Reduce a portfolio PDF to under 10 or 20 MB without wrecking the images
2026-10-06
A portfolio is all images, so it easily passes 100 MB. Application forms stop at 10 or 20 MB, and crushing the quality undersells the work. Here is how far you can go and in what order.
Use the tool
What is making it heavy
- Photos placed at full camera resolution — 300 dpi is overkill for a portfolio viewed on screen
- The same large image repeated on the cover and contents pages
- Vector drawings exported as bitmaps
Compressing without losing the work
Start with the light setting and check the size. 150 dpi is plenty for on-screen viewing and usually halves the file or better. If it is still over, step up to medium.
Avoid strong for a portfolio; small text can blur. If medium still exceeds the limit, split the projects across two files or drop the weakest project rather than degrading all of them.
Combining project files
Merge separate project PDFs first, then compress once. Merging does not recompress, so compressing afterwards is the right order.
Document properties often still carry a template author or a previous employer. Clear them with the metadata tool before sending.