# giving a portfolio a shot



## trexon

I recently started working on a portfolio which I may use for an internship application. Feedback is greatly appreciated.

Tim Samadov


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## Designer

What kind of internship are you hoping for?


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## trexon

I'm hoping to get an internship at a studio or with a wedding photographer. I'll take any internship dealing with photography though. 


Designer said:


> What kind of internship are you hoping for?


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## Designer

trexon said:


> I'm hoping to get an internship at a studio or with a wedding photographer. I'll take any internship dealing with photography though.
> 
> 
> Designer said:
> 
> 
> 
> What kind of internship are you hoping for?
Click to expand...

O.K., then I have a suggestion for you:  Try some formal portraits, and use lighting.  

The collection of informal portraits you have now have very little to do with studio work, and not much to do with weddings.  If you can show someone that you know something about lighting, it will go a long way to getting that internship.  

Like it or not, a prospective employer will expect you to actually know something, and as nice as it might be to learn everything in your internship, employers are looking for a worker who can take simple direction, and do what is asked the first time.  

Learn as much as you can about studio lighting so you can at least speak intelligently about it.  You don't have to be a whiz, just know the names for the equipment and how it is used.  Good luck!

Oh, BTW: don't be surprised if you don't actually shoot any photographs for a while.


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## trexon

Designer said:


> trexon said:
> 
> 
> 
> I'm hoping to get an internship at a studio or with a wedding photographer. I'll take any internship dealing with photography though.
> 
> 
> Designer said:
> 
> 
> 
> What kind of internship are you hoping for?
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Click to expand...
> 
> O.K., then I have a suggestion for you:  Try some formal portraits, and use lighting.
> 
> The collection of informal portraits you have now have very little to do with studio work, and not much to do with weddings.  If you can show someone that you know something about lighting, it will go a long way to getting that internship.
> 
> Like it or not, a prospective employer will expect you to actually know something, and as nice as it might be to learn everything in your internship, employers are looking for a worker who can take simple direction, and do what is asked the first time.
> 
> Learn as much as you can about studio lighting so you can at least speak intelligently about it.  You don't have to be a whiz, just know the names for the equipment and how it is used.  Good luck!
> 
> Oh, BTW: don't be surprised if you don't actually shoot any photographs for a while.
Click to expand...


I don't have access to a studio so I wouldn't really be able to do formal portraits. Thank you for the feedback though, I'll study up about lighting.


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## tirediron

trexon said:


> I don't have access to a studio so I wouldn't really be able to do formal portraits. Thank you for the feedback though, I'll study up about lighting.


Pull the other one, it's got bells on!  You're working [apparently] in New York City.  There are probably thousands of 'rent by the hour' studio spaces you can get.  

Designer is spot on with his points about studio work and lighting.  Given how many people there are who want exactly what you're seeking, potential employers can afford to be VERY picky.  If I were to hire someone as a general dog's body, and he couldn't understand "drop the key 1/3 stop and bring in a fill at 1 1/2 stops below key" he/she would be out the door.


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## Derrel

One suggestion would be to study some books on composition, and when to use a tall camera orientation versus a wide camera orientation. You are making one of the most-common mistakes in portraiture when you are framing up your shots; you are leaving too much headspace above the people, and are cropping them off in an awkward manner, at the wrist, or at the arm, etc. at the bottom edge of your compositions.

Your people in several examples are "riding low in the frame"...this is a very common tendency, and it is tricky with the 3:2 aspect ratio of so,so many modern cameras! The issue with the common, d-slr format aspect of 3:2 is that the frame's area is not very tall on a "wide" (the often-referred to _landscape orientation_) shot, and is very narrow on a 'tall" shot (the frequently referred to "_portrait orientation_").

Other than the framing issue, you seem to be doing pretty well on technicals and on expressions. Keep working on your craft, but study up on the art aspect as well. The craft part (exposure, focus, post-processing) is all fairly good so far, from what I saw in your work. You just need more elegant, more balanced composing methods.


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## trexon

tirediron said:


> trexon said:
> 
> 
> 
> I don't have access to a studio so I wouldn't really be able to do formal portraits. Thank you for the feedback though, I'll study up about lighting.
> 
> 
> 
> Pull the other one, it's got bells on!  You're working [apparently] in New York City.  There are probably thousands of 'rent by the hour' studio spaces you can get.
> 
> Designer is spot on with his points about studio work and lighting.  Given how many people there are who want exactly what you're seeking, potential employers can afford to be VERY picky.  If I were to hire someone as a general dog's body, and he couldn't understand "drop the key 1/3 stop and bring in a fill at 1 1/2 stops below key" he/she would be out the door.
Click to expand...


