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|| SportsShooter.com: Member Message Board
Luau Portfolio Review
Eli Lucero, Photographer
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Wellsville | UT | USA | Posted: 8:51 PM on 11.02.03 |
| ->> As I'm sitting here getting my stuff ready I am currious as to what is the best format to display your photos on a laptop. Self running slideshow, a html gallery that they have to navigate to the next photo, just photos to open in photoshop etc. Also should I put caption info on the screen or just leave it as the pics. Just currious as to what others are doing. |
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Mark J. Terrill, Photographer
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Simi Valley | CA | USA | Posted: 8:55 PM on 11.02.03 |
->> Eli,
You should give the reviewer the ability to move to the next photo at their own pace. Avoid a self running show. Opening them in Photoshop is a bit of a pain as well.
Mark |
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Andrew Malana, Photographer
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Chula Vista | CA | USA | Posted: 9:10 PM on 11.02.03 |
| ->> Hi Eli...A good one to use is your SS hidden gallery. Download it and save to a CD or on your hardrive... |
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Steve Boyle, Photographer, Student/Intern
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Columbia | MO | USA | Posted: 9:17 PM on 11.02.03 |
->> not a good one to use Andrew, the best.
its a self contained html file. it works cross platform and will open on ANY computer. the user can view all the thumbs and scroll at their own pace. and to top it off, you can make it in seconds inside of writing all the code or designing it yourself. |
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Paul S. Clapp, Student/Intern, Photographer
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University Heights | OH | USA | Posted: 10:13 PM on 11.02.03 |
| ->> Steve, I wonder if they can use your post as an ad for SS.com's membership? |
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David Harden, Student/Intern, Photographer
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Tucson | Az | USA | Posted: 11:09 PM on 11.02.03 |
->> I did this after another member said he was going to try it, and it worked out nicely. I created my portfolio in a PDF format using Acrobat 6. It is fairly easy to do, and looks nice.
p.s. good idea Saul |
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Sarah Coward, Photographer
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Pt.Charlotte | FL | USA | Posted: 11:55 PM on 11.02.03 |
| ->> Can some one help the computer-illiterate download a hidden gallery? I'm running Windows XP and I'm using JustZipIt freeware. All I see when I'm done burning is the Windows viewer, no text, just the usual folders and files, view as a slide show, order prints online, etc..., no hidden gallery. Can some one talk me through it? |
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Jean Finley, Student/Intern
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Iowa City | IA | USA | Posted: 12:55 AM on 11.03.03 |
| ->> Don't you just go to member area and click "download" just under and to the left of the link to the gallery? |
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Tom Braid, Photographer, Photo Editor
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Edmonton | AB | Canada | Posted: 2:12 AM on 11.03.03 |
->> Okay as one of the portfolio reviewers that has volunteered to take part I can give my two cents worth on this question.
Now this is from my own experiences from past reviews that I have taken part in, there are many people volunteering for reviewing at this event and I do not speak for them as they may like to look at portfolios differently when reviewing!!!!
*I will have my own laptop, but without power to plug into it will die in two hours (dam PC!!) It is new with Windows XP, all I need is jpegs on anything, even memory sticks and I can watch slideshow in XP instantly. But no power no laptop after two hours.
*You really have to bring your own laptop if your portfolio is electronic or you could be sitting there with a CD in your hand and no laptop for the reviewer to watch it on. And if a reviewer do has a laptop how do you know that the your slideshow will work? The SS page works in any browser so that is a safe bet. But no laptop no review.
*The advice about using the SS hidden member pages as your portfolio is a GREAT ONE!! Everyone reviewing has visited this site so it is already known by all how to run the pages to view the pictures. Run it ahead of time!!! Make sure it works. Back up your jpeg picture files in a file and if worst comes to worst you come open them in something else or have your backup slideshow ready.
