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How To Choose Photos For Professional Portfolio Case (part 2)
In the previous article we mentioned 10 aspects you should pay attention to when selecting your photos for audience viewing. And here is another piece of useful information for you.
11. Be absolutely merciless
It's time to be absolutely merciless during selection of your shots. It is better to show less, but of the perfect idea and quality.
If you're only at the beginning of your career and you don't have a lot
of nice samples, a few really good shots will bring you more benefit,
than lots of the quite ordinary pictures. You may be sure with that:
high-class photographers reject the shots, which do not exactly fit
into the required level. One photographer, for example, has a recycle
bin of 4 f. height, where he throws away the rejected slides.
12. Do not search for an excuse
When the audience makes opinion regarding your works, the only thing that can be judged is just what you can offer.
Excuses will not be understood and accepted. If you're not certain with
the right choice, make a pause. Put aside the shot which causes doubt
or uncertainty and do not hurry to make a final decision. Most likely
you will come to a right choice later on. Try to avoid subjectivism
during photo selection. One of the most common mistakes we make is that
we tend to select the images, being guided by our hidden emotional
motives, which have nothing to do with the real quality of the image.
But we can look at these photos impartially, when we get addicted to
the shot, saying something like: "I like it very much, but I have to
leave it". These are just some examples of the subjectivism we can
meet: it might be connected with your special feelings in that
particular day, with memories from childhood, good weather etc. But the
audience is unaware of that, judging only by what they see on your
shot. Be careful with all the mood, sounds, tastes and colors, which
remind you of your special time in the past when you took such shots.
Because you do like your picture because of memories, but is it really
a high-class photo you wish to show then?
13. Pictures of your kids
Try
not become blind by the love to your kids, when you will sit and assess
your works. The same concerns all of the photos of husbands, wives,
beloved ones and all of the relatives.
14. The picture that was so hard to make
You
think it was a success? But don't make a mistake, giving this photo
more value only because you had to overcome big troubles during
shooting. Even if you had to make a shot being hanged by the leg to the
chandelier, it doesn't mean that your heroic act will influence the
artistic price of the imprint. You have to get the high mark from your
audience, but not a high mark for the physical exercise.
by Henri Cartier-Bresson
15. Photo with visual fun
If
you want to play a joke or make some symbolic interpretation, think
twice and make sure that such sense will be guessed by other people.
16. A simple way to assess your image
There's a good way to define if the shot was a success or not: look at the image, then close your eyes and imagine it in some stylish magazine,
such as "Life", for example. Try to imagine that you've just come
across with that shot and you do not know who's the author of it. It
might help you to look at your work differently and with a "fresh eye".
17. Follow the language of body plastique on the pictures of people
Smiling lips, eyes without emotion - such portraits could be called "artistic fakes". Philippe Halsman,
being famous for his portraits, used to say: "If there's no connection
between lips and eyes on your portrait - such picture is just
unsuccessful". Your model is your helping hand here. Pay special attention not only on the face but on the hands, legs and body.
18. Ask yourself several questions for quality control
For the beginning, ask yourself several questions in order to define the quality of your pictures:
1. What is the purpose of the shot? What does the author want to tell by this photo?
2. Is the idea clear enough on the shot?
Has the image been rightly understood? Sometimes a strict and merciless
look is found to have a moment, which does not contain any image in it
and thus does not worth reflections.
3. Does the shot transfer any mood or feeling? Does it touch you in any way? It is such an image that is "reaching your soul" (as quoted by Cartier-Bresson).
4. Have you produced a fact or just interpreted it? If so, does such an interpretation cause empathy from the audience? Is it a one fact or are there two separate facts in one?
5. Can you find out whether the composition was badly arranged,
or you haven't exactly realized which of the two ideas you wished to
represent? Does the composition lead the audience into the right
direction? If not, then, maybe, the viewer's attention is "jumping"
from the parts of the shot and does not stop at any detail on it?
Try to use these prompts to assess the quality of your pictures and you're welcome to discuss them on our photo forum!
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