Print Portfolio, necessary?

i think you are going to hear the same two things again.
i vote for not ‘so’ crucial. i’ve sat down with editors, opened up my laptop and had no shame in doing so… and i’ve never had an editor say otherwise.

i was (and still am) thinking of having a book made with Blurb, 40 page 13×11 hardcover for $55 ain’t too shabby.

my dos centavitos

what’s the point, man?

not being rhetorical. if it’s so that they can feel the texture of nice print paper as they look through your stuff, don’t mean to be obnoxious, but what difference would this make with the tons and tons of other photographs they’ve seen in this manner? it may even annoy, if they want to peruse and get through it quickly. and if that’s the case, they may burn through your port and may you sweat, thinking it’s no good when in fact it’s just inconvenient.

slideshow it up, quick and efficient.

unless they specifically ask for a print port, save your money.

and why the hell does it say i’m in d.c.

Brian I think it really depends on who your target is (Newspapers Vs. Magazines). Some magazines the quality of the photograph is as important, or more so than the content and this can more easily be determined in print. Some photo editors like to flip through a book which makes a quick impression rather than having to wait for photos to load, look for the right story etc., it is easier to visualize a photographer’s work in your magazine when seeing a physical portfolio. Also a book shows you have made a little more effort, a PE might miss-interpret your not having a book as amateurish or lazy. As a photo editor I know I always prefered a book; I would recommend you have a book and then your laptop as back-up in-case you have more face time and they want to see something specific. You do not have to get one of those massive books, you can get something smaller with less pages but make it look good, make a strong first impression with few photographs and then show more if they are interested… 2cents

I find it important to be able to leave my stupid portfolio behind for a while, so the potential client can share it with others and go through it repeatedly, without me. Picking it back up gives me a rock solid reason for second face time.

also… make sure you have something non-digital to leave behind. A hand-printed photo, a promo card, even a self-printed business card with a photo on it. Photo Editors look through these cards or even tape them to their cubicle if they are interesting enough. After filing slide shows, digital portfolios and stories on CDs and DVDs I cant think of an occasion that I rummaged through them to look for a photographer; too much time. However I would shuffle through promo cards. I know this sounds very like the commercial world of art buyers etc, unfortunately it is the reality of the Magazine/newspaper world too now.

Keep in mind the difficulty of looking at laptop screens in certain lights, it can be a pain and very few editors will want to find a better place to see. People still like to see prints and if you look around, you can get 30 11×14 prints and a black leather book for under $150. Without it you are asking for a less than great 1st impression and you know what they say about that. Adam is dead on about leave behinds too.

brian,

i got a decent portfolio book from an art store, it was the display model so it was pretty cheap.
nice leather cover with a clasp and removable 11×13 sheets. i figure i will be able to use it for a while and change the photos as time goes by so the cost of the book is minimal, the prints are the most expensive part.

as stupid says, it works to be able to leave it with someone, they can take it home and slowly go over it etc. i have read a couple of people recommending having more then one as you might need to leave one with someone and go see someone else the next/same day.

though as these days most (all?) of the photos the editors see are on screens anyway maybe it makes more sense to burn them a slide show or similar, something flash/html based on a disk so there is no question of it being able to run on their mac/pc and you can leave it with them for $1.

you may want to merge both…a slideshow on a dvd/cd with its front cover being your best eye catching print with all your contact details…while its back or insert being a mini contact sheet. not expensive, & you can leave it…

Speaking of CD/DVD box or envelope covers, I make my own stupid stickers for them.

speaking of stickers Stoop you may wanna check out http://www.lightscribe.com/ideas/labelgallery.aspx
Feels a bit better charging someone a few hundred quid for a good looking disc rather than one that has my childish scrawl all over it.

(I also hereby vote to bring back the old quicker formatting tips)

Adam, is there even anyplace in D.F. to get a book if I decided to do so?

I spent half the day looking yesterday just to see and came up with nothing except a bunch of confused looks….

Brian reading an article with some french mags editors talking about portfolios and the best way to show it and everybody agrees about the first impression point:
A good book with some good quality prints will open the first door and bring some additional interest, they will see that you do your effort to present a well organized work and they can take their time with each image as they want. The cd´s/dvd´s is a good option to leave but (by their opinions) better that is not your Plan A…By the way they present this brand PANODIA that looks like a good option with a whole selection of albums and portfolios for diferent budgets and presentations…SUERTE en tu visita a la Gran Manzana….

