Creating a Portfolio

[Clarionite]

I just finished reading a fantastic write up about creating portfolios at

http://www.luminous-landscape.com/co...tfolio-8.shtml

I'm not a pro by any means. I don't even consider myself a good ameuture yet.

But I do have several thousand shots on my hard drive from the past couple of years
and they do cover several different "themes". So I got to thinking about putting together
a portfolio. If nothing else, it forces me to print out some of the shots I've been meaning
to getting around to printing. It beats putting them in a scrapbook, and eventually when I'm gone putting some information about each of the shots in the portfolio might make it
mean something more to my kids. It will also force me to take a more detailed look at my
shooting style, my skills, and quite possible give me more ideas for putting together "themes" for future shoots.

I figure it'll take me about a month to bring this to fruition, as my server is still in Florida for another two weeks. But if others find the idea useful and want to do the same thing it could be fun to do a get together at a coffee shop and compare the portfolios.

Marty

[3n-Out]

Marty,

I got me a Pro SmugMug Account and put up my pictures there. It is my portfolio and my sales desk. Either way, look into Smugmug it is a great hosting company. It is a little more costly but in the end I'm sure you will be happy with the service.

Thanks and put your port in your sig line so we cna check it out..

John.....

[Clarionite]

I have my own domain that I put pictures up on. So in effect I have a portfolio in that sense. Although I do need to start a second domain and not put family shots up and be a little more selective about what I put up.

This project to me is more about having the prints made, and having something in my hands. And the process of writing up small bits of info about each shot. Tying it all into a comon theme, and creating more of a keepsake that I'd be proud to show. In the end when I get things how I like them, I'll probably attempt to have a showing somewhere. But that's a year or more off.

[Damon]

that's a good write-up.

So what's a good, average size for a print in a portfolio? I know it would depend on the image and such, but if I wanted to have an average size, with only a few different ones thrown in, what would I want? I was thinking 5x7, but they seem a bit small. Is there a size between that and an 8x10?

I suppose if i printed them out myself I could make them any size i wanted, but I'm looking to have them done at wolf or one of the online sites.

[3n-Out]

Awww, a hard copy old school portfolio? Well I can't really help you there. I'm more of a web guy and probably will never have a hard copy portfolio. When anyone asks me about my port i hand them my business card and tell them it's right here. Although, I should probably consider putting one together. I have enough 8X10's to create a good port now, but every week I shoot I get another picture that outshines one I thought was worthy of a portfolio view. It is very hard to put together 10-20 photos that you think are your best. At the rate I'm shooting I get 10-20 in a couple of months that are worthly. And 2,000 that aren't

[Clarionite]

Originally Posted by Damon

So what's a good, average size for a print in a portfolio? I know it would depend on the image and such, but if I wanted to have an average size, with only a few different ones thrown in, what would I want? I was thinking 5x7, but they seem a bit small. Is there a size between that and an 8x10?

From the writeup, he says it doesn't really matter. What matters is that you have a consistant size in the matting... So if you had these mounted on thick paper, thin foamboard, or matted to all be the same then you could have 5x7's, 8x10's, and composites printed on the same page all in the same portfolio. As long as they carried
a comon theme or the combination told a story.

[Clarionite]

Originally Posted by 3n-Out

It is very hard to put together 10-20 photos that you think are your best. At the rate I'm shooting I get 10-20 in a couple of months that are worthly. And 2,000 that aren't

And that's part of what I find interesting about this project. You have to drop the idea of my alltime best... You have to think of "Right now" These are the 10-20 shots that speak to me right now. This is the story I want to tell "Right Now" It's not a living project. It doesn't grow, expand, or change. You create it at the time, and let it stand on it's own merits. That doesn't mean that next month or next year you can't make a different one that will speak to you then.