What is a Portfolio?

Entering the workforce can seem daunting, and even finding the next job can be difficult when you feel like you don’t know the right people. But maybe the right people just haven’t found you yet. Creatives and artists looking for new jobs or opportunities should always be looking for the best way to demonstrate their skills, style, and unique talents. So what is one of the best ways they can do this? Create a portfolio! 

Whether you are a budding filmmaker, professional photographer, performer, or student of the arts, here is a guide to help you understand how to build a portfolio and what a well-put-together portfolio can do for you. 

What is a Portfolio?

Merriam-Webster describes a portfolio as “a selection of a student’s work (such as papers and tests) compiled over a period of time and used for assessing performance or progress.” Sure, this definition is accurate at describing what some portfolios might be, but portfolios can become so much more than that. 

Firstly, a portfolio is not just for students and the work you do as a student. Students may be a large group of people who are hoping to get jobs or network to build a career, but working professionals need a good portfolio, too. If you are someone who wants to work with others, continue growing your career, and be open to new opportunities, you should be creating a portfolio. 

A portfolio has the ability to show future employers and collaborators who you are and why they should work with you. It is a visual display of who you are as a collaborator, employee, or artist. The way that your portfolio is organized and the projects that it highlights will tell a lot about you. The most important thing that a portfolio can show about you is that you are organized, creative in your specific style, and passionate about what you do. Indeed’s career guide offers some good steps for how to create a professional work portfolio. 

The Creative Portfolio 

A creative portfolio will often look different than a general professional portfolio. The creative fields are more visually and artistically entangled, and therefore your portfolio for creative industries, such as film, television, and the arts, should reflect that. 

When crafting your portfolio, you want to emphasize your visual storytelling skills, style, proficiency, and professionalism. 

Some things to think about when crafting your portfolio:

• What kind of stories do you like to tell?

• What kind of stories do you hope to tell?

• What is your vision?

• What sort of roles/jobs do you want?

When you understand who you are as an artist and what you want to do, you can curate your portfolio to reflect that. Your portfolio should show others why you are qualified to fill the roles you want to fill, be it an indie director, a dynamic DP, a dramatic actor, or an urban photographer. 

Components of an Entertainment Industry Portfolio 

1. About You 

Introduce yourself! Write a short section about you. It should be brief and touch on who you are, your qualifications, your achievements, and what sort of positions you are looking for. More importantly, though, this is an opportunity for you to show your personality, so feel free to tell a story about your professional journey. 

1. Resume

Include your resume. This resume should be tailored towards the work and opportunities that you want to have. For example, if you want to be a director, include works or positions that you did as a director, assistant director, or in leadership roles, rather than a job unrelated to being a director. Make sure your resume includes your education, contact information, work experience, skills, and certifications. 

1. Samples

This is the bulk of your portfolio. These are going to be the works that will give others an impression of what you are capable of doing. Some things you might want to include are:

• Past Projects: This can include student films, passion projects, and professional work. It is important to keep in mind to only include projects in which you had a leading role (producer, director, DP, etc.) in creating or really showcasing the work that you personally did in the final project. 

• Reels: Be it an actor’s, director’s, or cinematographer’s reel, these are a great way to show your work in a condensed manner, letting you highlight your best work. When creating a reel, remember to keep it simple and short. When putting together different projects, you don’t want to do any fancy editing tricks if it is going to distract from the main thing you are trying to show, such as your acting or cinematography. Try to pick clips from projects and scenes that are easy to understand. You don’t want to lose your audience’s attention if they are trying too hard to figure out what the scene is about. 

• Writing Samples: If you are a writer or looking for a role that involves writing skills, include some writing samples. These can include scripts you have written, script coverage samples, or essays. Make sure to give the reader a sense of your strengths as a writer. 

• Social Media/Business Accounts: If you have any professional social media accounts that showcase more of your work, you can include them. 

1. References

If you have any references from people who have worked with you and have good things to say about it, include these so that people can get a perspective on your work from someone else. These references can be from professors, internship supervisors, collaborators, or employers. 

What to Keep in Mind When Curating Your Portfolio

Remember that it is all about quality over quantity. Your future employers or collaborators will not want to spend more than a few minutes going through all the work you have ever done so keep your portfolio condensed. Use your best work that presents who you are as a person and artist. 

The organization and visuals of your portfolio are also very important. How your portfolio is laid out is the first thing that people will see, so make sure it is organized and easy to navigate. You want the most important information to stand out. 

In all your samples make sure to take note of who is contributing to the project. Make sure that you are in a lead position in that project and can describe what you did. Sometimes it will be enough to say that you directed it or were the photographer; however, in cases where your role may be less clear, it is better to leave a description of what you did on the project. Don’t forget to give credit to your collaborators when it is due. 

Finally, it is okay to have multiple interests. Just make sure you have separate portfolios or a portfolio that is separated into clear sections so you can tailor your portfolio to relevant information for your employers or future collaborators. For example, you could have a portfolio for your work as a director and your work as a writer. 

Where to Put Together Your Portfolio

Now that you know how important a portfolio is and what it should include, there are many different ways to put it all together. More traditional ways might be physical documents, sketches on paper, collections of photographs, or hard copies of reels; however, now that we are in the digital age, there are so many more options that can reach larger audiences. 

One option is creating a personal website to be shared with employers and future collaborators. These are great because you get to decide how the site is organized. It allows you to customize your site to be more personal. However, the downside is that it can be harder to connect with other creatives when the site only centers around your work. This can be great when giving future employers something to judge whether you are a fit for their open roles, but it makes more organic partnerships and connections harder, and website building can quickly become costly. 

A different option is to try a portfolio platform. A platform like Auteurnet is a space where not only your work can be displayed but other creatives can easily find you. The platform helps break the divide between creatives by making you and your work more discoverable. This means that, whether or not you are looking for work, you can still build connections with other creatives that can lead to more opportunities in the future. While Auteurnet and platforms like it are new, they offer an opportunity to become more connected with other creatives through showcasing your portfolio. 

Both these options have their merits. As the creative, you should find the format that works best for you. Other than these two, there are many other ways to digitally host your portfolio. That said, feel free to try different formats. You can have your portfolio in multiple formats, which can help you reach a wider audience.

Now that you know the importance of a portfolio and what should be included, you are more than ready to start creating your own creative portfolio!