Portfolio help?

Question

I need help with my portfolio for college (i'm studying photography). Where's the best place to get a portfolio folder?, how big should i make my prints? Where do i get them enlarged? Any help would b great, thanks!

Answer 1

12x16 inches is perfect for portfolio prints.Present them so they can be handled without being damaged. Window-mounted prints behind 16x20 inch sheets of white card and slipped into clear archival polyester sleeves which can be replaced periodically works great.

"The most popular form of case is the design with a zip on three sides and a ring-binder mechanism on the spine onto which you can clip clear pockets containing your prints, slides and tearsheets. They come in all sizes, look good and are economical. However, they're also a little impractical as you either have to lay the whole thing out on a table or remove the contents.
For this reason, I prefer briefcase style cases with a hinged lid and open interior as they're more flexible if you need to combine items of different size. Large artist supply shops usually stock them, and manufacturers often advertise in the classified section of art design and professional photographic magazines.
Overall, the key to creating a stylish portfolio is keeping it simple, consistent and up to date. Don't put dozens of pictures in it unless you've got a specific reason for doing so - 20-30 pictures are more than enough - and make sure you update it regularly with new work, or remove items that are beginning to look tatty. It's also a good idea to tailor the contents to suit the person you're seeing, rather than showing the same pictures to everyone - a portrait client won't be interested in seeing landscape, and equally, the editor of a gardening magazine won't be interested in creative studio portraits".( http://www.ephotozine.com/freelance/fullstory.cfm?freelanceid=10 )

http://www.nyip.com/tips/tip_business0101.html

Of course a CD portfolio is useful too, and very inexpensive. But it is not enough. Unless you are looking only for web work, art directors are going to want to see how your work looks in print. Making something look good on a computer screen is one thing, making it work in print shows a whole other set of knowledge and skills. CD portfolios are also VERY easy to ignore when sent by mail (which many people are doing). They arrive on a busy art directors desk and quickly get buried. Artwork printed on a postcard sent by mail gets seen, even as it is being tossed. Artwork on a CD ROM does not get seen unless it gets played.

A good web site is also part of your presentation, but again, they are very easy to ignore. Ask people who are actually working in design how much work they get directly from their web site (aside from people who only do web design). Nothing beats networking and getting out and meeting with Art Directors face-to-face.

In sort, anyone who tells you that the physical portfolio with printed samples is obsolete, is misguided. There are "Portfolio Night" events in cities across Canada and the US where designers can meet with Art Directors, make contacts and get valuable feedback on their portfolios. See if there are events in your area.. ( http://www.ihaveanidea.org/portfolionight2006/ )

Answer 2

If you are looking at newspapers or magazines.....I would pass on prints. The business is now full digital. They would want to see how you handle toning images in some type of image program (Photoshop). The last dozen or so portfolios I have seen have been on CDs. I like the format. Some of them created Flash movies and added music and all sorts or other bells and whistles. BUT it took away from the images...that is the most important part of any portfolio. LightImpressionsDirect.com features just about anything you would need if you are going to print a portfolio. They have several portfolio cases and other supplies to create a professional looking portfolio. I would like to see prints in the 11x14 inch range. At that size I can see if the image is sharp and small detail that gets lost in smaller prints. Quality prints are expensive (another reason to use CD) and you would probably have to have several copies of the portfolio to shop to different agencies. This was always a big pain in the past. You would drop off a portfolio and they would hold it for a few weeks and then reject it.
I would suggest creating a quality web site. You can do some real nice things in CSS and basic HTML or you could pay someone to build one for you. Remember you will have to learn to update the site on a periodic basis. If the builder charges for updates or other maintenance services it can get expensive fast. If you learn to build it yourself you can swap out photos when you get a keeper.

I have found a web site an excellent way to showing people my style. If they have any questions about how I do portraits, or news or sports photography I just send them to the site. I recently added a on-line photo preview gallery so customers can view and order prints. The jury is still out of if it will pay for itself over a year.
Perhaps another piece of advice is to look at Photographer's Market and see if any of the agencies you're interested in have any specific portfolio submission criteria.

Good Luck.

Answer 3

The best place to buy a portfolio case is at a local art supply store. You can find them in sizes to handle 8x10, 11x14 and 16x20 easily. Print sizes are usually a personal choice. If it's black and white printing, I wouldn't trust my work to anyone but myself. You should be using a good gallery quality paper, with traditioal chemistry if printing from traditional B&W negatives. If it is digital, just about any professional lab prints digital now. If it is color, you have to decide if you want traditional color prints or if digital printing is acceptable. Many say that the digital color print is quite acceptable these days, but I still prefer good traditional color printing. Doesn't your college where you study have darkroom facilities? Or are you talking about submitting a portfolio in attempts to gain acceptance into the college to study photography. If the former, then schedule time in the darkrooms and do the work yourself, if you know how. If it's the latter, you should just show what you have, in as pleasant a presentation (matting, dust covers, etc) and explain that you are looking for the opportunity to study and grow in your photographic work. The instructors interviewing you will be able to look at your work in any print size and determine if you have "potential." I would suggest that as a cost effective size you go with 8x10 to start, especially if you have to pay to get the prints made. If you do have access to a darkroom and know how to print, then I say go for whatever size you are able to afford, in the range of 11x14 to 16x20 or larger if you feel it's necessary.

Answer 4

If this is a course in college, the portfolio folder should be available to you at your college store. Very rarely do they require you to purchase something and not have it available to you.

The other thing is, you should have the requirements in your course syllabus (sp?) for the sizes that are required for the course. Portfolio run in different sizes depending on what they are being presented for.

For example, all of my portfolio images are on a 16 x 20 matte and the image itself takes up at least 80 square inches on the matte.

I'd first suggest going to your teacher and getting all the requirements before taking the advice from anyone on here. As what she requires may be different than what we suggest.

Answer 5

No relaxing. My portfolio itemizing is likewise alphabetized, devoid of my changing something. yet i chanced on if I clicked on the portfolio to work out the finished information of each line merchandise, THEN the order become the way I left it, in a significant way for me. So till Yahoo grants a fix, purely circulate to the precise view of the focused portfolio. No relaxing.