DO you bring a printed portfolio or digital?

lifesdisciple · December 14, 2006

I have been taking everyones suggestions about helping to get my work out there. I have established a good feeling with a few local coffee houses and two libraries that show Art. I have two meetings coming up where they want me to bring a portfolio. I don't have one. Everything is on-line. Do I make a slide show and bring my laptop or do I make a portfolio with prints? Please help. What do you do when you meet with clients where you want your work to be seen or sold?

SloYerRoll · December 14, 2006

You will get allot of different opinions about this.

I am of the belief that a web based portfolio is only for potential clients to view your work in the comfort of their areas.
If you are going to meet w/ someone in person. You need to bring something tangible. To me it shows you go that extra step to show your work and how proud of it you are.

If you are meeting w/ 2 or more people. It can also "tie up" one of the attendees so you can focus on one person.

One of the difficulties of a hardcopy portfolio is it is time consuming. You should remember that this little book is a revenue generator though. When you update your site w/ new "top" shots. You should update your portfolio or create a new one. Creating a new one also gives you multiple portfolios and can come in really handy for a bunch of reasons.

Sam · December 14, 2006

lifesdisciple wrote:

I have been taking everyones suggestions about helping to get my work out there. I have established a good feeling with a few local coffee houses and two libraries that show Art. I have two meetings coming up where they want me to bring a portfolio. I don't have one. Everything is on-line. Do I make a slide show and bring my laptop or do I make a portfolio with prints? Please help. What do you do when you meet with clients where you want your work to be seen or sold?

I am going to be aliment about my recommendation. TAKE PRINTS! Photography is a visual medium. Having an image that looks good on a computer monitor is only a part of the process. It doesn’t matter what the image on the computer looks like. What really counts is how it looks printed, matted, framed, and presented to the potential clients. I would suggest at least 10” X 15” as the smallest to show. ITOYA makes a line of very inexpensive portfolios. I have one that has 20 or so 11” X 17” clear plastic pages that will hold two photos per page. I think the cost was about $12.00. You could also prepare some prints with window mattes, and backing for presentation. I think matted prints enhance the presentation.

If your going to sell fine art prints you must take the next step, and discover how to transfer your electronic image into a printed format while retaining all the characteristics, of detail, color, contrast, mood, and emotion you see in your minds eye. No easy task. There are many ways to reproduce your image, Giclee, Light jet, and other photographic processes, along with a plethora of different photo, and fine art papers. There is no best way. Each image might need a different treatment in order best represent the captured image. This area will take a little time to wrap your mind around. The good news is, at least for starters, you can have a few printed out from say Smugmug, and see how they look. If they look pretty good, you now have a starting point and can prepare a portfolio with the confidence that you can reproduce the images at will, without any hoop jumping. I have become an expert at hoop jumping, and believe me there is no demand what so ever for this carefully cultivated skill.

It’s been my experience that the print is always superior to the computer screen.

Quick story: I have been learning to print with my new printer and trying different paper, ICC profiles, images, etc. yesterday I stumbled across, (I truly wish it were skill, sigh), a paper image combination that is magic! I showed my neighbor this photo about an hour ago, (now remember he is used to seeing my photos, and prints), his response was “Holly **&^*&, this is F&$#(@& GOOD!

This is what the right image with the right paper, and right printing method can do. Now if I could only repeat this at will!

These delusional ranting, are fully protected by the copyright laws of the United States of America. I accept no liability for the use, or non-use of any recommendations provided herein.

Sam

lifesdisciple · December 14, 2006

ok. thanks to the both of you. now as to how many prints should I have in my portfolio? is 10 too few? i was thinking 8 x 12, too small?

Sam · December 15, 2006

lifesdisciple wrote:

ok. thanks to the both of you. now as to how many prints should I have in my portfolio? is 10 too few? i was thinking 8 x 12, too small?

Larger is better in my opinion, but we do what we gota do. 8X12 is better than 8X10.

10 top quality prints are far better than 10 top quality plus 10 or 15 so so prints. Go only with your best.

Sam

lifesdisciple · December 15, 2006

Sam wrote:

Larger is better in my opinion, but we do what we gota do. 8X12 is better than 8X10.

10 top quality prints are far better than 10 top quality plus 10 or 15 so so prints. Go only with your best.

Sam

Thanks a bunch.

Flyinggina · December 15, 2006

My experience is very limited but I recently had a similar opportunity. I went to the interview with 20 13"x19" pictures in a presenation book. The woman with whom I met raved about the photographs and said more than once that she really liked the size. In addition to showing her the prints, I made a private SmugMug gallery of the pictures (plus some others covering the same subjet) so she could review them after our meeting and see more of my work. In addition, she gave the link to directors who were not available for our interview. My one-month show is scheduled for next October.

Based on my admittedly limited experience I would say that size matters! Try to take at least a few prints in the size that you would use for exhibiting. 10 of your very best sounds like an ideal number to me. By all means use your computer versions, but in a support function.

Good luck! Let us know how it goes.

mushy · December 18, 2006

Not that I'm trying to sell any prints but, I just got a book printed up by 'Blurb' in their portfolio style. Its a coffee table style book but looks very professional and would impress clientel in my opinion.
Good luck with whatever you end up going with but I'd definietly stay away from showing images on a computer as I believe there is still something about being able to physically hold the photo than just view it on a screen.

lifesdisciple · December 18, 2006

Okay, so over the weekend I put together a small portfolio. Picked up a nice 8x12 black leather portfolio and printed 10 of my best photos for now. I went with the smaller size for ease of carrying and cost purposes. I don't have a lot of money and I need to market in other ways too. I do have one more question though. Since I shoot different genres of photography should I put those different genres in the same portfolio or keep them seperate? Like people in a people portfolio and landscapes in another, etc. I would like to put them all in one, once again just mainly for cost purposes. Wish I had a ton of cash to make everything the way I liked it. But that's not reality. Thanks everyone for your time, it is appreciated.:D

mushy · December 18, 2006

Personally I'd go with all in one, it shows your versatility and you might be able to offer them something in addition, rather than what you are initially trying to sell.

lifesdisciple · December 18, 2006

mushy wrote:

Personally I'd go with all in one, it shows your versatility and you might be able to offer them something in addition, rather than what you are initially trying to sell.

