What is a Creative Portfolio?

Discover the definition of a professional creative portfolio, find out what it needs to contain and learn how to create yours with Pati Gagarin

There’s an established definition: a portfolio is a collection or folder that gathers together a set of work by someone who specializes in a particular field. But, do portfolios vary according to each specialization?

Photographer Pati Gagarin (@patigagarin) is an expert in photographs that are full of color, surprises and a lot of style. She believes they should. And she explains what an artist or creative's professional portfolio needs to contain.

Learn more in the video:

Pati explains that a portfolio should contain a clear sample demonstrating your ability to complete a specific task. It could contain written documents, typography and illustrations, videos or photos, but the most important consideration is that it has to present your work in a creative way that grabs attention. “You have to ensure that potential clients want to see more, and perhaps commission more work,” explains the photographer.

Like all good summaries, your portfolio should be clear and direct, containing few but powerful images of your key work. If you want potential clients to see more, and more depth, you can always create a website or pdf showing collections or series of your work, and keep a select few images for your portfolio.

It’s also important to have a focus. If you know your potential client’s profile, try and send work that’s related to what they’re developing or looking for. This will give you a much greater chance of immediately capturing their attention.

“Remember that your first and final images are the ones people look at most, so make the most of them,” says Pati.

Like these tips? Remember Pati Gagarin teaches you how to showcase your work and make your Instagram profile your best business card in her online course: Instagram as a Photography Portfolio.

You may be interested in:

- Creating an Illustration Portfolio on Instagram, a course by PENCIL-ILUSTRADORES.
- Professional Illustration: Turn Your Passion Into a Career, a course by Laura Varsky.
- Keys for Creating a Professional Illustration Portfolio, a course by PENCIL-ILUSTRADORES.