*If you have a simple slideshow that you use and you are comfortable with it, great. But slideshows with music and graphic production will just take away from the pictures and your work. A reviewer (I know I do) may want to stop the show and ask you about a picture, give positive or constructive comments on cropping,composition, colour balance or whatever.
* Having them as separate files and opening them in Photoshop has always been a major pain for me. I have double clicked on the files and the shooter had the files as huge full rez and the machine just sits there and the clock goes around and around. You have limited time during the reviews. Looking at a clock or a frozen machine is no way to spend this important time!!! If you have files in a folder they do not have to be the full 7, 10, or 18 meg files. Computer screen rez is all you need, you are not sending the pictures to press!! This has happen to me and the students trying to show me their work before and the time is up very very fast!!!
*How many pictures to show? This is the biggest question. Many say 20 to 30 max. But like my good friend Steve Simon www.stevesimonphoto.com told me when he was in Perpignan, France at the annual Festival of Photojournalism being reviewed. He had his 20 or so pictures and the reviewer said "These are great.......... do you have more?" And he said, "Why yes right here." The point here is if you have your best 20 up on your slideshow and the reviewer asks to see more. If you have the extra pictures to show, do not say, "I left them at home!!" Have them ready in a secondary SS page or slideshow.
*I have seen people get jobs and or hired at these reviews. It does not happen right there but reviewers remember the best shooters that they meet and things happen down the road. An editor calls and says, "I have a job opening do you know anyone?" I work for a company in Canada that has over 100 papers many of them are really small but jobs do come open and it does happen every once in a while where a shooter gets a job because we met at portfolio review. I am just one person, this has happened to others as well.
Yes #1 you are there to get advice on your work and hopefully have a better portfolio when it is all said and done but shooters get jobs because they get known. If you have a card it may come in handy.
So good luck to everyone that has signed up and remember many of the reviewers have different styles and publications that they are producing for so you may get mixed reviews on your work. This is normal!!!
Second thought from what I heard as many as 300 shooters have signed up for reviews......... I think the reviewers need some good luck taking in all the images that are coming our way!!!
Tom Braid
Chief Photographer
Edmonton Sun
www.fyiedmonton.com
&
Secretary-Western Canadian News Photographers Association
www.wcnpa.ca |
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Dianna Russell, Student/Intern, Photographer
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Springfield | MO | USA | Posted: 2:41 AM on 11.03.03 |
->> I am going to have to do a print portfolio. I have never put one together so this is a first.
I have 18 sports pics to get printed tomorrow and am thinking of having a couple of news and features photo stories as back-up.
Any suggestions?
I have a zippered portfolio case with 20 pages. I was goint to print out the cutlines from ps file info area and tape them below the photo. Is this the best way to include the cutline info?
Any help or suggestions would be appreciated.
Thanks.
Dianna |
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Tom Braid, Photographer, Photo Editor
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Edmonton | AB | Canada | Posted: 2:59 AM on 11.03.03 |
->> I forgot to mention the caption thing.
Some say that the pictures should speak for itself. But man we are in a business that always publishes a caption with the photo. What is wrong with a caption? I like them there (very short ones) but very few shooters do this. It can really add tons of time to the preparation of the slideshow depending on the program you are using. Watch out for typos!!! Kiss of death there for some editors when they see that in your portfolio. Now proof reading even adds more time!!
Dianna good sports action pictures usually speak for themselves but if you have that key play that won the game it does add to the impact of the image.
You would not want to ship your portfolio with stuck on captions to an agency in New York or LA but this event is a laidback easy going affair. I do not believe that there will be reviewers there that are going to dump on your pictures because the caption is stuck on. If it looks really ugly for some reason then use your judgement. This is all about the pictures and getting feedback from showing them, with a printed portfolio the reviewer can easily stop at any time and ask questions.
Now I do not think that I really answered your question........ maybe I added to the confusion????
