On Monday evening, I took part in ASMP New York’s portfolio review, hosted at Tribeca Skyline Studios at the invitation of photographer and event organizer Manjari Sharma. Other reviewers included art buyers and editors from Ogilvy, McCann-Erickson, Esquire, Newsweek, and Rolling Stone, just to name a few. As with most of these reviews, the evening was broken up into 15-minute slots. The organizers decided not to schedule meetings in advance, so it was first-come, first-served. You can only cover so much ground in such a short period of time, but everyone seemed to appreciate my feedback and enjoy the event. The evening ended with a cocktail hour for reviewers and volunteers, where I heard a lot of praise for Wonderful Machine from both clients and photographers. These reviews are always fun, with the chance to see new work and do a little networking over a Dixie Cup of red wine.
Reviews about to get started
I had the chance to thumb through about a dozen books—these things go by in such a blur I can’t remember exactly how many. However many there were, I was really impressed with the quality of the work and presentation. Having looked at so many books in the last two weeks, I can say that I have looked into the future of the portfolio, and it is the iPad. It may not even be the future—it could just be the present. At both Fotoworks and this most recent ASMP review, I’d estimate that about one-third of participants came with an iPad in hand, either as their main portfolio or as a supplement to a printed book with video work or additional projects. Initially, I was skeptical of the iPad; beyond the novelty of a fun toy, I thought that using the device to simply show a slideshow of images would not be a very compelling presentation. But as more photographers decide to go this route for a portfolio, that is changing. There are a number of new portfolio apps now on offer, and I got to try out a very simple, inexpensive interface, foliobook. It’s nothing fancy, but it looks fairly customizable, and even at its low price, it is a big step up from an iPhoto slideshow.
An art buyer from Ogilvy that I spoke to lamented the rise of the iPad, as he remains a huge fan of the printed book. Seeing work on an iPad is not such a different experience than looking through a photographer’s website, and many commercial clients still want to see examples in print before they hire. With that in mind, I always encourage photographers not to think of a printed book as a thing of the past; it’s important to keep in mind that any portfolio should be built to suit the needs of the client rather than the photographer. Photographers may choose the iPad as their primary portfolios, but I remind them that keeping a beautifully printed book ready to ship is still very necessary. On the other hand, though art buyers and editors don’t have to say goodbye to print, they can be open to new ways of finding and evaluating photographers. As the publishing industry moves more and more towards digital distribution, we may shift our expectations and come to rely somewhat on digital portfolios.
However, these new technologies will not be a complete game-changer. The same art buyer told me that what he values most in a photographer is someone with enthusiasm and imagination. “I don’t want to hire anyone I wouldn’t want to grab a beer with.” A shiny new iPad is no substitute for good rapport.
Sean reviews a portfolio. (Photo by Jacob Pritchard/Denver)
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