Time to sort out your portfolio

In the quiet of winter, why not cast a critical eye over your portfolio? Utilize this time to improve your selections and attract new customers

- Paul Wilkinson

Growing up in our house as a kid, I was constantly besieged by gardening magazines, thanks to my mum’s enthusiasm for plants and her passion for reading about anything horticultural. To this day, I remember a steady stream of gardeners’ calendars – the things that seemingly every gardener should be doing on a month-by-month, week by-week basis. Whether it was prepping the ground, planting, nurturing or harvesting, there was never a moment when there wasn’t something to be done in the pursuit of a truly glorious garden.

While, admittedly, there’s noticeably less need for horse manure, most professional photographers still have seasonality. For portrait and wedding photographers, at least, January and February are not usually the busiest months of the year: short, gloomy, chilly days and the residual aftermath of the festive season limit the demand for portraits and weddings!

Like many pro photographers, I eagerly anticipate this time of year. It’s quieter in the diary and a welcome moment to look back over the previous season, picking out new pictures for our portfolio – the images that will define the brand for the next year, or, possibly, the entire lifetime of the business.