Tom Braid
Chief Photographer
Edmonton Sun
http://www.fyiedmonton.com
&
Secretary-Western Canadian News Photographers Association
http://www.wcnpa.ca |
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Dianna Russell, Student/Intern, Photographer
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Springfield | MO | USA | Posted: 3:54 AM on 11.03.03 |
->> Tom,
I agree it would not look good to send off a portfolio with captions placed underneath with tape. I would probably never mail off a print portfolio but would use a CD instead.
I just got an older Compaq Presario computer from my brother and am having trouble getting it set up (reformatted the hard drive) and may not get it done in time. Had to get a OS key code and am trying to get missing drivers. This machine may not even be suitable for a portfolio use anyway. So, I am going to get the prints ready.
Thanks.
Dianna |
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Robert Hanashiro, Photographer
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Los Angeles | CA | USA | Posted: 4:53 AM on 11.03.03 |
->> From the confirmation email that everyone received:
"PORTFOLIO REVIEWS.
This has become an important part of the Workshop & Luau for many participants ... a time where you can show your work to the faculty and staff, get an evaluation of your photographs, network and ask advice. We have expanded this portion of the Workshop & Luau to BOTH Friday and Saturday nights, running from 9 pm through midnight.
If you want to have a one-on-one portfolio review, you should try to limit your work to 20 images (we'll let you slide on picture stories and count that as one!) and can bring either transparencies or prints. Have your portfolio organized in an orderly fashion and be prepared to answer questions about your work!
If you plan on showing a digital portfolio, you will have to provide your own laptop and appropriate software to review your work. You can have as many different people look over your work in either or both portfolio review sessions. We anticipate having 30 - 35 members of our faculty and staff, along with several local photographers and picture editors, available to look at portfolios.
If you're looking for an internship or trying to just get your foot in the door in photography, this could be your chance." |
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Darrell Scattergood, Photographer
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Mountlake Terrace | WA | usa | Posted: 8:47 AM on 11.03.03 |
| ->> does that mean we can / should bring both printed and electronic portfolios? do some reviewers have a preference? |
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Sarah Coward, Photographer
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Pt.Charlotte | FL | USA | Posted: 9:51 AM on 11.03.03 |
->> I got it. For some reason, my computer wasn't showing the main html document icon for the gallery on the CD, only the thumbnails icon. But it's there this morning, and all is well.
I'm going to make two 20-picture hidden gallery CDs, one each for sports and news/feature. I'll let the reviewer take their pick which one they want to review.
I think since I already have a job taking pictures, my review won't be a nail-biter, as some of yours may be. I just want criticism on how to improve, since I'm new to this business. |
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Tom Braid, Photographer, Photo Editor
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Edmonton | AB | Canada | Posted: 3:34 PM on 11.03.03 |
->> Darryl;
Just in case do not get me wrong on what I was saying.
Your question uses the word "should" you bring both? You do not have to. If you have a book everyone can view that. If you only have a CD and no laptop, you are in trouble........ but if you have your own laptop you are fine.
Some might bring both a book with some pictures and then with other pictures in a computer? Who knows up to 300 may want reviews that is a lot of people and 15 minutes goes really really fast!! But you do not "have" to bring both no way!! One is all you need. But if you have it electronic you had better have a laptop as many reviewers will not have laptops or ones that will read your slideshow if they do. |
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Darrell Scattergood, Photographer
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Mountlake Terrace | WA | usa | Posted: 5:20 PM on 11.03.03 |
->> I've got both a book, and a laptop with 2 batteries :)
I was planning on bringing both the book and the laptop, but I was just wondering which was best. Both need updates, but I was planning on doing that this week. The laptop is set up with ACDsee, which pretty much will read any PC formated image, if someone only has a cd, I'd be willing to share. |
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Ron Erdrich, Photographer
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Abilene | TX | USA | Posted: 5:33 PM on 11.03.03 |
->> When I entered the Missouri Photo Workshop I sent a portfolio of prints, around 20 or thirty if I recall.