I have a book I did through lulu.com – quality is not the best, but it was dirt cheap. Given the choice, I have never had an editor who said nah, I’d rather just see it on the computer. Many are impressed that I have a real book and not just a CD or laptop, which to me is well worth the investment.

Brian DF is no so hot for books, I would make prints first then buy the book in NY and slip them in. House of Portfolio seems to be the place of choice, their books have lasted me decades… well no I’m not that old, lets say a decade so far and if you keep cjanging the pages every now and then they will go on lasting. Find one the size you want on the website and as soon as you get to NY go there and buy it beforehand and pick it up. Problem with Lulu and Blurb is that they can take too long for your purposes (setting-up, shipping, printing etc) and the quality really does vary book from book, I wouldn’t risk it, maybe for when you have more time.

From what I’ve heard, there’s definitely a culture of printed portfolios or “books” in NYC, but it’s very much part of the fashion or high-end advertising end of the industry.

Well, here’s a story for you Brian. A friend recently chatted to a Picture Desk assistant. They had just had a young photographer visit to see her boss.’What was his portfolio like?’ ‘Well, it was leather-really great’. He was wearing a very trendy leather jacket too’. Yeah-but what were his photos like? “Oh, I don’t remember’.
Aargh!!
p.s. I’ve just spent 170 UK squids on a leather portfolio book and 11×14 sheets imported from the US of A.
Most potential clients are only interested in a quick look at my website but there are still Pic Editor’s and designers out there
who want to see a good old fashioned print portfolio-even if they are digital ‘C’ prints.

Shit…

I think Im gonna have to break the piggy bank open.

Pretty disgusting its gonna cost me a month and a half mexico rent to get it done though…. all for a meager shot to work for pennies! I love this job! :)

Break that piggy bank Brian-you know it’s worth it in the end! Also, don’t forget to buy the trendy matching leather jacket-remember it’s first impressions that count :-(
Best wishes from a very impoverished JR !!

What’s up Brian,
I made a T-Shirt with an LCD screen that automatically plays a slide show of my work. On the back is all my info so when I leave they see my contact information.
For real I actually showed my portfolio quite a bit last year in NYC and many times I used a jumpdrive. This way the editors can view your work on there computer and using the software they are use to using.
Justin

My stupid 40 page 13”x11” hardcover Blurb book with a slip cover cost $54.95 plus shipping. 10”x8” hardcover starts at $29.95, and the cute little 7”x7” hardcover at $22.95. For the smallest of budgets, $12.95 makes for a 7”x7” softcover with 40 pages. Best bang for the piggy bank buck I know.

Brian,

Don’t forget the scarf too!

Damn, Justin… with what people are willing to pay for expensive books, you should quit shooting and just start selling those LCD shirts… you could make a fortune!

And, following Brian’s advice, just imprint a scarf in the neck area, and you are good to go!

Brian- I was actually thinking of going more for an
indiana jones/havana/photographer look…. kind of scruffy adventurer meets latin lover with a leica…. but I just cant pick a scarf out for that look, and the one Justin gave me from Cambodia just seems to clash….

Well Brian that is conclusive.

I would strongly advocate having a book. Either a leather book with removable inserts or something from Blurb. While your at it get some nice promo cards made to leave behind or as Stupid mentioned one of those 7×7 books, a little expensive for a leave behind but that should leave a lasting impression.

I use these leather books http://www.portfolio-store.co.uk/acatalog/info_prat_pampa_spiralbook_open.html there reasonably priced and look really nice.
I believe Adorama in NY sell them.
You can get numerous different colours, I have even seen a pink one.

You want to stand out; get a pink leather book, just make sure the images are as striking.

Sounds like having a leather jacket to match leaves a lasting impression…..

Indeed, so don’t stupidly forget one for the dog.

Has anybody seen the pina zangaro books in person?

http://www.pinazangaro.com/portfoliobooks_rossano_sp.html

Im thinking to order, as it seems like somewhat of a deal compared to many others I have found so far…

Hey Brian, years ago i printed a portfolio and couldn’t make it to any client. when i could it actually didn’t matter any more to me, and didnt think twice to open my powerbook in front of editors. i still show pictures to clients in the same way i show them to friends and family. i like, strangely, I photo’s slide shows, very functional, with good transactions and fast to use.
I edit my images on my laptop or a second screen, both calibrated. my images look the best when they are showed on my screen as most editors don’t calibrate theirs. another plus is that by using a laptop you have your entire archive at your finger tips. you can always adapt and show stories according to your clients interests. said that, i do believe in printing work. i really like high end digital on demand books, that i can lay out from scratch.
do leave behind something. promo cards do a good job. maybe a small set of them in a nice little case. DVDs as well, but i wouldn’t use stickers on the discs, as i believe that some editors might be reluctant to put them in their computers afraid that they might get stuck. most cheap printers nowadays do a good job printing on cds.
Aperture prints interesting small books at amazing prices, under 10 dollars. that might be another leave behind option.

