http://youtube.com/watch?v=qSZWryHtYIo

I just had a discussion with my web guy this last week about possibly doing a re-design of our website, and came to the conclusion that clean and simple was a perfect fit for me and my style, but instead we’re going to change up the content a bit to have more user friendly galleries, more personal content for people to get to know who I am and such.

I’m excited to keep my site simple so that people can appreciate my photography.

I know that they say that a photographer’s “super creative/over-the-top” website doesn’t get the photographer an “advantage” but really, it gets people talking about them and in turn gets them more attention, and for that reason alone could easily result in a photographer’s site who would have NEVER been seen suddenly getting viewed by an art buyer/editor because someone else tells them they have to see this site/photographer.

@22 — sounds like a good topic for APE to mull over!

Sorry to disappoint but there is no a one-size-fits-all answer to your question. On Thursday I went to the evening cocktail at LeBook’s Paris Connections, a trade show for photography reps and prospective clients. There were literally hundreds of portfolios on view, mostly dedicated to fashion, beauty and portraiture. Some were printed and bound like coffee table books and some were on laptops. Some were elephant-sized tomes requiring a forklift to budge and some were wee shoe boxes.

I think it was the naturalist Haldane who, when asked about the nature of God, responded that he could not really say, except that he seemed to have a fondness for stars and beetles. Maybe He likes portfolios too.

My point here is that you will never find one “right” answer to your question. There’s just too much diversity and competition among photographers.

The only relevant advice I can offer is that you should never think your portfolio is “done”. Finished books belong to photographers who have stopped shooting. A good portfolio should consistently evolve with new work; a portfolio, Web-based or printed, is a process, not a finished product. Remember that and you will suffer less pain when revising your print book.

I would like to see more discussion on personal style and branding, though I don’t care for that corporate buzz word. Branding is for cattle… How can image makers create a site that reflects their own Creative Identity? The message has to be authentic and based on their core values.
It is interesting how branding is an imperative for commercial photographers, whereas magzine editors are still open to much more diversity in a photographer’s creative output.

Thanks, Rob, for providing such a great dialogue for photographers. I have passed on your blog to many of my clients.
Monica Suder

REf:

http://www.wilhelm-research.com/epson/WIR_Epson3rdParty2007_09_11.pdf

So, if you’re “showing a laptop” you’re screwed in that regard. (Trust me, they won’t do a CommandShift3 and send it over Airport to their printer).

And if you’re showing an Asuka/Blurb type book, then you’ve got a deal where they’re slapping the spread down on the xerox machine. Or, if you’ve got prints in pages, they’re probably removing the print and slapping their five favorites down on the xerox.

Many times, the book comes back out of order, because they didn’t put them back in the sleeves in the same order that they took them out.

Again, lots of human nature to think about. And some it, it’s simply hard to plan for. Even preparing a LeaveBehind is not best solution, because no two clients will pick the same five favorites to remember you by. It’s almost best to make it easy for them to xerox you.

Johann - who the hell have you been showing your book to? Sounds like a bunch of punks. Matte paper is the best for presentation. The tonality, color depth and look is so much better than glossy paper. No reflections or finger smudges and the look and feel of the paper itself says class act. In fact when I see books (portfolios) made with gloss or semi-gloss I immediately think old school or head shot photographer. Yes you are selling yourself as a photographer. And a nice leather or cloth bound book with heavy thick matte paper and breathtaking photos will say you’re a great photographer. Again, nothing beats a clean, simple and elegant presentation. Look at fine art books for inspiration. So get out those Somerset Velvet or Hahnemuhle paper books and if anyone gives you any grief it’s because they’re a junior or an idiot.

And here’s a tip for those of you who use the heavyweight matte papers for your books - the ink can rub off on the backside of the page preceding it which takes away from your presentation. So as you print your images from your Photo Stylus Epson, first let them sit for 24 hours and then spray them lightly with a protective varnish. This will also add to the longevity of your prints. I use Premier Art Print Shield.

Personally, I am not a fan of presentations on laptops. First of all, at Chiat, (yes I still freelance from time to time) we never meet with photographers. It’s book drop-off only. And they are usually sent in by the Reps. So strike one against laptops. Secondly is the glare factor. And unless you have a 30″ calibrated HD screen, it’s going to look like crap. Sorry. So that’s strike two against laptops. Thirdly, we like control. I like to take my time looking through a book. Flipping backwards and forward at my own pace. And it’s not really an ink on paper thing that us art directors prefer. At least for me. I just like to flip through a book at a nice casual pace and see how images are going to hit me. As if I’m flipping through a magazine. Whether that image is going to end up in an ad or an editorial piece. Many times I’ll tell reps when I see work that is amazing and better than what an ad client deserves that their photographer(s) should also give editorial a shot. I mean why limit yourself? I know commercial photography is the big time, but a two week shoot in Tuscany for Travel & Leisure doesn’t suck.