Thats kinda what I was thinking just wasn't sure if it would flow nice. Met with my first coffee house manager today and was turned down. Not becuase of my work but he decided he doesnt want to show artist's work. Thinks it will get out of hand. His shop, his choice. I gave him my card and offered him a print of anything from my site. Told him I would donate to his shop matted, signed and framed as long as he will hang it. He said he'll check out my site. Not much more I can do there I guess.

Flyinggina · December 18, 2006

Even though it didn't work out, you handled the situation with style. As a friend of mine says, you just have to keep knocking on doors and putting your work out there. It's hard to do, but she was right. Hang in there and good luck with your next meeting.

Virginia

Shay Stephens · December 20, 2006

lifesdisciple wrote:

I have been taking everyones suggestions about helping to get my work out there. I have established a good feeling with a few local coffee houses and two libraries that show Art. I have two meetings coming up where they want me to bring a portfolio. I don't have one. Everything is on-line. Do I make a slide show and bring my laptop or do I make a portfolio with prints? Please help. What do you do when you meet with clients where you want your work to be seen or sold?

For meetings that are not face to face, digital is great. If you are meeting face to face, then show hard copy, it is much more impactful. And it doesn't much matter how you make the hard copies. 8x10's in an album always look great. Even a mix of 8x10, 5x7, and 4x6 works great. But get them in a book/album/portfolio/magazine/scroll/leather/. Only go loose prints if they are mounted on some mat boards or something.

If you do show digital images, show them on a widescreen TV no smaller than 25 inches.

Shay Stephens · December 20, 2006

lifesdisciple wrote:

Okay, so over the weekend I put together a small portfolio. Picked up a nice 8x12 black leather portfolio and printed 10 of my best photos for now. I went with the smaller size for ease of carrying and cost purposes. I don't have a lot of money and I need to market in other ways too. I do have one more question though. Since I shoot different genres of photography should I put those different genres in the same portfolio or keep them seperate? Like people in a people portfolio and landscapes in another, etc. I would like to put them all in one, once again just mainly for cost purposes. Wish I had a ton of cash to make everything the way I liked it. But that's not reality. Thanks everyone for your time, it is appreciated.:D

Do what you can when you can. With time you can get more specialized. Let the experiences from meetings guide you as to what to include in the portfolio you show to different clients.

SloYerRoll · December 20, 2006

lifesdisciple wrote:

Since I shoot different genres of photography should I put those different genres in the same portfolio or keep them seperate?

I would say keep them seperate. If I'm meeting you for a portrait session. I could care less that you take the most incredible sunset shots in the world. What does that have to do w/ you taking my picture? JMHO

Like the old addage says (even tough this is easier said tham done): It takes money to make money.

Sam · December 20, 2006

lifesdisciple wrote:

Thats kinda what I was thinking just wasn't sure if it would flow nice. Met with my first coffee house manager today and was turned down. Not becuase of my work but he decided he doesnt want to show artist's work. Thinks it will get out of hand. His shop, his choice. I gave him my card and offered him a print of anything from my site. Told him I would donate to his shop matted, signed and framed as long as he will hang it. He said he'll check out my site. Not much more I can do there I guess.

Michael,

You can't close every sale! It just doesn't work that way. In a past life I was involved in sales, and it’s a numbers game to some extent. Call on 20 coffee houses, and if no one takes you up on your offer, I'll be very surprised! But after 20 unsuccessful calls you should know why there were no takers, and what you need to do the change that. Then repeat, 20 more calls.

One call isn't anything!

Sam

EVOgraphy · December 21, 2006

mushy wrote:

Personally I'd go with all in one, it shows your versatility and you might be able to offer them something in addition, rather than what you are initially trying to sell.

I guess I'd say that if you are showing a portfolio of your work to be hung somewhere you should have a solid group of pictures that flow very well together. If you are showing to a coffee house then show them the work you plan to hang. Well thought out portfolios that have a theme to them generally have a much greater impact than great unrelated pictures ever will.

Its like reading them a story almost... do you want to tell them a well thought out story with a begining and and end? Or just bits of a lot of different stories?

Just my opinion FWIW

rosselliot · December 22, 2006

DO NOT TAKE A DIGITAL PORTFOLIO...that shows that you put...what?...10 minutes into it?! and $0.10 for a CD! are you taking this seriously or not?! that's what your potental customers and others will be thinking! there's nothing better than a PRINTED and BOUND portfolio. I've been using BLURB.COM and it's amazing!!! you set up your own book and you create and place pictures wherever you want and they print it to you and mail it to your door in about a week or two. the quality is average to above-average and the prices are AMAZING! and it's VERY impressive, I've had a couple pritned and people can't believe it! it's just SUCH a neat thing! an ACTUAL printed book with YOUR pictures in them!

good luck!!!!!

- RE

lifesdisciple · December 23, 2006

Thanks everyone for all the advice. I have added a few more prints to my portfolio keeping with the same nature theme since right now that is what i would like to show. I did look at that blurb.com site and think i may try putting together a book to showcase everything. maybe bring it along with my portfolio. this way if they ask if i can shoot other genres i have the book full of everything to show as well. just hope the quality is decent. thanks again everyone and Happy Holidays to all.:D

DO you bring a printed portfolio or digital?

Comments