Photographing Print Work for an Online Portfolio

If you have a traditional carry around with you and show to prospects kind of graphic design portfolio, you usually put actual copies of your work into the pages. Prospective clients or employers can take out the pieces, flip them over, handle them. Not so with an online portfolio. So you need to use photographs that really show off what you've done. Not just the layout. Reproduce the texture, color -- the actual look and feel -- as closely as possible.

Scanning the pieces is one option. Photographing them may offer even better results -- you can take photographs of a brochure standing up and at an angle to show off the folds. You can use the angle of light to show reflections from metallic inks, subtle paper textures, or clear varnishes. You can create a still-life kind of photo of matching letterhead, envelope, business card.

• In 5 Business Card Photography Tips, get tips on photographing your business card -- or really, any print project.

• Close-up images are what you'll want for much of your print pieces. You may even want to go super close to highlight certain details. Taking Great Macro Photographs has tips on taking those super up-close photographs.

• Lighting is important in any kind of photography. When photographing your print projects for your portfolio you'll want to play with lighting in order to show off texture and subtle features that might not be obvious in a straight on shot with standard room lighting. Photography Lighting defines common terms and describes ways to control the lighting.

• Much of what you create is similar to paintings or drawings -- flat pieces of art. So the advice in How to Photograph Art can also apply to photography of your print work for your portfolio.

• Even when creating a traditional portfolio (in a case, not online) there may be times when you want to use photographs rather than the actual item. Either way, in How to Create a Traditional Graphic Design Portfolio (With an Actual Case) (scroll a bit more than halfway down) you'll find 16 tips on photographing your work to include in a portfolio. They recommend hiring a professional photographer if you can and include some tips on what to ask and what to look for in a photographer for this type of work.