Whatever you display is what you will be asked to do

This is the most dependable rule in the whole of marketing a service business, and it is almost always applied by accident. The portfolio was assembled from whatever photographs existed, and it has been quietly commissioning your work ever since.

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Choose portfolio pieces the way you would choose next year's workload, because that is the decision you are making. Show the kind, scale and style of work you want more of, remove the work you no longer want, and prefer a small number of well-described examples over a large gallery of thumbnails.

The accidental brief

Most portfolios are a record of what happened to be photographed rather than a statement of what the business wants. A few early jobs, whatever a client allowed, and some images somebody found on a phone.

Visitors read it as a menu. They see what you have done and ask for something similar, which means your past is quietly writing your future without anybody having decided that it should.

Choose against next year, not last year

The selection question is not which work are you proudest of. It is which work do you want more of, and which of your examples would help somebody imagine commissioning it.

Those are not always the same. A technically impressive job in a category you are leaving behind is a poor choice, however good it was.

  • Lead with the kind of work you want more of.
  • Match the scale you want, not the scale you have most of.
  • Include the sectors or situations you want to be known for.
  • Retire work you no longer want to be asked for.
  • Keep enough range that a visitor believes you are established.

Fewer, described properly

A wall of thumbnails communicates volume and nothing else. A visitor cannot tell what was difficult, what you contributed, or whether their situation resembles any of it.

Six examples with a paragraph each will out-persuade sixty images every time, particularly for larger purchases where the buyer is trying to reduce risk rather than browse.

What each entry needs

Enough context that a stranger can place it. The situation, roughly what was involved, and something about the outcome. Two or three sentences is often enough.

Photographs should show the work rather than a styled composition of somebody else's. A slightly imperfect real photograph is more persuasive than a polished stock image, and buyers recognise the difference faster than most businesses expect.

The awkward early-stage problem

If you want larger or different work and have little of it, the portfolio cannot show what does not exist. The honest approach is to lead with the closest examples and describe them in detail, while being explicit about the range you work across.

Do not fill the gap with images that imply work you did not do. It is a short-term gain and a serious problem when somebody asks about a project you cannot discuss.

Keep it current

A portfolio whose most recent piece is several years old suggests a business that has stopped. Even a small addition each year signals activity.

Make photographing work a habit rather than a project. The best portfolio material is usually taken by the person doing the job, on the day, in ordinary light.

How Licheo handles this

We treat the portfolio as a filter rather than a gallery, choosing pieces against the work you want next and describing each one properly.

Where the work you want is not yet represented, we say so and structure the page around the closest examples rather than implying experience that does not exist.

Part of a larger guide

This page is one part of Better clients, not more. The other parts:

Questions people ask

How do I choose what to put in my portfolio?
Choose against the work you want more of rather than the work you are proudest of. Whatever you display is what visitors will ask for, so the selection is effectively next year's brief.
How many examples should I show?
Fewer than most sites do, described properly. Six examples with a paragraph each persuade a serious buyer far more than sixty thumbnails, which communicate volume and nothing else.
Should I remove old work?
Remove work you no longer want to be asked for, and anything that misrepresents your current standard. Keep enough range that a visitor believes you are established rather than new.
What if I have not done the work I want yet?
Lead with the closest examples, describe them in detail, and be explicit about the range you work across. Do not use images implying projects you did not do, which becomes a serious problem the moment somebody asks.
Do I need professional photography?
It helps for a hero image, but real photographs of real jobs taken on the day usually persuade better than styled compositions. What matters most is that the work is genuinely yours and clearly shown.

Show the work you want more of

We choose and describe portfolio pieces against next year's workload, not last year's photographs.

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