You have defined and gathered the basic content for your Art Portfolio: your visual samples with relevant details plus other complementary information such a biography and an artistic statement.
This section will guide you to the process of publishing your images, from the camera to Plio in 4 parts:
- Digitizing your images
- Organizing and preparing your files
- Publishing your images
- Annotate your collections and works
Stage 1: Digitizing your Images
At the heart of your online art portfolio are your visual samples, the images of your artwork. To publish them online you need them in a digital format. There are several ways to come about this.
First thing to consider is the original format of your artwork or the samples in question. Depending on your discipline, the digital format might be implicit. For example, if you are a photographer, an illustrator or simply an artist who uses the computer in your practice, you probably already have all the tools to export your work to the right digital format.
If you are digitizing your artworks for the first time, the most common method is to photograph them using a digital camera. If your artworks are small, you can also use a scanner. If you are not familiar with these processes and you are wondering how to get started, it depends on your specific systems and devices. It is recommended to first refer to the manual of your camera or scanner to get the best of these devices.
If you have been practicing for several years, you might have some of your samples in form of slides, transparencies or film photography. In this case, you might need to use special equipment such as a slide scanner. Professional photography shops often offer this sort of services for a fraction of the price of the equipment. Depending on how many samples you plan on digitizing, this might be an affordable option.
In any case, using today’s digital technologies along with your practice in arts is a useful skill, or at least, one that is abundant in rewards. If you are new to digital imaging, you might find related articles useful.
If you prefer to hire a professional photographer to get your artworks documented, ask to include copies optimized to go online or optimize the provided high-quality files yourself.
Stage 2: Organizing and preparing your files
Here is a useful method to organize your images that will facilitate the process of uploading your files to your Plio Art Portfolio.
- Create a folder for each collection and nested collection and move your original files into the right folder.
In this step you’ll create the structure of your Portfolio’s visual samples. Reproducing the same structure in your computer to store the files will facilitate the process of uploading the files later. Also, establishing a neat organizational logic will help locate your files easily whenever you need them. So name your folders the same as your collections. - Create a Web optimized copy for each image.
It is recommended to always keep aside a version of each image in its highest possible quality. It won’t be used online, but it will be useful for printed outputs such as invitations, catalogues and so on.
On the other hand, your Web images are going to be transmitted through the Internet, and to do so effectively, they need to be light files. This is the main aspect to consider when preparing your images; you are looking to balance ideal quality and apt file size.
Image editing software can help you optimize images for the web. A classic example is Adobe Photoshop, but you can also count on Picasa, which besides being free is easy to use. - Formats: JPG, PNG
- File weight: 200 – 300 kb
- Image size no more than 1024 pixels at the longer side
- Image quality: Normal or between 50% and 75%
- Associate relevant metadata to each file.
Digital technology allows you to associate information to your images in the form of metadata. This kind of information is included in the file and can be accessed through its “Properties”.
Take advantage of this feature. In Photoshop, Lightroom or Picasa, add the available metadata to your images among the following:
- Title: enter the title of the image or the corresponding artwork.
- Caption: enter a short description for the image or the corresponding artwork.
- Tags: enter a full list of keywords including medium, technique, colors, dimension, year, etc.
- Author: enter your name, it’s YOUR artwork!
- Choose a meaningful web-friendly name for each file.
Name your files according to the web standards and to your artwork. For example, “las-meninas.jpg”. This will help your files to be well indexed by Internet search engines and Plio to correctly name your artwork.
Practical Tip: Standard Internet Image Formats and characteristics
These are just guidelines and as you work with your images and get familiar with the process of publishing your information you’ll be able to decide what exactly works best for you and your work.
Examples of bad file names: Las Meninas.jpg; final-version.jpg; P1010083.jpg
Stage 3: Publishing your Images
You’ll be now rewarded for all this prep work. If you did it well, only a few clicks in Plio and you’ll have a first version of your online portfolio!
- By default, Plio is going to display at the top the most recently uploaded works. So, start by the oldest collection to keep a consistent order. If needed, you can also modify the order in the Works section.
- Go to the Media > Add New menu to display the following screen:
This panel is designed to let you upload your images, collection by collection. - As you’re not supposed to be familiar yet with the first set of checkboxes, click the “Portfolio Assistant” button.
- Among the first 3 options of the Portfolio Assistant, choose the one that fits best the way the collection represents the artwork you’re about to upload.
- If you’re uploading a complete new collection and if you’re being asked for additional options, select the one where you can enter the collection name. The name should be the same as the folder containing the images you’re about to upload, right?
- Click the “Next” button and start getting familiar on the next page with the values (without changing them) of the checkboxes and other fields that have been entered for you by the Portfolio Assistant.
- Now select the images to upload from the folder corresponding to your collection. Be careful to only include the images prepared for the Web, not the original high-quality files, Plio will refuse them.
- Once the images are uploaded, you can check the information for each of them. You should have the meaningful titles and captions you entered before! If not, adjust them at your convenience.
- Don’t forget to always save all your changes before anything else! Even if you didn’t make any change! It’s the way Plio creates the structure of your portfolio.
- Then repeat this process for all your collections. Note that a new dropdown list appeared after the first checkbox. It includes the collections you’ve created so far. If the new collection is a nested collection, select the “parent” collection in the list.
- If the “parent” collection doesn’t exist, create it first, either with the same process or in Works > Add New if it hasn’t images for itself. In this latter case, you still need to choose an image to display your collection in your portfolio. In the current Work, click on “Set Featured Image” in the lower right column, then choose your image from “Media Library” or “From Computer” if it’s not yet uploaded.
Once you’re done, your portfolio is done too! Well, at least its main structure and its visual content. Type its address in a new tab or a new window of your browser and you’ll be able to navigate it.
Stage 4: Annotate your Collections and Works
While you’re navigating your new portfolio for the first time, identify the pages where your additional textual content should be placed.
Then, go back to your dashboard in the Works menu, and edit every work or collection that has additional content. Add this content either before or after (or both) the gallery Plio may have automatically included for you.
Update your artwork and see it at its Web address.
The next step is adjusting the appearance of your portfolio according to your artwork: Keep Up With Trends Using Plio.
This article was the 5th step of the series: Get your Plio Portfolio Up-and-Running in 10 Simple Steps.