The Initial Portfolio Review was a great success. So far twenty-five intrepid photographers have started the project and their work is amazing. As always, the range of subject matter is broad, and the quality is exceptional. Since we were cancelled by weather in January we need to give Eva Lanyi another round of applause for finding a way to reschedule the live review for February. Portfolio is a project where it’s important to have a chance to share and see what everyone is doing. Thank you, Eva!
So, what happens now? Digest the comments and what you saw from the other participants. Continue working on your images, continue shooting and processing. Work on selecting your 12 best for the final live review, and think about how you want to present your final project. Just remember that this is supposed to be your best work.
You could do prints, a book, a digital presentation. If you want to shop your portfolio to a gallery, digital or prints in a folio work well. Books are great gift for friends and a wonderful addition to your coffee table. Matted prints are good also for future competition possibilities, and good for your walls or for sale at shows.
Several people have asked me where to have images printed in a book, I did an on-line search and was surprised how many companies are out there: Shutterfly, Snapfish, Vistaprint, Pikperfect, Adorama, Walmart, Canva and Mixbook came up right away. One comparison source gave Mixbook high marks, but I have no knowledge of them myself. I have used My Publisher, which is now Shutterfly, for books and Vistaprint for my calendars, good results from both. A few weeks ago, Silvia Jorgensen showed me a book of her work, done by Picaboo.com, and the quality was excellent. My only recommendation if you are going to do a book is to pay extra for the lay-flat pages, your work will look much better. Glossy or matte is entirely up to you and could be dictated by the subject. If your Artist Statement is against a dark background I strongly recommend printing it before committing it to a book. That way you can make brightness adjustments as needed.
If you have signed up and haven’t started your Portfolio yet, or if you’d like to join now you are welcome to do so. The final review is on May 21st, so you still have time!
Ginger Werz-Petricka and Colena Turner