18 29 February 2020 I http://www.amateurphotographer.co.uk I subscribe 0330 333 1113
Technique PORTFOLIO TIPS
ChrisCoe
Founder,TravelPhotographer
oftheYear
Foundedbyprofessional
photographerChrisCoe
andhispartner,Karen,in
2003,Travel
PhotographeroftheYear
(TPOTY)is anannual
competitionthatplaces
greatemphasisonportfolios.Therearea
numberofcategoriesforsingleimages,
buttowintheoveralltitlephotographers
mustsubmiteightexceptionalshots(two
portfoliosoffour,oroneportfolioofeight).
‘Portfoliostestandchallengea
photographer’sskillandrevealtheirtrue
ability,’saysChris.‘Anyonecangeta good
singleimage,whetherbyluck,skillor
judgement,buttoshowconsistencyovera
numberofimagesdemonstratestalent
andvision.It alsorevealsa photographer’s
abilitytoeditandpresenttheirwork.’
Judgesofthe 2019 competitionincluded
TimothyAllen(BBCHumanPlanet
photographer),MichaelPritchard
(directorofeducationandpublicaffairsat
theRoyalPhotographicSociety),and
DariaBonera(NationalGeographicIt a ly).
‘Theportfoliosarethemed,sofirstthe
judgesarelookingtoseeimagerythat
meetsthebrief,’explainsChris.‘Next,the
imagesneedtobeconsistentinquality–
sonoweakonesthrownintomakeupthe
numbers.Interestinglyit’softenthefourth
imagethatletsa photographerdown!’Keepitconsistent
Withthiscriterionmet,thejudgesturn
theirattentiontoa photographer’sstyle,
andthewaytheypresenttheirwork.‘A
portfoliois judgedasa set,so
photographersneedtoputthoughtinto
howtheirimagesfit togetherbothin
contentandinorientation,’saysChris.‘A
portfolioofthreecolourimagesandone
black&whiteonewillrarelyhavethe
sameimpactasa selectionthatis more
consistent,forexample.It’ssurprisinghow
theorderofimagesina portfoliocanalter
itsperceptiontoo.It’smuchharderto1 Beconsistent.Eachimagein yourportfolio
shouldbeof a consistentstandardand
presentation.Excludeanyweakerimages;
choosebetweenblack& whiteorcolour
(don’tmixboth);andtrynottomixdifferent
imageformats.
2 Editthoughtfully.Yourfavouriteimagesare
notalwaysyourbest,sochoosewisely,and
followthebrief.Mostphotographersarepoor
at editingtheirownwork,sobeforeentering
asksomeonewhattheythinkof your
selection,particularlywhenit comesto
portfolios,andlistentowhattheysay.Chris’s top tips
make a portfolio of, say, three landscape-
format images and one portrait-format
image fl ow in the same way as a set of four
images of the same orientation.’
Having to sift through more than 20,
images every year, Chris is aware of the
common errors entrants make.
‘Photographers often submit their favourite
images, which are not always their best,’ he
reveals. ‘What’s more, if you have a great
image it’s tempting to enter it regardless of
whether or not it suits the theme, but the
best image in the world won’t win if you’ve
entered it into the wrong category, so keep
your powder dry until there’s a theme that
really works for your pictures – even if that
means waiting until the following year!’
Other common errors include a lack of ‘wow’
factor, which can be hard to defi ne. ‘Usually
this comes down to good composition or
capturing a defi ning moment,’ says Chris.
‘It’s not about having the best camera; it’s
about having a good eye.’
So, having familiarised yourself with the
common pitfalls, is there anything you can
do to ensure that your portfolio stands out?
‘A good portfolio will usually tell a story,
with each image adding to the overall
message,’ explains Chris, ‘It’s interesting
that many of the young photographers in
the awards (those aged 18 and under) shoot
new material to fi t the theme, whereas
adult entrants tend to cobble together a
portfolio from their archive, so it’s hard to
link the images eff ectively.’Below: Stuart Redler, Commended, Faces, People, Encounters, Travel Photographer of the Year 2015
ALL PICTURES © STUART REDLER/ TRAVEL PHOTOGRAPHER OF THE YEAR (TPOT Y)
ALL PICTURES © PAUL SANSOME/ TRAVEL PHOTOGRAPHER OF THE YEAR (TPOT Y)
© WILDFOOT TRAVEL