A portfolio is essential to your child’s entry into the talent industry. A solid portfolio is a great way to network and obtain work. Together, for parents and their children it can be a fun introduction into the talent world.
So, what is a portfolio?
Simply put, it provides people a chance to see well-polished photos taken of your child. A portfolio is an ever-changing glimpse into who the talent is as an artist and consists of high resolution photos of the hopeful talent looking their best. These photos should be current, taken within the last year, and they are meant to show the talent’s style and character. Remember, these images help casting agents have a better understand of your child’s style and look.
There was a time when portfolios were presented as hard copies, but the Internet has changed that. This isn’t to say that you still can’t create a hard copy portfolio, you can expect to pay $400 dollars or more for four to six professional photos, depending on who you work with.
These days, creating a portfolio is as simple as building your profile on Casting Made Simple. It is incredibly important to ensure that it represents your child’s style and does so in an aesthetically pleasing way. It also helps your child get used to working in that environment, and used to working in front of a camera. The more relaxed and comfortable they are, the more successful they will be when they do audition.
A professional photographer’s services can be expensive, but an experienced photographer often proves to be money well spent. There are options to cut costs when piecing together your portfolio, and it is possible to find very talented photographers who are just starting out that might agree to a deal. New photographers will often trade their services to help boost their own portfolios with experience shooting a talent’s portfolio. You can also seek out a photography student and arrange some sort of cooperative deal, they are looking to gain experience too. There are options to get quality photos and images at little to no cost to you and your family, with a little effort and persistence and you will find them.
For children and teens starting out it is good to have some professionally shot photos in different lighting situations, outfits, and poses. It’s perfectly okay to hire someone to do a photo-shoot with the intent of filling out your child’s profile, and as you begin to gain some work experience you can start to include more examples of previous work that you have done.
A portfolio is very important in its own right, but it is should also provide parents and children a great way to collaborate and work together in a way that can be a lot of fun. Portfolios can be expensive, but the reward of successfully piecing together a portfolio that wonderfully represents your child to the talent world will make the investment well worth it.
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