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Posts Tagged ‘Impress’

How to Print a Professional Portfolio So You Can Impress Your Clients

27 Nov

The post How to Print a Professional Portfolio So You Can Impress Your Clients appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Darina Kopcok.

how-to-print-a-professional-portfolio

Marketing yourself as a commercial or editorial photographer means that you need to print a professional portfolio and promotional materials to show clients such as ad agencies, magazines, and major brands that you want to work with.

There seems to be a perception out there that marketing is done solely online these days and that photographers no longer need to print a professional portfolio.

This is not true.

How to Print a Professional Portfolio So You Can Impress Your Clients

Some established photographers have a roster of repeat clients that they rely on to keep their businesses afloat. But if you’re looking for new clients, or just entering the industry, you need a printed book to show prospective clients your work. 

Yes, a website is an important selling tool, but bringing an iPad to an agency meeting can be perceived as amateurish.

These kinds of top-echelon clients want to see how your work holds up in print, which is far less forgiving than a computer screen. They also enjoy experiencing your work directly through a tangible medium like a printed book.

Maybe you’re not a commercial photographer but shoot consumer, like wedding or portrait photography. In this case, having prints or a printed book to show your clients can also have a positive impact. It can drive your client to buy from you and they are likely to perceive you as a photographer who is head and shoulders above the rest.

how-to-print-a-professional-portfolio

Types of books

Before we dive into the variables around printing your work, let’s talk about the portfolio itself.

As a commercial photographer, your best bet is to purchase a screw-post portfolio where you can add and subtract pages every time you update it with new work.

My portfolio, pictured above, is a bamboo cover screw-post portfolio manufactured by Shrapnel Design. The company is based in Vancouver, Canada, but ship to most countries via FedEx or TNT.

Other companies make similar portfolios for photographers, so do your research and find the best one for you.

The point is that you want to be able to update your portfolio periodically by printing pages of new work and swapping them out.

You can also get a portfolio printed in a photo book. This is a less expensive option, but you’ll need to re-do the whole thing if you want to update your portfolio. Which you should do periodically.

Just be sure to get a high-quality book printed. The design and paper are very important. It needs to be a visual and tactile experience.

A couple of suggestions are the books by Artifact Uprising and Saal Digital.

Get a lay-flat book in landscape orientation and in a large size, such as 14X11.

how-to-print-a-professional-portfolio

Choice of paper

Your choice of paper for your printed book is very important.

The type of paper you choose will really depend on the genre you shoot and which paper will show your work to the best advantage. There are a variety of finishes and weights available.

For my portfolio, I used Smooth Matte Pina Zangaro paper by MOAB. It’s scored and punched for use in all standard format screw-post binders. The paper is archival quality, pH neutral and water-resistant.

Archival quality paper is meant to last. Your prints will not fade and shift quickly when exposed to light.

Some might argue that archival paper is not necessary because you’ll be routinely swapping out your pages if you get a screw-post portfolio. But most good papers are archival quality anyway. Archival paper is more important when you’re selling prints to hang on a wall.

Before you settle on a paper, order some samples from the supplier to check quality or go to the printer you wish to use and take a look at their papers.

Also, make sure that they’ll punch and score the paper for you if it doesn’t already come that way. Otherwise, you can make a mess out of your prints if you don’t know how to do this yourself.

If you purchase a photo book, Eggshell matte paper, like Mohawk Superfine, is a great choice.

how-to-print-a-professional-portfolio

Where to print

Unless you’re already a printing dynamo and have an awesome printer that you paid at least $ 1K for, get your book printed by a professional printer that caters to photographers.

Do your research and, if you can, ask other photographers you might know in your community for their recommendations.

It’s important that you don’t spare expense. Get the best quality printing that you can. The quality of inks can make a big difference in the portrayal of your work.

There are a lot of great online services, but a professional printer in your community can give you personalized service that will make the difference in how your prints turn out. They can advise on papers and inks and any potential problems.

Make sure that you print one of the spreads as a proof before committing to handing over the whole project.

how-to-print-a-professional-portfolio

Monitor calibration

Before you start designing your portfolio, you have to prepare your images.

It goes without saying that you should be working on a calibrated monitor.

