I read some of Jame’s advice on how to improve your portfolio . Now normally I am not one to take advice, especially from someone described as an Elf.
So I ignored the idea of getting rid of the the poorer work form my portfolio. And i ignored it and I ignored it. But there it was playing at the back of my mind. Festering away, that little thought, cull!
So today I started to cull my portfolio. I got rid of almost everything that had no comments, my rationale being that if people couldn’t be bothered to comment then it couldn’t be any good. Looking at what people have not commented on is interesting.
On the one hand it represents the excellent taste of bubblers, I got rid of a few OK but less than stellar works.
On the other it shows how the RB presentation favors different sorts of work. I think that, because the main view people have of the site is the gallery, simple bold high contrast works are often viewed and therefore commented on whereas more complex, or less contrasty shots are ignored.
It would be really interesting if RB gave more feedback on what is hot or not. The only thing i could see to rely on was comments, even a simple view counter would help in determining what is popular, plus maybe showing a favoruited count or something similar.
The other thing I have realized in doing a cull is that the feedback or lack thereof from the Bubblers is an excellent way of helping me to form judgments on what works, and what doesn’t work. Some of this golden information I am hoping to use as I review more of my work, and take new stuff.
So if your portfolio hasn’t had a review I recommend doing it, even it is advice from an elf.
Grant Bissett - Minister of Kerosene, about 1 year ago
+1 mod this up
Amandalynn Jones, about 1 year ago
“I think that, because the main view people have of the site is the gallery, simple bold high contrast works are often viewed and therefore commented on whereas more complex, or less contrasty shots are ignored”
I found this to be true, not only here on RedBubble, but also back when I was still in art school. I think that the major factor in that is that the higher contrast images “pop” to grab the attention of people who are merely browsing without a commitment to actually individually critique each piece.
James Pierce, about 1 year ago
Well now you have a counter.
Mark Williamson, about 1 year ago
Or 34 and its nice. Now to use this power for ‘evil’
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KylieForster, about 1 year ago
Good blog Mark! I think i will def take ur advice sooner rather than later. And its def true. Ppl comment on things that really strike them. I like to shoot landscapes too and ive noticed these tend not to be the best to grab others attention. But im not about to go all contrasty…i think i appreciate the stuff that looks really natuiral, not the all over the top saturated stuff. But then its all subjective! And i guess that is the beauty of it all. Thanks Mark! I think your work is great! You certainly got my attention. :)