Building a Modelling Portfolio
How to prepare for your first modelling portfolio
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 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 the portfolio needs to do — and what you do not need to overcomplicate.
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 the photographs add something to the portfolio rather than simply repeating one another.
A simpler frame is often a stronger frame.
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? →
Keep your professional information current
Make it easy for someone looking at your work to know who you are and how to contact you.
Keep your name and contact information current wherever you present your portfolio.
If you are represented, use the contact information your agency asks you to provide.
If you use Instagram professionally, remember that it may also be seen alongside your portfolio.
You do not need to turn your feed into a second portfolio, but it is worth knowing what someone will find when they look.
Your portfolio can change
Your first portfolio does not need to contain everything you will ever need.
You will change.
Your experience will change.
The work you are interested in may change.
And photographs that are useful now may eventually need replacing.
Your first portfolio is a beginning, not a finished book.
View model & performer photography →
Model & performer experience →
Ready when you are
Enquire about a model & performer session →
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.