Slides for your Portfolio

Good slides are arguably the most important element in your portfolio. Preferred, sometimes even required, by reviewers, they are the best way to show your work, short of carrying it with you.

A good slide is:

Focused
Shot from the correct angle. Three-dimensional work should be photographed from more than one angle while two-dimensional work must be photographed from a centered point
Well-lighted. 'Bright shade' often works well (as opposed to mottled sunlight and shade or full sun, which can wash out color). Using professional tungsten film and tungsten-corrected lights is another option.
Correct color. Type of film, lighting, and exposure are all factors here.
Non-distracting background (a black or solid-colored backdrop or other inactive surface, i.e. not your backyard hedge and fence).
Neatly typed labels with artist's name, title of the piece, medium, size, and with the top and front of the slide indicated.
Presented in plastic slide sheets (preferably acid-free) to show your body of work at a glance.

There are basically two ways to get good slides: Learning to take your own, and paying a professional photographer to take them for you.

Learning to shoot your own takes time, experimenting, space, and a fair amount of equipment, but is ultimately less expensive.
Paying a photographer is easier, more costly, and what most artists do.

Either way, it is worth doing whatever it takes to have good slides.

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