Lips that taste of tears, they say, Are the best for kissing. —Dorothy Parker It has been said, more than a few times, the subjects in many of my portraits tend to express varied degrees of sadness. It has also been said that perhaps this sadness is shared by the one creating these portrayals.   A comment upon one of the images above included: "I won't ask why you convey these moods so perfectly for I think I already know.."  On a couple of occasions people have written to me to ask if "everything was okay" after posting "expressive" portraits. Now while I certainly agree with Dorothy Parker about which lips are best for kissing, I'm really not that sad a fellow. I strive for a sense of photorealism in my portrayals and, like it or not, reality tends to be sad.  Next time I come back around I'll have my own planet and things will be different. For now I'll stay in the middle of the road and take what comes.  Such stubbornness will never make me the most popular portrait artist .. but I'll survive that.  ;-) The image above is the second of three which I am posting as an example of selective presentation.  I set out with a limit of eighteen images for a reason. This is right within the sweet spot of editor tolerance.  The ideal number of images to include within a portfolio is between twelve and twenty. If you include too few, say ten or less, it looks as if you are inexperienced.  Even if these few images are powerful, it will come across that you were either lucky or you are hiding your lesser work. Include too many images, twenty or more, and you will dilute your strengths.  If an editor actually goes through such a full book, the impression of your work will always be weak. If the images included are really good, you won't need twenty or more to communicate this. You don't need to "keep it simple" which is an overused cliche.  You do need to keep it strong. The secret is to use your best work and just enough of these to get the job you are after.  This brings us back to the selection process. My objective for this exercise was to choose 18 out of 80 images to showcase the strengths of the work in this gallery. From an objective perspective I determined that the best manner of presenting strength of craft in this medium was to focus upon portraiture and natural expression. The result was two sets of portraits and one of expressions. Let's return to the "sadness" issue.  Remember last night I wrote that we should try to see our work from an editor's point of view? Looking at these images with an editor's eyes helped me balance a potential weakness in my presentation.  It would have been easy for me to include six really good but really sad images in this set. It would also have been easy for a real editor to look across the desk at me and think "I wonder if this guy knows how to make these characters smile!?" Considering the weaknesses in your work is an essential preparation to selecting a strong presentation.  It's not easy, but like any skill you'll get better at it with practice.  & do practice. You will be surprised what you learn about your work. Feel welcome to write me with any questions or for suggestions about how and where to begin with self editing. The best of success for you with your craft! Terry