Photographic Portfolio
In this article, we're talking about professional and/or artistic photography that we want to share online, so you can effectively showcase your work on industry websites—not smartphone apps, let alone selfies.
Therefore, based on my personal experience, I am listing the websites that, when publishing my portfolio, have proven to be practical to use, effective in terms of viewing, and possibly also frequent in terms of participating in comments and criticisms.
So in summary
Practicality – Disclosure – Participation
I believe it's very important to consider that the primary objective of publishing your photographs online is their dissemination, that is, sharing your work. The more views your photographs receive, the greater the dissemination of your work. The so-called "likes, likes, and hearts of all kinds" are meaningless, completely subjective, and often applied in a frivolous and superficial manner. They often lead photographers to become so dependent on taking photos based on the likes or hearts they receive. I believe there's nothing more wrong than this unhealthy practice.
Remember, if you are a professional photographer, your shots must please the Client, if you are a non-professional photographer, your shots must please YOU first and foremost.
The website where you publish your photos and portfolio always shows, in addition to the EXIF data, the number of visits per individual photograph published (which indicates how many, out of interest, clicked on the photo's thumbnail to enlarge it and see it better) as well as the so-called Likes, Stars, Hearts, etc., which indicate their appreciation. Almost always, there is also a space for commenting or criticizing the photograph, at the visitor's discretion.
While the visits indicator is objective, the photograph has been enlarged and viewed N° of times/people, the appreciation indicator is subjective, that is, the user has seen your photograph or the entire portfolio and has not been appreciated or appreciated only in part, or has been appreciated, or has been appreciated but has not indicated it for one or a million reasons that only that user will know, therefore this last data has an importance very close to zero.
The space dedicated to comments and criticisms can be useful for your artistic and/or professional growth. Although both comments and criticisms are often subjective, they still provide an idea of our photographic preparation and knowledge from the perspective of those who see the photograph in question. It is then up to us to "weigh" and, if necessary, consider the usefulness of those who have commented or criticized our photograph or even our entire portfolio.
Here is my personal list of websites in order of quality and usefulness, referring to the essential points which are Practicality, Dissemination, Participation
- Fotocommunity – A high-quality, all-round photography portal with excellent management and publishing convenience. It boasts excellent (global) dissemination of posted photos almost immediately, which continues over time, and good participation in comments and reviews. The best overall for decades. Free version and paid versions with more benefits.
- 500PX – A good, all-round photography portal with excellent management and publishing convenience. It boasts good dissemination of posted photos over time. Low participation in comments and reviews. Free version and paid versions with more benefits.
- DeviantArt – A portal dedicated to any form of visual art, including photography, for which it has a dedicated section. Good quality, with excellent ease of management and publication, reasonable dissemination of photos posted over time, and a fair amount of feedback in comments and reviews. Definitely better suited to graphics and drawings. Free version and paid versions with more benefits.
- Flickr – A photography portal, good quality, with excellent ease of management and publication, poor dissemination of photos posted over time, and poor feedback in comments and reviews. Free version and paid versions with more benefits.
- JuzaPhoto – A photography portal, good quality, with poor ease of management and publication (3 photos at a time), poor dissemination of photos posted over time, and poor feedback in comments and reviews. Totally free.
- National Geographics – A portal dedicated to photography, of a decent standard, with poor management and publication (when it works), a lack of dissemination of photographs posted over time, a lack of participation in comments and criticisms, and only paid.