3 Portfolio Edits to Attract the Weddings You Actually Want

A photograph can be beautiful and still not belong in your portfolio.

Maybe it repeats something you’ve already shown. Maybe you’re attached to the memory of making it. Or maybe it’s telling the story of a photographer you no longer want to be.

In this episode of Play It Brave, I’m sharing three portfolio edits to help you make stronger selections from the work you already have. Before you book another styled shoot or wait for a different wedding to transform your portfolio, let’s look at what your photographs are already saying—and what a better edit could reveal.

In This Episode

Edit #1: Stop repeating the same photograph.
Nine different couples don’t necessarily make nine different images. We’ll explore how changing your distance, composition, and emotional focus creates more range—and why every photograph should contribute something the others don’t.

Edit #2: Make every photograph audition—even your favorite.
The hardest decisions aren’t always between good photographs and bad ones. They’re between good photographs that serve the story and good photographs that don’t. Drawing on my background in directing, I’m sharing three questions to help you decide which images deserve a place in your portfolio. Pasted text(20261109-172019)

Edit #3: Curate for the weddings you want next.
Your portfolio can have variety without sending mixed messages. We’ll talk about the difference between showing range and leaving prospective clients confused about what they can expect from you.

Along the way, we’ll explore wide, medium, close, and detail photographs, finding the “photo within the photo,” and the nine image types that help tell a stronger portfolio story.

As you look through the examples below, ask yourself: What does this photograph add? Have I already said this with another image? Does it support where I want to go?



The 9 Images That Tell a Stronger Portfolio Story

Nine different couples don’t necessarily make nine different photographs. When every image shows the same pose, distance, or emotion, your portfolio can be full of beautiful work—and still feel repetitive.

This guide introduces nine image types to consider when shaping your portfolio: The World, Connection, Intimacy, Movement, Point of View, Taste, Atmosphere, Humanity, and The Reveal. Rather than choosing images simply because they’re beautiful, look at what each one helps us understand: Where are we? What’s happening between these people? What are they feeling? What gives the photograph energy? How does it show the way you see? Pasted text(20261109-172019)

Screenshot the guide below, then compare it with your own portfolio. Notice what you keep repeating, what’s missing, and which photographs could bring something different to the collection.

The question isn’t just, “Is this a good photograph?” It’s “What is this photograph adding that the others are not?”

Develop Your Editor’s Eye Inside CURATED

You know how to make beautiful photographs. Now let’s learn how to choose them.

CURATED is my four-week live portfolio-editing experience, where we’ll work through SEE → SELECT → SHAPE → SHOW using your actual photographs. Through live portfolio reviews, small feedback pods, and your Signature Edit Workspace, you’ll practice deciding what to keep, what to cut, and how to bring it all together.

We begin Monday, November 16, 2026. Join for the founding price of $297, including Art of the Offer, a bonus session in January on connecting the portfolio you’re showing to the experience you’re selling. Pasted text(20261109-172019)

Explore CURATED and watch the full masterclass replay →

Photographers Mentioned

Explore the two portfolios I discuss in this episode. Notice how the images vary while still feeling connected—and how each selection helps you understand the photographer behind the work.

The Saums — View their portfolio →

Elisabetta Marzetti — View her portfolio →