Digital portfolios and editors

Daniel, from what I have been told by editors at top publications (whatever that means) and my own experience as an editor Daniel, what you need to show is ten of your best images that tell a story……you can send those by email, have a slideshow on the web, or in 20×30 prints. You can wear them in patches on your pants.

Kathy Ryan of the NY TImes Magazine beamed when I brought her 20 or so 5×7 prints. Its all about look and feel, and making the editor comfortable with your professionalism. I honestly think there photographers really spend too much time fretting about format instead of concentrating on what really is important, giving a sense of both confidence and passion for a job.

Hope this helps…..its comes from experience.

Mr Levin the idea of having a story on my pants is appealing, hell it might even get me noticed more :)

That does help indeed, thanks and I owe you a drink in Perpignan

Daniel, a drink sounds really, really good right now. Editors sense confidence. A good editor has an instinct for who is going to deliver or not. Thats why its not so much about what you show as how you project yourself. This is a true story, Steve McCurry came to me when at age 30 or so I was screening books for Howard Chapnick……and he had these pictures of a flood in Pennsylvania that were average at best, but Steve had a determination that was hard to miss. Howard passed on Steve, but years later, after I was shooting, came a parade of photographers, James Nachtwey, the Turnley brothers, Tony Suau, Chris Morris out of the same library I started in. Every one had a quiet confidence about photography……that is what you want to project.

Andy, thanks for that. I’ve been at this for many years and only now do I feel that sort of confidence. I know now how to speak my own dialect of photography and that brings confidence. But it has taken far too long. 20 odd years. What you have just said is so true.

Sometimes I think there’s a fine line between cockiness and confidence. I guess editors will filter accordingly.

I agree with Andy, invest time in getting a good edit, that’s way more important. But if you’re planning to visit Perpignan to show your portfolio you should keep in mind that you’ll find yourself sitting outside a lot, in bright sunlight, and that may affect the presentation, especially with those glossy screens.

You might look at the July issue of Photo District News which has an article about using the iPad for portfolios. The URL for it is here: http://tinyurl.com/2bndh2u. Online access may be limited to subscribers, but maybe you can find the hard copy somewhere.