A portfolio review is just that: I (Peter Eastway) will review 10 of your photographs and provide you with a written Portfolio Review. You can see a sample Portfolio Review here.

The cost of a Portfolio Review is AUS $495.

Whether beginners or experts, most of us like to hear what others think about our photographs. Hopefully it’s good things, but is a portfolio review worth it?

Sometimes, reviewers and judges don’t understand what we’re photographing. I remember a judge criticising my photograph of a breaking wave because it had a light sheen on the top of the wave – the judge didn’t realise this was the spray from the breaking wave and the main point of the photograph? I didn’t blame him – he wasn’t a surfer and just didn’t understand what he was looking at.

This was photographed back in 2004, the very early days of digital. My complaint about the photo these days would be that the vignette is too strong, but back then, that wasn't the problem! You can just see a hint of water spray above the surfer - the light offshore wind fanning the wave as it breaks. This is what surfers and surf photographers love, but the judge mentioned wasn't a surfer and didn't realise this was actually an important part of the photograph. All judging and portfolio reviewing is subjective, so we shouldn't automatically take everything we're told as correct - it may just be a matter of opinion.

On another occasion, a print of mine from Iceland was being debated for a Gold Award over in New Zealand. One of the judges was just below Gold because he was concerned about a dark triangular area in the sky – it was holding him back. I hadn’t noticed this area before. It wasn’t bad editing because it was natural, but having seen it, I agreed with him and have subsequently adjusted the image. It was really useful to get another opinion.

When editing the photograph, I hadn't darkened the top right hand corner, so in my mind it was correct. However, the judge in New Zealand thought it looked odd - and I agreed with him (as you can see with the edit on the right). This was a great lesson for me: just because something in a photograph might be factually accurate, doesn't mean that it can't be improved.

A portfolio review from me is really just an opinion. Sure, I have years of experience judging competitions and providing useful feedback, but at the end of the day, it is just my opinion. You might not agree with all my suggestions in a portfolio review, but photographers generally find them very useful and positive.

The idea behind the Portfolio Review is just that – a review of your photographs which comprises a critique and some suggestions to improve. I’m not going to re-work the files for you, rather give you some directions so you can rework them yourself, if you wish. In this way, the Portfolio Review becomes instructional.

Setting Some Guidelines
Which 10 photos you select for review is up to you and different photographers will be looking for different outcomes. For a general review, it’s probably a good idea to submit a selection of different subjects and techniques. If all the photos are similar, the feedback might be similar as well. On the other hand, you might be working on a specific project or putting the finishing touches to an exhibition where all the images are intentionally similar and so the portfolio review will be used to refine your vision.

When submitting the photos, tell me a little about what you’re trying to achieve and your approach to photography. For instance, are you interested in entering photo competitions, creating a photo book or just looking for general help, You can also indicate whether you’re open to lots of post-production or just a little – so I can tailor the advice to better suit your approach to photography

Don’t expect a critical report! If your photographs are really good, I’ll say so. Sometimes reviewers feel a necessity to suggest something is wrong or needs improvement, but I think it is equally important to give credit where it’s due – many photographers might be hoping I have nothing to suggest because that means they are on the right path!

Format
For the Portfolio Review, I don’t need to see full size files. Unless you have a specific need for me to review large files, I suggest resizing your images to 2000 pixels on the longest side, ensuring the colour space is set to AdobeRBG or ProPhotos, and saving them as a JPEG, setting 8 or 80% (it’s not critical).
You don’t need to name the files anything special – there are only 10 and I can keep track of them!

Delivery
As the files are not going to be very big, probably the easiest way is to email the files directly to me.
Or you can send me a Dropbox link or use a service like WeTransfer, etc
Optionally, we can set up a DropBox folder for you. Send me an email and I will set up a folder for you and send you a link.

Response
I aim to have all Portfolio Reviews completed within 10 days, but if you have a specific requirement, ask. If I can help, naturally I will, but on the other hand, I travel quite a bit and so some Reviews could take a little longer if I am on an extended trip. We will try to keep you up to date, but if you have any queries at any time, email me!

Photo Process

If you're thinking of grabbing a Portfolio Review, you could also consider the Photo Process program I run. Sure, this is an upsell and I apologise for that, but it includes a portfolio review and a whole lot more - it might be just what you need! You can read about the Photo Process program here.

PURCHASE A PORTFOLIO REVIEW HERE