The portfolio I use most often is primarily focused on set design and painting.  I have a very large portfolio that will fit some whole draftings inside.  I made this choice when I first put it together primarily because I think hand draftings look stupid when reduced in size.  In theory, they could be folded and included in pockets, but people don't like to have to pull things out of pockets and put them back.  It's too much work.

Many changes have happened in the world of theatre since I first created my portfolio.  The first is that CAD has become much more widely used, and reduced sizes look much better in CAD than they do when reducing via photo copier, so my biggest reason for wanting the big portfolio has become somewhat obsolete. 

There are other reasons to consider the large size.  Full sized renderings and elevations can fit in the portfolio.  Progression of work can easily be shown on a single page, which can be very effective in giving a potential employer a peek at how you work.  Pictures of scenery and paintings can be larger and therefore give a better idea of what they actually look like.  It is also easier to create a more visually interesting layout with larger space, rather than just one or two  pictures per page.  Focus can be drawn to the very best work through layout, with supporting work still present.  In a smaller portfolio it is more important to only include the very best work because the focus of your audience will browse each page more equally. 

There  are also other things to consider and even when a large size portfolio is your preference, it can be beneficial to have a smaller size.  First, the current fad is smaller sizes, so the large portfolio is kind of out of fashion.  Second, when showing a large portfolio, a large horizontal space is needed.  It is more difficult to meet a director in a coffee shop, or even in a cluttered office, and not cause a little bit of fuss over horizontal space. 

Smaller portfolios often also come with static number of pages.  You cannot add more or take out extras.  While extra pages for the large size can be pricey, having that flexibility is nice.  It feels awkward to get to the end of the content and have ten blank pages left.  Also, if you can add pages later you don't have to think as often about what to remove to make room for new work.

So, which size is best?  For disciplines like set design, it's best to have one of each, because the bigger scale can be beneficial for best showcasing certain kinds of work.  However, if only one is actually going to be accomplished, perhaps finding a middle ground is the way to go.  Start by evaluating the sizes of the work you want to include and go from there. 

For disciplines like lighting design, where a smaller sized picture can tell a whole lot about the quality of work, a smaller portfolio is all that is needed.  Also, drafting for lighting design tends to be too large even for the large portfolio pages, so they need to fold their drawings anyway.

Only registered users can write comments.
Please login or register.