Showit so that I could add them to my website. The truth is, my collection wasn’t small enough yet for my portfolio – but I need more than just my portfolio images to use all over my site (there are images all over!). Now, I am carefully adding images to my portfolio gallery in Showit, always asking myself:
    >> Am I excited to share this photo?
   >>  Are the other photos in my portfolio better than this, or is this really top-tier?
   >> Does this photo make me feel anything?
   >> Does it align with my brand, and do I want to create more work like this?

Only then does a photo get added to my portfolio!

And my number one tip: trust your gut.

You can follow my process or create one that works better for you. Do whatever you want! The one nonnegotiable step is to listen to your instincts. Trust yourself.

If a photo doesn’t get you excited, skip it. If you really love an image, use it! You can always ask friends or family for input as well, because a third party perspective is really valuable. But in the end, you are the artist. You are the one who owns your business. And you need to feel excited about the portfolio you put together!

Friend, I know this is a lot of work! I won’t pretend for a moment that it’s easy to choose the images that you present as your very best work. It takes time, thoughtfulness, and a lot of decision-making. 

But in the end, it is well worth the work it requires. When you can create a clear, focused portfolio that speaks to potential clients and grabs their attention, you’ll book clients who resonate with your work and are excited to work with you – and book more.

I’m in this with you! My goal is to have my new portfolio page live by the end of the week. I’ll be working on it again this evening, likely with some wine & cheese to make the task a little more pleasant. 😉

How to Create an Impactful Photography Portfolio