Portfolio help

[mattchewone]

I am in need of some basic guidance on how to present my photos. I have no idea what I am looking at. I don't even know where to start looking or what I'm looking at.
I've never seen a portfolio and wouldnt know what I'm looking at.
I'd like to what to present them in, what sizes are good, how you put them in the folder, really basic stuff.

Thanks, sorry for the stupid and simple questions.

 

[mattchewone]

Any pointers would be great!

 

[Photodiva]

Hi Matt. I am sure someone will suggest some practical advice, but my thoughts are that (1) who are you creating the portfolio for? - its usual to tailor your portfolio for individual circumstances. (2) are you doing this for business or for studying? - if study, your college should advise. (3) you can have an on-line digital portfolio as well as a hard-copy one. On-line is easier to manage, hard copy can take up quite a bit of room.

For hard copy, my suggestion would be to decide on what size you want to display - A3 or 400x500mm are 'usual' mount sizes, and the photo can be any size that fits within that. Presentation is everything, so decide on mount color, cut windows neatly or just stick your image directly onto the mount board using spray mount. You can buy protective boxes or get one of those cheapie cases in the appropriate size.

 

[mattchewone]

I'm looking to create a digital or online portfolio as well, although not sure what to do with that either. Any help with this is would also be fantastic, I have a do use Wordpress but can't find a decent theme that would be suitable for a portfolio.

But I want a printed portfolio mainly for me, that may sound strange. I want to have a selection of my photos in good prints and do I can show people and possibly potential clients.

I don't really know much about mounts or how to mount photos, what sort of folder or any of that. So all info is gratefully received.

 

[alexam]

Hi Matt,
I was in a similar position a while back. One of the first thing I did was to have a collection of my best photos on my smartphone. You could do this or use an i-pad, but make them your best shots, not the 'also ran' type and keep them in a specific folder.

Second thing I did was to get the best of those photos printed in A4 size and put into a plastic folder wallet, the type with about 20 sleeves from most stationary shops.

It may not be the best way, but it has the same effect to show clients or models etc.

Hope this helps to get you started. Next, when the time is right, you can get a web site.