This short review outlines the main results obtained by our research group over the last 15 years in the field of porphyrins and metal porphyrins for second order nonlinear optics (NLO). This overview aims to provide a general framework of the key factors which affect the second order NLO response of porphyrin chromophores. The pivotal role of the porphyrin ring as π-conjugated linker, the nature of the metal center, the substitution pattern which features the geometrical arrangement of donor and acceptor substituents in the different classes of porphyrin NLO-phores, as well as the aggregation phenomena and the role of solvents are addressed in detail.