Everyday this week we are featuring a top senior portrait photographer as the guest blogger of the day or Seniorologist!  A Seniorologist is a photographer with extensive knowledge of senior portrait photography and someone who loves to share information about the business of senior portrait photography.  Seniorologie feels that there are many photographers who have valuable information to share and that other photographers can learn from many, many sources, not just one.  So we love to feature lots of different photographers to help you, our readers, gain lots of information to use in your senior portrait business.

This week is dedicated to a few of our most popular teachers that have taught either online in a Study Hall Class or at a Seniorologie Tour.  Each day, a photographer will share their insight on a specific subject that they are passionate about.  At the end of their guest post, they will give away ONE 1-hour mentor session to a lucky reader!  A mentor session is the perfect way for you to get one-on-one time with a photographer and ask questions, talk about business or have images critiqued.  It is an extremely valuable way to learn!!  Check back each day to see who the Guest Photographer/Seniorologist is and enter to win that day’s Mentor Giveaway!  Make sure to enter each day because the giveaways will only last until 11:59 p.m. each night.  But you can enter each day for a chance to win all FIVE! 🙂  See more details and what you have to do to enter below.

Yesterday, Courtney DeLaura, was our guest blogger and donated one 1-hour mentor session to one lucky reader.  That lucky reader is….Marie Treat!!  Congratulations!!  Marie, you won the 1-hour mentor session from Courtney DeLaura!

Today, Lisa Carpenter, of Lisa Carpenter Photography is giving away a mentor session and sharing her tips on Building Your Portfolio.  Be sure to read her tips and then enter to win a one-on-one mentor session where you can discuss your portfolio and ask Lisa questions.

There are so many of you who are just starting out in your photography business and have many questions about portfolio building especially if you do not have a client base. In addition, there are many of you that already have clients but want to make a stronger portfolio. Portfolio building consists of the time in which you work hard at taking images that will represent you, will showcase your style, and will be a diverse representation of the type of images you will offer your client.  Your portfolio, which will most likely be on your website and/or blog, is one of the most important tools for you as a budding or established professional photographer in attracting new clients and interacting with current ones.  This is a very important process and is something you really need to take time with.

People are quick to form opinions, therefore you need to grab their interest right away with that first image so that they want to look through your site and then contact you. You want to ‘WOW’ them to take action and schedule a session. You are announcing yourself, making a promise that more will follow along similar lines, and above all, the job of the first image is to make the viewer want to see more. As much as the first image is important, so is the last. Leave them with the memory of a great image; do not make them turn back to the cover image to help make their decision if you are the photographer for them. There is some definite planning that goes into creating a strong portfolio. Here are some questions you need to ask yourself:

• Who are or will be my clients?
• What will they be looking for?
• Does my portfolio draw in my real prospects?
• Am I staying true to my style and brand?  Don’t worry, it is ok to evolve as you grow.

Knowing your target market will greatly help you in deciding what you shoot and show. Once you have a good variety of images, there are a few things to keep in mind:

• Keep the number of images in your portfolio to a manageable number. Only show your very best.
• Show your images in more places than just on your homepage or gallery.
• Have a diverse selection of images, not just one client and/or one location.
• While you want to have a diverse selection, you want to be certain that the variety displayed doesn’t confuse the viewer about your brand.
• Don’t over-edit an image that is not technically strong…it will show.
• Your portfolio should begin and end with your strongest images.
• Show what you want to shoot, so consider a styled shoot with a model.

Wouldn’t it be great to have someone to offer suggestions, critique and compliments so that you knew you were going in the right direction?  Trust me, this process can be rather daunting at first and may even stop you from moving forward.  I can remember when I was launching my first website nearly 10 years ago. I honestly didn’t know the slightest thing about selecting my strongest images because I was pretty happy with most of what I produced.  I only got more selective as time went on.  Another great reason to have someone else go over your selection with you is that more than likely the viewer won’t be emotionally attached to the photos.

So the big questions…Where in the world do I begin? How do I know that my images are strong?  What if I don’t know my style or brand yet?  Is my editing doing my images justice by enhancing or is it taking away from them?  These are all very important questions to not only ask yourself, but to get some advice and critique on.

With all that said, there is one thing to keep in mind. When people stumble upon your portfolio, they rarely look past the first few images or even past the first page. Therefore make it a point to keep your portfolio as tight and well­curated as possible. It definitely is true that first impressions do count, and people do judge books by their covers. Taking time to create your portfolio properly will only help to bring you success as a professional photographer.

To enter to win a 1-hour mentoring session with Lisa, please see below.  This is your chance to get your portfolio critiqued and ask Lisa questions on an area you  most need help with!
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