Developing a Portfolio

[Creagerj]

I have recently begun to put more thought into creating a portfolio of my work. However before I do so I would like some guidance. I am hoping that forum members might be willing to share there experience and wisdom on this subject. So to start, I have a few questions

1. Besides pictures, what should the portfolio include?
2. How many prints/pictures should the portfolio include?
3. What is more strongly recommended, prints or some form of digital medium?
3b. If prints are recommended, should I use RC paper or fiber?
3c. How big should the prints be?
4. What should the nature of the prints/pictures be?

Any dos and don'ts wold also be helpful and any advice is welcome.

Also if there are any questions that I should be asking but didn't I would like to hear those as well. Hopefully this thread could be helpful to others who are also wondering about this.

Thanks for the help.

[dshugar]

Hi Joe - I have often wondered this as well. I'm sure they teach you that sort of thing in photo school, but I've never been to photo school. I just put together a portfolio to send to a friend who works as an editor at a stock agency and I asked her specifically how many images I should include. She said no less than 18, and no more than 40. Somewhere in the middle. I tried to make the portfolio somewhat fluid, in terms of colours being somewhat consistent from image to image, or perhaps some sort of subject theme etc. I wanted to post it here on RFF for comment, but couldn't b/c it was too big to upload. I'm trying to think of another way. Good luck!

[Creagerj]

Well that right there is good to know. Thanks dshugar.

[Freakscene]

The best info on building a portfolio I've read are in these threads on the LuG:
http://leica-users.org/v18/msg04454.html
http://leica-users.org/leica-users/v18/msg04992.html
http://leica-users.org/v18/msg04993.html
http://leica-users.org/v18/msg04994.html

The answer to all your questions is "it depends". I've made 16x20 fibre prints, mounted in a century box or portfolio case, RC prints that fitted into a modified CD jewel case, scans that I burnt onto labelled mini CDs and gave away . . . how many often depends on how many really good pictures you have . . . in terms of 'nature' they should fit together but not too much. If they are essentially all variants of the same photo, your folio will look boring. This doesn't stop art and photo school people from doing it all the time. For all I know some might even do it well.

Pick your audience, make something that suits. if you're just doing it for yourself, just do whatever you like.

Marty

[Ali Riza Kutlu]

Who is your target? It depends ..... Companies? Corporate work? Editorial world? Galleries? or School? I would like to know what you are focusing on. Then, I might have some suggestions... or just PDF portfolios and send'em with emails....????

cheers, A

[Hiyawaan]

I was once told that images should either be presented so that the book need not be turned or rotated once. Meaning if portfolio book is vertical landscape would be printed smaller or that the book can be turned once, starting with port then landscape or vice verse.

[photomoof]

That is a great question.

I wonder if anyone is going around these days with a book? There used to be an entire industry built around your "book." You had to suffer though making at least two of them, and leaving them behind for art directors. And if you had an agent another copy was needed.

Pages had to be one side only, all oriented the same direction, and in a very high quality book so that the pages would not jam when they were looked though quickly. 11x14 was always the size.

These days everyone has a web site. Galleries however still need to see prints, that I know personally. For that you carry a loose portfolio or box, and print the size you expect to show, if possible.