PART4 / TOOLSthan ever before, as more often it is not a relationship they are
reinvesting in, it is a vision they are buying.One Vision, Multiple
ApplicationsClearly, developing your vision for your portfolio is your
first step, but you need to take it further. It is important that
your vision have two or three different applications. You need
to offer clients more than one opportunity to hire you. While
this may sound like a contradiction, it is not. Think of going
to a restaurant. Today, each restaurant of merit has defined a
cuisine that it offers. Whether ethnic or not, there is indeed a
type of food that they serve. Within their menu there are
many choices of food, all of which fit into the category and
position that they have chosen for their establishment. You
choose your restaurant based on their type of cuisine and your
immediate interests (similar to those buying photography
today!). Publications are another example of this style of
thinking. Years ago, magazines contained information that
was geared more toward the general public. Now, there are
hundreds of publications, each directed toward a specific
interest group or area of our population. Within each
publication there are a variety of stories and topics that might
be of interest to the reader.
It is this thinking that you must apply to your portfolio.
What will your visual positioning be and what variety of
examples throughout the vision will you offer? One way
of thinking about this is to use the example of lifestyle
photography.
Perhaps a lifestyle shooter who has developed a clear vision
chooses to build a portfolio that represents her vision as it
applies to the business, home electronics, and the health
industries. The visual style remains constant but the content of
the images changes based on the subject focus. One vision,
three applications.
These efforts and this philosophy are the first step toward
creating your portfolio, a book that willsell, and a book that
others will envy.Chapter 18.qxd 6/27/07 9:05 PM Page 114