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# Should You Have a Portfolio?
- URL: https://www.cjchilvers.com/blog/should-you-have-a-portfolio/
- Published: 2014-02-28T18:08:08.000Z
- Updated: 2014-02-28T18:08:08.000Z
- Author: CJ Chilvers

"Where's your portfolio?"

I hear this question a lot, particularly from those who'd like to find a flaw with what I've written about photography. They've just laid down $3000 on a lens and they're hoping I'm wrong and they're on the verge of a creative breakthrough.

The problem is, I don't have one. I don't want one. It serves no purpose I can justify.

I realize why people want it. It's so easy to create an online portfolio today, it's become the gold standard for judging a photographer's worth. Everybody can have one, so everybody should.

But what are you trying to accomplish by assembling a portfolio (online or off)?

Is it attention? If so, that's probably the worst strategy. As Hugh MacLeod [puts it](http://gapingvoid.com/2013/12/05/artbasel-lifeisshort/?ref=cjchilvers.com), "just another couple of snowflakes in the big art establishment blizzard." If you have great stories to tell, there's far better venues for getting attention than a portfolio.

Is it credibility? That's always a losing battle. The closer you get to your goal, the less you innovate. Trends become your friends.

Is it clients? You're trying to be a pro, which is fine, but then we're talking about commerce, not necessarily art. There's a different set of rules to apply.

If you dare speak out about your views on art, like I do, your credibility is really what critics are after. They'll seek to pick apart your portfolio to compensate for their lack of judgment. I don't see a reason to play by their rules.