I suggested stickers for the CD/DVD cases and envelopes. Never even crossed my mind to put my stupid stickers on the CD/DVD disks themselves.

mi opinion Brian…
fuì dos veces a Perpignan photo festival.. muchos creo se acuerdan de mi por llevarme diario un book 50×35 com… y a los editores gusta tocar las fotos.. però todos llevavan USB pen o una Laptop…

Fuè lo que hize el ano despues.. mas comodo, y siempre llevate Postcard… eso es muy bueno para que las guardan, y se acuerdan de ti o de tu trabajo.. yo si llevava 5 historias.. lleva 5 postcard diferentes.. segun no que gustava, le dejava la postcard con el tema que mas le gustòò… (algunos me pidieron las 5 diferentes como coleccion!!)

Eso creo puede ser bueno, para que no gastes demaciado, y no te claves la vida para ver si al final, tu book en papel te gusta.. ademas, un book echo bien.. por 30 minutos de cita si eres afortunado..

Esa es mi opinion…

For those of you that have recommended Blurb, how did they do with your b&w files.. if you had any?

I really wish I could get a leather book… but it is just not cost-effective for me right now, (im looking at minimum between $300-$400 by the time its all done) leaving Blurb as my only choice…

Oh, and for those of you that did print some Blurb b&w prints in your book, did you submit them RGB, or Grey scale em?

Thanks!!!!

Q: How should I prepare my black and white files?
A: Currently, black and white images are best loaded into BookSmart in sRGB color. BookSmart accepts grayscale images, but ultimately converts them to sRGB because darker shades of black are printed using four-color builds. This process results in a deep, rich black that would be impossible to create with a pure shade of exclusively black ink, which would dry on the page as a dark gray color. The neutrality of the black and white image along with the whiteness of the white areas, should not be compromised, so we find that this process produces the most accurate reproduction of black and white pictures on the printed page.

Right on Stupid… looks like that was a stupid question!

No, that was a Stupid answer

Stupid…. heres another stupid one for ya before I hit send on my order…

yer b&w quality was a-ok? Im not gonna end up with little green men or anything?

Hey Brian, How’s it going?

No money, and a lot of time… Maybe looking into putting on the leather onto your book by yourself. I read this awhile ago on how to leather bound your own book….

http://www.instructables.com/id/Handbound-Book/

Blurb uses a variety of printing vendors to get their work done, so each book is printed on a different press, ergo quality may vary. For the price, my personal results were consistent and satisfactory, otherwise I would not bother speaking up about Blurb here, except maybe to stupidly complain.

For more info, here are 19 pages: http://bonsai-photography.com/BookSmart-Word.pdf

White House Custom Color (http://www.whcc.com) do what they call Album Prints – made for wedding albums. Prices seem pretty reasonable, and they are prints, not blurb press pages. WHCC has always delivered tremendous quality for me. I have not used their Album Prints, but it may be worth looking into.

Most all the print on demand places like Blurb use a digital press called an Indigo. I’ve worked with these presses before, and have even run one. There are some things to keep in mind when using one of those types of presses:

1) Like all presses, how well the operator maintains & cleans the press is going to matter, but thise press is much more particular and demanding of care. If your book is printed a day before regularly scheduled maintenance, it will look much worse than if it were printed the day after the regularly scheduled maintenance.

2) Banding can be a real issue, especially in areas of solid colors, and even more so if the colors are in the blue -ish/purple-ish/green-ish range. Solid reds and yellows are usually fine.

3) Watch out for streaks. These appear as dotted lines the full length of the page. That mean the wiper blade was either dirty or needed to be replaced.

Brian,

I was looking into WHCC the other day. I had heard very good things about their printing before. I might check their album prints.

I recently got a hard cover book from Blurb. I am pretty happy with the printing and the book itself, but three pages (two photos) have stains, so I’ll have to return it. I don’t know where these stains are coming from. The B&Ws looked great. Better than I expected.

Cheers,

Nacho

Blurb’s new Business to Business program goes a long way toward solving the stupid workflow problems.

Blurb book actually turned out most excellent…. got super lucky, all good prints… even the b&w, which I was very scared for….