Do you have a bunch of good photos but don't know where to start building your photography portfolio? Don't really have an idea of what you should include and how big it should be? You've seen your friends, colleges and pupils with photography portfolio's with covers with all sorts of materials from stainless steel to plastic, and leather? They may have attractive and fancy covers that are usually very expensive but not so practical for a beginner like you. Don't worry. Ever heard don't judge a book by its cover? Well it's true; a regular black plastic cover works fine for displaying your photography portfolio. It's not what's on the outside but what's on the inside that counts, right?
You're probably best bet is to stick with a plain black plastic cover and work on perfecting your photos inside. You really don't need outside decoration on your portfolio since putting stickers and different designs all over it makes you look amateurish and unprofessional. This is not a scrapbook of your family, right? This is supposed to be the best representation of your most prized photography work.
As for the size, it really depends on what size the majority of your photos are. I'd stick with a maximum going with a 8x10. Your pictures are not this big then smaller sizes work well too. These 3 steps will make sure you walk away with a winner:
First, you need to be careful to organize and look over your digital photos. Don't just put anything that looks nice into your portfolio. Try to organize them by theme since it will give the reviewer a sense that you can work with different theme's have an overall idea of how to make many photo's pop from one assignment.
Next, it is vital that you really think about the stakeholders and audience of who's looking at your photography portfolio. This is important when putting together various themes of your portfolio think is this sellable? Can this go into such and such catalog or website? For example you wouldn't want to show a fashion designer a whole bunch of pictures of zebras. Think of the context and the stakeholders involved at all times.
Now that you know who the stakeholders are and the intended audience, you can begin to build your photographs in a matter that high light you artistic strengths but show your commercial viability. When people are looking over your photos they are looking at how they could fit their message with your photos so in the selection process remember this is very important. The best way to do this is to take all maybe and what ifs find someone that is objective and have them look over these photos. When you are stuck in the selection process it always good to get a second opinion and then use the process of deduction to select the absolute best photographs
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f8YoHkw2Dw8
http://www.digital-photography-school.com/5-tips-for-building-your-photography-portfolio
http://ezinearticles.com/?How-to-Build-a-Good-Photography-Portfolio---3-Steps-That-Will-Make-Your-Photography-Pop&id=2605532