How many photos should a high-impact portfolio have?

[Digitalwave]

I will preface this with a link to my current digital portfolio, so people can see what I am working with so far: www.stasisproductions.com/portfolio

I am stuggling with the perceived impact of my digital portfolio. When I first started out, I threw whatever I thought was a "good" photo up on my portfolio. That means for each category on my site, I had 3-4 pages of photos.

As of late, I have cut that down to a max of 25 photos per category, but that is still over 100+ photos! I feel that many of the images are still lacking and I shouldn't be showing them off, but I am afraid of going "too small".

What are good ball park numbers how how big a general portfolio should be? I feel that I will still keep more specialized, larger portfolios for certain styles, i.e. have a live event coverage portfolio with 20 shots, an automotive portfolio with 20 shots, etc., but only have a certain amount visible to the public on my web site. The more specialized portfolios can be shown to clients interested in that specific type of photography, if they want to see more work.

From many of the best portfolios I have seen online, the photographer simply has 1 page of his/her best shots, regardless of what type of photo it is. They are usually approximately 20-30 of their cream of the crop, showing their core style, but also covering all the various types of photos they shoot (like product, portraits, event, etc.).

Is this the sort portfolio that I should be aiming for to carry more of an impact?

[michael_]

i have the same issue, when you first start EVERYTHING goes up on your website right? thats what i did, then i too culled mine but i still think there are way to many, now with my new site design i plan to have a max of about 15 images, i guess its personal preference but keep in mind most people dont sit there sifting through pages and pages of images unless they are a photographer and well we arent trying to sell to photographers so i would say cut it to max 20 and only of your absolute best shots, from memory (from my recent business course) like 75% of people dont go past the index page of a site, then 20% go to the 2nd page and the % of people who stay around looking at everything is 0.05% so if you have pages or to my images which may take 5min to look through people just wont bother

[cdifoto]

There are no real set numbers for a portfolio. If you have strong work, show it. But don't get too many that people are bored.

I tend to put between 20 and 30 images up per wedding. Some might think that's excessive, but it lets me show pretty much the entire day as it unfolded, without bogging the viewer down with images they don't care much about - line 'em up formals for example. The way my site is set up shows my latest wedding automatically in a flash gallery on the main page.

[John Mireles]

First, only put great images in your portfolio. If all you have is five great images, then you should have five images in your book. Even an experienced, super-talented photographer should have no more than 25-30 images per portfolio.

Even if you 100 great images, your viewers will get bored long before reaching the end. People have limited attention spans so don't give them too many images. Better to leave them wanting more than have them get tired and move on.

Less is more.

John

[sfaust]

Remember that you will be judged on your weakest images. If you show 25 images, and 5 are soft, not visually interesting, etc, they will hurt you far more than the 10 best will help you.

Ie, in your automotive section, image 17 and 18 of 25 are almost idential style shots. Pick the best, and dump the other. Same with #3 and #8. Pick one, not both, as the other is redundant. I think your automotive section would be stronger if cut almost in half.

Each image you put in your portfolio should have a purpose (ie show style, skill, etc). And if there are other images which already cover it, then only pick the best of the two.

There is no magic number, but less IS more.

[PhotosGuy]

I think your automotive section would be stronger if cut almost in half. ... or more than that. I like the helmet shot. Others should be cropped tighter. You don't have Image Editing enabled, so HERE's an example (http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v218/PhotosGuy/Samples%20-%20Rides/WHRRI_8-05_249B.jpg?t=1189952587).
Since you shoot a lot of different things, 2-3 of the BEST images of each group should all be on one page for the client to see. Personal suggestion is no more that 10-15 images. Don't expect them to open 7 folders of images.