Hey everyone.

I am organizing my images for my portfolio. My question is, do agencies frown at mock-up magazine or ads? I ask because I do have images that-Lets say look like an ad for a hotel, or a magazine and was thinking of adding the corresponding logo. Should i do this?

Do NOT do mock ads, fake ads, or otherwise put logos in your images.

Fake Ads SCREAM amateur, and will quickly get you dismissed, not to mention that they are legally questionable.

The only thing in your portfolio that looks like an ad or cover shot should be an actual ad or cover shot.

This will be obvious to agencies and is extremely unprofessional. Kind of like padding your resume...very different from an actual tear.

You want to connect with them as a MUA, not as a layout designer. The more elements you add to the image that isn't part of your job, will distract them from the part that actually is your job.

If you really want to put some effort in how the images look like, focus on flow. Edit (not confuse this with retouching/post-production) the sequence of the images that will have the viewer into some sort of state of mind, that of someone who wants to see more and more. Think of it like a song, it has queue's that lead in, it has tops to crave for, and lows to ease up a bit, etc.

Also, research the people you like to show the portfolio to. If they are really busy, there is a chance they won't flip through your book till the end, so push your best work to the front. If you can manage to make an appointment with them and they tell you have sufficient time to tell the stories behind the images, than spread your best work along the book. Open and end with great work, not something that simply looks nice.