You’re online portfolio

Social media is stronger than ever in the hair industry. Salon owners will review an applicant’s social media platforms prior to their interview or after. This is an open door to see what kind of lifestyle they have. Looking at your social media platforms reviles to them if you fit the salon atmosphere and professional image. This also allows them to see how committed you are to building a stylist profile. Keeping your social media clean, industry focused, and strong imagery will show the managers/ salon owners you are commented to your craft. This is also a great tool to show off your work during the interview… you’re on line portfolio!

Here are a few tips to keep you on the right path:

• Keep it industry focused
• Keep a personal page for close family and friend’s private
• Don’t post personal emotions
• Be strategic in your post- don’t post just to be posting
• Post clean images with proper lighting
• Be OUTSTANDING and different – always stay professional
• Don’t get into politics
• Check your backgrounds prior to posting (is the area clean?)
• Keep back grounds solid and clean
• Focus on the image – style
• Before and after’s always drawl a crowd

Showing Off Your Talent

The professional portfolio is always a strong interview tool. Your portfolio should be a collection of photos and documentations that reflect what you have learned in cosmetology school, highlighting your techniques in all areas and certifications like your CHI Environmental School Program class certificates. Here are some portfolio tips from our graphics designer, Jeff Wilson at Farouk Systems, in Houston, Texas.

For an artist, a portfolio is an important tool. One of the best things that a portfolio can do is speak about your work while you do not say a word. Your portfolio is a reflection of you and can definitely speak negatively if you let it. Here are some pointers that will help make your portfolio stand out from others.

Your portfolio is a reflection of you

Look Professional

Invest in a professional portfolio case. A potential client is paying attention to the outside of your portfolio. You may really like pink furr and purple glitter but unfortunately it will make your portfolio scream amateur. Adding your own personal touches to your portfolio case is not forbidden, you just have to know where to draw the line.

Look Clean

Cleanliness within a portfolio is as important as cleanliness within a salon. A messy portfolio says that your habits in the workplace are also messy. If your salon workspace is not clean and organized you will not get anyone to sit in your chair.

Variety Variety Variety

Show all of your skills. You do not want to pass up the opportunity to show how wide your skill set is. Cutting hair is just as imortant as coloring hair and needs to all work together. Color variety is also something to consider. You may have nailed the red on one head of hair but how did you do with the blonde? Your short hair looks amazing, how did you handle longer hair? Do not let these questions go unanswered. Also, take the opportunity to show your artistry by showing some good drawings of hairstyles. Good being the key word.

Show Your Work

Details are a great way to show the process of your work. Cutting and styling hair can require a specific set of steps. Like long division, it is best to show your work so the teacher doesn’t question you for using a calculator. This will only help in selling yourself to a potential client or future employer.

Photography

Find access to a good camera and No your phone is not a good camera. This is the documentation of what you do, your hard evidence that you are in fact an awesome hairstylist. Do not let bad photography say that you aren’t. Be sure to zoom in on your details and not try to crop down and zoom in. You will lose resolution and therefore you will lose your detail.

Mind Your Backdrop

This is not only for your photos, but also for you portfolio itself. When taking your step by step and final artwork photos, be sure to simplify the background. It would be very distracting to the viewers eye if the background of your photos was your kitchen and the mac n cheese is burning. Something as simple as a white, black or colored sheet would help simplify an area to shoot in. We do not always have access to a professional photo studio and will have to work with what we have available. The focus must be on your work and only your work. Remember you color wheel and theories of compliments. Neutral backgrounds can help bring out the color in photos, but so can compliments. This will give you some freedom of creativity when choosing a backdrop color.

Portfolio

When you purchase a professional portfolio, it will most likely come with black inserts for each page. It is OK to use these inserts, but black can be very harsh and draw attention to itself. This can take away from the attention your work deserves. If the black is too harsh something in a 50% grey will also work very well. 50% grey will be dark enough bring your images off of the surface but will not take away from your work. If your photos have a black backdrop, the edges of you photos will not be well defined. Same goes for white.

Layout

This is another reflection of your work habits. If your portfolio is well organized with attention to detail, your future client and/or employer will think the same of you. Organization will also help to set up a storyboard explaining the process of your work. You do not have to illustrate every step and clutter up your portfolio. Pick out the highlights and lay them out clear and clean.

As stated before, showing your work is going to be an important tool for the beginning of your careers. As you develop and grow into an advanced stylist your portfolio will also evolve. In the beginning, cutting & styling will be important. An example styling layout may look like this.....

You will want to avoid the clutter by picking the important steps wisely. Show what you did and how you did it. In the beginning you will need to show this. As your experience grows, your resume will begin to do some of the talking and what you need to show will lessen.

Showing detail is just as important as showing the process of your work. Be sure to show different angles if your work is not one dimensional. There will be certain parts of your design that deserve specific attention. Do not pass up the opportunity to show them off.

Printing

You will want to invest in high quality photo prints of your work. This is the documentation of your work and you do not want to have a bad print job ruin that. Home photo (inkjet) printers can print beautiful pictures. They will handle the color more carefully than a laser printer. There are many options online and many places close to you that offer higher quality print jobs.

Evolution

Eventually, all of your skills will be second nature to you. Your experience will say plenty about beginning skills. The final result will be your focus. As your skill become simpler to you, your portfolio will simplify as well.

Digital

So what happens you are not available to show your work in person? The web is a necessary tool these days for displaying your work. There are some websites such as Flikr.com and smugmug.com that have beautiful layouts and will do your work justice. Facebook can be used as a portal as well. The downfall is that your layout will not be as beautiful as some of the designer sites. The benefit of facebook is how “public” it can be. Facebook is connected to millions of people and will make it very easy to advertise yourself. It is crucial to have a digital and a physical portfolio these days. You will run into situations where one or both will be needed.