Hope this helps everyone

Given that your website has the latest work or enough work in volume to show who you are and what you can do, what more should a book show?

Is it the best images from your site or images that don’t appear there? and…how many images make up a good book?

I have landed many a project based on the web site alone but when the book is requested it had better seal the deal, not disappoint. Is one more important than the other? You need both!

My view is that the website is a vehicle to show a greater volume of work that shows where you have been as well as where you are going. It is more forgiving in terms of large quantities of images and variety whereas, to me the book is a purer vision of the future. I have had the opportunity to see some books that are 60 -70 pages - huge! You can’t help but begin to glaze after 30 images - we call it “a book” - it needs to flow and tell a story like a book. To continue the analogy, the website can be many volumes.

Next we need to see how buyers feel about sleeves vs double sided prints!

It would be like going into a car showroom, and instead of looking at the real car to test drive, you’re shown a television ad for it, or a set of blueprints for it. It’s one step removed, which can’t be a good thing in any business.

I remember when inkjets first came out, and I was enamoured with matte rag paper, and I redid all my books on that paper. It did not go over well — ADs thought i was some “art guy”, instead of a commercial photographer. It simply introduced an element of doubt, or like a hangnail, it was something to just get hung up on, (and not in a good way). Not a good decision on my part; I loved them personally, but it did not produce jobs.

When in Rome, do as the Romans do — ink on glossy paper. You’re not selling photography for websites; you’re not selling photography for framing. You’re selling photography for publishing in a magazine or brochure or annual report. (At least for the time being, until Mr. Haggart gets his way, and he sends Mead Paper and all the others packing…) At THAT point, I’d say it was appropriate to whip out the 17″ laptop for presentation, but it’s not there yet. If ever.

Life would be much much easier without print books (ten books x fifty or sixty new images x every six months = many Advils and much self doubt) but I am glad to hear they are still in demand. Most work looks so much better in the context of a finished portfolio.

First problem: desk was buried in paperwork, folders and computer. Actually finding somewhere to put the laptop was problem numero uno. With a book, people don’t need desk space.

Second problem: light was streaming in through the windows and you couldn’t properly close the blinds. Result? Viewing the photos was extremely difficult.

Lesson: never, ever again.

There is also a real, tangible feel to flicking through a portfolio book that just can’t be replaced by a computer.

Bring both if you wish, but my first preference would always be a book.

After doing a little unofficial polling, and updating my website almost every day for the past year, I decided that scrolling was best, and the entire website should take only 10 minutes to update… just rename the images in bridge, drop them in, rename an html file, and copy and paste one line of code: instant gallery of new work up there. Finally, my site actually represents what I’m up to instead of some slideshow of two year old work.

@5 - I think having a print book and having to go through the thought process of presentation - how things will flow, the layout and sequencing; the paper used, matte, luster, or glossy; and the type of portfolio, bound book, sleeved black leather, Lost Luggage,etc - will only help you refine your vision and the experience you want your viewers to have. I think there are too many possibilities for things to go wrong with the laptop presentation - program or computer crashing,etc., and I would hate to waste a potential client’s time trying to get my presentation to work when I could simply show a printed book. “If it can go wrong it will” - Murphy’s Law

Thanks.

It was good to hear from different facets of the industry how they find photographers and their work. I was the most surprised to hear they (mostly Zana) encourage photographers to just call.

Cold calling has been a hurdle for me and many other photographers I know. I’m not sure what we’re afraid of. Um..I mean what I’m afraid of. I think it’s a big step to bypass the email promos and pick up the phone.

I think first and foremost it takes confidence in your work. And also a big set of…er…sand bags.

Thanks for a great talk,
Michelle

Amen to that. I can’t even tell you how nuts a site full of flash graphics and whiz-bangs makes us art directors. Let your work do the talking. It’s like when junior art directors and writers used to send me books in drum cases or old luggage or hat boxes to get attention. Doesn’t work. In fact is usually was a red flag that crap work lay inside. Seriously, an over-cooked website just slows down the decision-making process. Just like over art directed ads. There’s nothing worse than showing a photographer’s website to your creative director and senior art buyer when the damn thing won’t load or takes forever to get through the intro. And for the record, we always hit “skip intro”.

Just make your presentation clean, simple and effective.

Personally speaking, I HATE when there are arrows or Prev/Next buttons that keep moving around as your images change from vertical to horizontal. And PLEASE do not use Simple Viewer flash templates, because 90% of the sites that do, we get a request to update our Flash plug-in.