Instead of pasting the captions beneath the photos, I printed them out and placed them in the opposing page's sleeve so that you would have the print on one side with the caption facing it on the other. It's a lot cleaner and you can switch it out easily if you spot a typo.
And yes, typos are the kiss of death. After you read it 5 times, have somebody else read it twice more and tell you if something is wrong with it.
I'm the chair for NPPA's still portfolio critique program and what I tell folks is to make sure you show what YOU consider your best work, not what you think people will want to see. Show the pictures that say something about you, not about what's currently hip.
And lastly, a bit of advice passed on to you from my mom living in Garden Grove.
"People most of the time will hire you based on not what you can do for them, but rather if they think they can work with you."
This can mean many things depending on your interpretation. When you get to a certain level, the difference between photographers to an editor has less to do with ability, I believe, than with personal taste or a specific need. I remember Joe Elbert of the Washington Post once remark about the hiring process in terms of filling slots in an orchestra.
"I've already got a tuba player," he said. "What I need now is a clarinet and some cellos."
--Ron-- |
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Trent Nelson, Photographer
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Salt Lake City | UT | USA | Posted: 5:45 PM on 11.03.03 |
->> Hey, I've got some great news. Believe it or not, the Marriott has AC power outlets in the rooms we review portfolios in. So don't worry about bringing your extra batteries. Just remember to bring a US power adapter if you're coming from overseas. It's 120.
prints, CD's, flash cards, anything but floppy diskettes.
-trent |
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Ron Erdrich, Photographer
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Abilene | TX | USA | Posted: 6:15 PM on 11.03.03 |
->> So is anybody showing slides? That might make an interesting SS poll, what kind of format is your portfolio in?
-R- |
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Darrell Scattergood, Photographer
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Mountlake Terrace | WA | usa | Posted: 6:26 PM on 11.03.03 |
->> Good points Ron. Have to work on captions, since most of the ones I've seen are so fake sounding.
Slides? what are those? something to do with film? how about if we get ahold of a projector to plug into the laptops and they'll look like slides. Anyone bringing power strips? |
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Ron Erdrich, Photographer
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Abilene | TX | USA | Posted: 7:12 PM on 11.03.03 |
->> Yeah, captions. They seem to spook a fair number of photographers.
I remember once watching the College Photographer of the Year judging when the judges were whittling it down to the final four. One of the students had an awesome collection of work but when they wanted to explore those images in further detail by looking at the captions, they were confronted by 5 or more pages with the words "I DON'T DO CAPTIONS!!!" scrawled diagonally across the whole sheet a la psycho-style.
Needless to say, that person's work was dropped out and whoever it was missed their chance.
Remember we're journalists, not just photographers. Good captions are as necessary to storytelling as good pictures. You don't have to go Faulkner and write a novella beneath your photo, but the words should compliment the image, give the reader a little bit more than what's apparent and help clear up anything which may be ambiguous.
-R- |
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Pablo Galvez, Photographer
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Calgary | AB | CANADA | Posted: 11:19 PM on 11.03.03 |
| ->> Is there a way to get your SS portfolio modified once downloaded so it can show more than 20 photos? Say 100+? |
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Kevin M. Cox, Photographer, Assistant
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Stafford (Houston) | TX | US | Posted: 11:58 PM on 11.03.03 |
->> Pablo, sure, just open it up in any HTML editor and add more pages. I did that for the photos from the SS.com 1 year party we had in Austin.
http://www.kevincox.com/SS1yrAustin/ |
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Pablo Galvez, Photographer
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Calgary | AB | CANADA | Posted: 5:47 PM on 11.04.03 |
->> Thanks, Kevin. What program do you use for html editing? Is there a basic one or do I have to use dreamweaver or some Adobe program?
-Pablo
PS. Hellooooo Shelby! |
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Kevin M. Cox, Photographer, Assistant
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Stafford (Houston) | TX | US | Posted: 11:52 PM on 11.04.03 |
| ->> I just used Dreamweaver, but any HTML (or text) editor will work. |
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