Portfolios
 

What does your portfolio look like? I would love to see images of how everyone has theirs put together.

Chris, I remember at some point you saying you bought a professional wedding album? Do you, or anyone, recommend a good place to order these? I have been looking around online and the sticker shock about knocked me over.

Photograpers supply houses would be a good bet, but yes, they are well over a hundred dollars, aren't they?

Yes, well over a hundred is an understatement in many instances. I'm not sure I understand why they are so expensive. What does yours look like, Michelle?

I don't have the fanciest kind, though I think it's time for me to upgrade.

The portfolio I've been using for the past couple of years is a black leather (or something that looks like it) photo album. It's 12" x 12" and has removable pages so I can put more or fewer images in as I need.

Oh, and it cost me only about $30, at an art supply/frame store.

I use a miniportfolio that I can carry in my purse; it holds thirty-six 4x6" photos, and it includes the sequence from block-in to finished painting that I have on my website on the "Process" page. It's been a very useful marketing tool. I also send people who approach me first by phone to my website, which functions as an online portfolio. And if people actually come to my studio I have both copies and originals of my work all over the walls.

Leslie, I also have 2 4x6 books, one for my purse and one for my husband's brief case. Of course I direct most people to my website, but the book that I have my 8x10's in is just a regular book from the craft store like Michelle has. It is ok, but I feel like it needs to look more substantial.

At an easter egg hunt Sunday I was approached by a very enthusiastic young (RICH) mother that wants a portrait and asked me to let her her have a tea for me so that she could show me off to all of her friends in Charlotte. (That is the way she put it) I was later informed that I would be a fool to not jump on it, that she was indeed smack in the middle of all the old charlotte money. So we are aiming for May, and this is what prompted me to get my porfolio looking better.

I have found a 10x10 all black professional wedding album that has 10 pages and 20 matts of my choosing for about $120 (wholesale), this is by far the lowest price I have found for anything this size. Which brings me to the question, what is a good amount to have in the bigger portfolio? Obviously only your best pieces, but do you put as many as possible or not overwhelm and keep it to a minimum?

Aha, I can see why you want a larger portfolio, with that scenario. It sounds like a wonderful opportunity!

If it were I, I'd include only my best pieces of course, but also have a range of styles and subjects - formal and informal, children and adults - so that the teaparty attendees can also be inspired to commission portraits of their spouse or parent as well as their children, if that's more appropriate for them. I think ten is a good number, since that's what the book holds. One large image per page would set them off well. Michele, what do you think?

I am assuming that since it has 20 mats that it would mean there is an image on either side of the page.

I can order the book to have more pages, but it jumped another 50 dollars just to add two more pages, that doesn't really seem worth it to me.

Somehow I was picturing the mats as different styles to give you an option, but your assumption makes more sense. Do you have twenty paintings that you'd want to include? I don't know whether you've been doing this long enough to accumulate that amount. If not you could do ten, leaving the facing page blank. A picture of your studio would be nice to include as well, to give a professional look, if it bears photographing! Some people's do and some don't. :)