Yeah I'm from NYC, but I'm also 16. A typical studio usually costs from 100-200$ for an hour or two. As a teenager you're typically not able to afford such a commodity with your personal money (hence why I'm trying to get an internship at a studio.) But I will definitely  study up on the photography jargon.


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## tirediron

Okay, you're 16; that presupposes one is attending school, ergo, studio space galore.


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## trexon

tirediron said:


> Okay, you're 16; that presupposes one is attending school, ergo, studio space galore.



Sadly, the last day of school was two days ago.


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## Designer

trexon said:


> I don't have access to a studio so I wouldn't really be able to do formal portraits.


I mean no offense, but that is a very lame excuse.  You don't need a $500,000 studio to make some formal portraits.  

You do need some lighting, however, which you can rent.  Rent two or three speedlights and some modifiers, and get busy.  

At least you already have some models, so don't offer excuses, offer results instead.


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## tecboy

A studio can be your garage, your living room, your backyard, or anywhere outside.  A proper lighting equipment will help. There are few cheaper alternatives.


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## Studio7Four

tecboy said:


> A studio can be your garage, your living room, your backyard, or anywhere outside.  A proper lighting equipment will help. There are few cheaper alternatives.



I agree with this - my studio is in my garage.  Sometimes you have to move things out of the way (furniture, or in my case a car) and then move it back after you shoot.  Not the worst thing to have to do...

You can keep an eye on sites like Craigslist and eBay for cheap lighting equipment - lights and modifiers, such as reflectors.  But in the meantime don't be afraid to use window light as if it's a single light source, particularly if you have a north-facing window so you're getting indirect sunlight.  Treat the window as if it is a softbox and experiment with your subject's position to it (near/far, change the angle of the pose, etc.).  This will help show the impact of your light source's (strobe and modifier) size and position when you do move to using them.  Then add a reflector to bounce some of that window light back from the other side, even if that reflector is only a piece of poster board or a white sheet.  Lots of good learning can be done - and good images made - on the cheap.


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## mwilson263

I agree with others' comments regarding studio space - a spare room in the house, garage, or even talking to schools or churches to see if they have a gym, cafeteria, or other space you could use might be good options.  If none of that is available, then you work with what you have, which is a wide variety of outdoor or public locations.

To me, your photos have a very urban feel to them, and in general for an urban flair they're good.  I think you're off to a great start.  For a portfolio I think you would do well to include some more "elegant" shots - dress your subjects up more for portraits than urban, and find some areas in parks with flowers, trees, or shrubs as backgrounds; or take a make-shift background on location with you.  Learn and work on using the natural light around you mixed with a speedlight (or two).  Learning to place, use & blend flash lighting with ambient (natural) lighting to create different moods in your photos is going to be huge for you.

This would go a long ways to showing you have versatility & creativity - that you can think out of the box, create photos,  and tell a story with them, not simply just click a shutter button.


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## vintagesnaps

I'd keep working on composition etc. I don't see why you can't keep shooting outdoors and keep an eye out for some studio opportunity in the future. 

I like the rooftop idea, I'd think about vantage point and notice backgrounds, take a step or two and think about how that changes the perspective. I like the last one of that set, although I can't decide if I like the subject leaning against the pole or not. But that's a great place to get more than one photo by making sometimes a slight difference in vantage point. Try playing around with it some if you have a subject who's willing for you to take some time to try out different vantage points, etc. 

I'd work on noticing details too, in the one portrait I'd either have the hair a little spiky or comb it down, but it looks unintentional to have a few flyaway hairs sticking up. With the first one of the young woman, I'd think about where to place her in relation to the cars; they aren't that interesting and just seem to be visually distracting. I'd think more interesting doorway and brick, less cars, and maybe flip the camera to frame it vertically. Even if the background's out of focus, there can be blobs of shape and color there that need to be considered in the composition. 

Do you ever look at the Photo District News? They do have a student discount of half off subscriptions, although part of each issue you can see on their website. http://www.pdnonlne.com 

Are you familiar with Photoville? might be worth checking out if you can get there.

Maybe get to photography events if/when you can, I've found you never know what you might learn or who you might meet or if it could lead to an opportunity. If nothing else there may be little snacks on toothpicks.


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