Imagine you just met someone who asks you what you do. It happens all the time, right? But, how many people follow-up with interest in seeing an example of your work or what you what you are currently working on? Not that many, am I right? So, if they are interested enough to make that extra effort to ask about your work, can you reward their interest by showing them examples of your current project, or a prior body of work, in an organized, professional presentation? Yes. I am guilty too, so no judgment here. I am working on finding the right “virtual” portfolio platform myself. I have experimented with a few options but, in general, I have not found a platform that seems like a "fit" for me, so that part is an ongoing process.

However, while I don’t currently have a mobile/virtual portfolio, I do have a system of selecting and thinking about my top contenders for portfolios. First, I want to say that I use Adobe Lightroom for organizing, keywording, and managing my images into collections. I know there are many other software options and I suspect you could organize a similar system of selecting in any of the other programs too.

Basic Infrastructure

I have a main Collection Set that I named “PORTFOLIO”. Under "PORTFOLIO" there is another Collection Set -"TOP TEN BY YEAR". Inside "TOP TEN BY YEAR" is yet another Collection Set "2018 Portfolio. Then, inside "2018 Portfolio" are Collections for "2018 YEAR", "2018-01", and so on through "2018-12" for each month.

Example:

PORTFOLIO

TOP TEN BY YEAR

2018 Portfolio

2018 YEAR

2018-01

2018-02 ...

2018-12

Monthly

At the beginning of the month, I take a few minutes to add at least 5-10 images I created during the prior month. Most of the time, I have already added the images throughout the month as I work on them. In which case, most of the work has been done and it is just a review process to make sure I did not forget a favorite and do any other “housekeeping” with keywords, titles, attributions, etc.

Yearly

At the beginning of the new year, it is time to review the monthly folders and select images for my yearly portfolio. I find this little bit of organization each month narrows my focus and helps me select the top images for the year.

Of course, the portfolios for bodies of works, or series of works, have a  "Collection" all on their own and I do not include them in this process.

So now it's your turn. How do you select your portfolio for the year? AND, do you have a way to share your work that you find easy and convenient to use? Do tell.