Presentation Portfolio

[ChrisH]

I am just about to start producing a portfolio of some of my better images. I am thinking along the lines of A4 prints mounted on 16in x 12in white foam board, boxed and with tissue separators.

Has any one any recommendation of foam boards to use or possibly another presentation process to employ?

[Saorsa]

I find that foam board bends over time unless kept under pressure.

Good acid free matte board stays flat. If you then cut a matte to place over it you won't need the tissue.

[Manfred M]

Chris - I've never heard of a portfolio done the way you are proposing. Most professional portfolios are online these days using easy to use online web packages like WordPress or Wix.

https://wordpress.org/

http://www.wix.com/



Even hardcopy ones have traditionally been placed in protective plastic sleeves in book form and without any frames. What you are planning seems really awkward for the viewer.

[Mike Buckley]

I agree with all of the above. More to Manfred's point, how do you plan on using your presentation portfolio?

[IzzieK]

I agree on Manfred's comments. Also for hard copy plastic, you have to use the acid free ones you may find in some craft stores. FedEx have them too, but you have to ask.

[barrydoig]

I'm glad you are making prints instead of going to digital projected images. Although I use both, to me the photographic process is not completed until it is made into a print. (that's enough to provoke a lot of comment). For a portfolio I suggest you make 8x10 inch prints and put them on a 16x20 inch coreboard or foamboard backing. They don't have to be fully stuck down; a 'wing mat' hung from the top is sufficient, rather like the way artists hang watercolours. You then make a 16x20 mat with the hole cut slightly smaller that the print. A picture framer can cut these for you, or you may buy prepared mats. I make my own with a mat cutter. The mat sits over your print ready for display. This is how I prepare Exhibition print portfolios. Hope this helps. Barry from New Zealand

[rpcrowe]

I once used square matte boards for my portfolios with rectangular cutouts for my prints. That way, I could mount my images either vertically of horizontally and the viewer did not need to rotate the portfolio to view the prints in the correct attitude... Another advantage was that the same cutout matte would work either both horizontal or vertical prints...

I began with 16x16 inch matte boards and 8x10 inch prints but ended up with 20x20 inch matte boards displaying 11x14 inch prints. IMO, the larger, 11x14 inch, prints were far more impressive than the smaller, 8x10 inch sizes.

The problem, as I see it, with digital portfolio displays is that the images displayed vertically are considerably smaller in size compared with the images displayed horizontally...

[ionian]

The problem, as I see it, with digital portfolio displays is that the images displayed vertically are considerably smaller in size compared with the images displayed horizontally...

This is an issue on a standard monitor, but less of a problem on a tablet. I'd certainly consider getting a large tablet if I was in need of showing clients a digital portfolio, maybe something like an iPad pro. The flexibility of images this would allow would be tremendous.

I do like printing my images, although rarely go larger than 8x10, as they are usually of my daughter in some pickle or another! I have a way to go to be able to produce a portfolio like Chris is considering.

[Manfred M]

I took a portfolio design course at the local community college late last spring, so this topic was discussed and examined in great detail. The person teaching the course was a well known local product and event photographer, so his take is somewhat flavoured by the business he is in.

He has transitioned 100% from a card copy portfolio to an online one, as most of his business comes either over the phone or through online contacts. This is his website / portfolio.

http://www.raypilon.com/

You will note that 100% of the images are in landscape format. If you have a closer look it is actually a collection of portfolios by genre. There are very few images in each area that he works; enough to give his clients a sample of his work and style. It works as he's the guy that gets the call when the Royal Family or other VIPs are in town.

Another point; his is a jpeg only shooter. His shots have little or no PP work.

[SuffolkGal]

I'd like to know more about how the OP intends to use the presentation.

Yes, it is possible to show images on a tablet. But the quality will not be as good as on a print or a properly callibrated display.

Sure, we all have portfolios on line, but turning up to meet a client with a printed portfolio has paid off for me!