Building a Modelling Portfolio
Your first portfolio is a place to begin
If you are building your first modelling portfolio, it is easy to think you need lots of clothes, lots of photographs and lots of different looks.
You don't.
A portfolio is built over time.
Your first portfolio does not need to contain everything.
It needs to give you a strong place to begin.
A smaller group of strong photographs can tell someone far more than a large collection of similar ones.
Your portfolio should show what you look like, how you photograph and enough range to give someone a useful sense of you.
What matters is knowing what will be useful now — and allowing the portfolio to grow as you do.
Understand what your portfolio needs to do
There is no single portfolio that works for everyone.
A new model approaching an agency may need something different from a working model updating a book.
An actor may need photographs for casting.
A performer may need photographs that show the particular kind of work they do.
Before making more photographs, think about where the portfolio will be used and what someone looking at it needs to understand about you.
If you have been given requirements by an agency, casting director or client, bring them with you.
Useful photographs have a job to do.
Look at what you already have
If you already have photographs, start there.
Look at what still represents you.
What may be dated.
What is missing.
And what you already have enough of.
There is no value in making another version of a photograph you already have simply to make more photographs.
Changes in your appearance or the kind of work you want to pursue may also mean that photographs which were once useful no longer are.
Sometimes a portfolio needs editing as much as it needs new photographs.
Keep clothing simple
Clothing should help someone see you, not become the first thing they notice.
Choose simple, well-fitting pieces that show your shape and allow you to move.
Black, white, denim and neutral colours are useful starting points.
Avoid large logos, graphics and very busy patterns.
You do not need to buy an entirely new wardrobe for your session.
The clothes are there to photograph you.
Pay attention to fit and condition
Simple clothing only works when it fits properly and is in good condition.
Check for stretched necklines, pilling, loose threads, worn fabric and anything that does not sit properly on your body.
Bring clothes that you can stand, sit and move comfortably in.
Small details become surprisingly visible in a photograph.
Keep hair and makeup simple
Your face needs to be visible.
Hair should be clean and prepared in the way you normally wear it. If it is long, we may photograph it in more than one way during the session.
Makeup is optional.
If you wear it, I recommend keeping it natural enough that your features remain clearly visible.
Professional makeup can also be arranged if you would like it.
You do not need to know how to pose
If this is your first portfolio session, you are not expected to arrive knowing what to do in front of the camera.
I direct posture, hands, expression, movement and where to look.
Part of the session is learning how small changes affect a photograph.
Where your weight sits.
What your shoulders are doing.
What happens when you move your chin slightly.
How an expression reads through the camera.
Direction is the photographer's job.
Do not try to make every photograph different
Range does not mean changing into a completely different person for every photograph.
Different clothing, expression, posture and movement can change how a photograph reads without elaborate sets or costumes.
The important thing is that each photograph adds something to the portfolio rather than simply repeating what another photograph already says.
Range is not the same as more.
Find out what you actually need
There is no single portfolio that works for every model or every application.
If an agency, casting or client has asked for particular photographs or information, check those requirements before your session and send them to me.
If you already have a portfolio, look at what is there before making more photographs.
You may not need more of what you already have.
What photos do you need in a modelling portfolio? →
A portfolio is never finished
Your first portfolio does not need to contain everything you will ever need.
A strong portfolio is a living body of work.
You will change.
Your experience will change.
Your appearance may change.
The kind of work you want to pursue may change.
Over time, photographs will be added.
Others will be replaced.
Some will eventually come out altogether.
That is exactly what should happen.
A portfolio grows as you do.
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JOHANNESBURG PORTRAIT PHOTOGRAPHER
One Moment. One Portrait. Forever
© 2005–2026 Bridget Corke Photography
Blairgowrie · Johannesburg · South Africa
International Master's in Portrait Photography
One of only two in Africa.