This is a step that a lot of people tend to skip, but unless you’re working on a monitor that is rendering colors correctly, you can end up with tones and colors that are way off base once you print them.

Each device will display colors differently. Calibrating your monitor will make sure what you’re seeing is correct, and that you and your printer are both following a standard that will ensure the same result.

A color calibration device like Color Munki is easy to use. Calibrate your screen regularly and definitely before you print anything or send images to clients. If they complain that the images don’t look right, you’ll know that what you sent them is correct.

How to Print a Professional Portfolio So You Can Impress Your Clients

Color management and resolution

You need to prepare your images properly when sending them to a printer.

Always check with your printer before preparing your files. Ask them the format and color space that they need your files in.

This will be dependent on the type of printer they use. If they use a printing press, they will likely require your file in CMYK.

However, if they use large format printers with up to 10-inks, they may require anything from Adobe RGB through to ProPhoto.

Using the TIFF file format is usually better than using the JPG format, as it does not compress the image data. But again, check with your printer.

You’ll also need to send the printer high-resolution images, with at least 300 dpi (dots-per-inch). The more dots, the higher the quality of the print in terms of detail and sharpness.

For more in-depth information on this, read: How to Prepare Images For Publication – Part One

How to Print a Professional Portfolio So You Can Impress Your Clients

Conclusion

To print a professional portfolio can be very costly. This is a case where you need to spend money to make money. If you want to attract the clients with the deeper pockets, you’ll need to get in front of them with a professional-looking book that shows your beautiful photography in the best light.

Do you have any other tips on how to print a professional portfolio that you’d like to share? Do so in the comments section!

 

The post How to Print a Professional Portfolio So You Can Impress Your Clients appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Darina Kopcok.


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Nikon Z6 image quality and dynamic range impress, but not without caveats

07 Nov

Studio Scene

We shot the Z6 using Nikon’s new Z 50mm F1.8 S lens, since improved optics are one of the main promises the company has made for its mirrorless system. JPEGs were shot with lens corrections minimized as far as possible. Adobe Camera Raw has mandated lens distortion and chromatic aberration corrections, despite us disabling that option in the camera. Have a look below, then take a look at our dynamic range assessments further down.

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The results of the Z6 and 50mm S lens are impressive, with consistent performance across the frame$ (document).ready(function() { $ (“#icl-4298–901106245”).click(function() { ImageComparisonWidgetLink(4298); }); }). The anti-aliasing filter appears a bit stronger than the Sony a7 III, which means a bit less detail but less occurrence of false color$ (document).ready(function() { $ (“#icl-4301-714546339”).click(function() { ImageComparisonWidgetLink(4301); }); }).

While fine detail isn’t as well preserved at low ISO$ (document).ready(function() { $ (“#icl-4299-740733493”).click(function() { ImageComparisonWidgetLink(4299); }); }) or at high ISO$ (document).ready(function() { $ (“#icl-4300–152210045”).click(function() { ImageComparisonWidgetLink(4300); }); }) as the best of its peers, the Z6 generally strikes a nice balance between noise and detail. Low light Raw performance is competitive with the best of its peers$ (document).ready(function() { $ (“#icl-4302–698920912”).click(function() { ImageComparisonWidgetLink(4302); }); }), which is to say it’s essentially class leading.

Exposure Latitude

Our Dynamic Range tests presented no great surprises. The same banding in shadows the Z7 displayed is present in the very darkest tones of its images, at 12 row increments – the very rows dedicated to phase-detect AF (PDAF). This suggests the Z6 PDAF rows aren’t being perfectly corrected when they’re incorporated into the Raw files. This will impact the usability of darker tones in images relative to its peers like Nikon’s own D750 or Sony’s a7 III. We’ll also check for striping (bright white stripes across shadows) in back-lit shooting as we put together a sample gallery with the camera.

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ISO-Invariance

The camera isn’t entirely ISO Invariant but this is largely because the sensor features the Aptina-style Dual Gain design that Sony Semiconductor has been using for the past few years. This sees the camera use a second higher gain circuit in its pixels to reduce noise from ISO 800 upwards (at the cost of some capacity for dynamic range), where the camera is essentially entirely ISO-invariant.

This means that if you shoot Raw there’s no advantage to increasing ISO above 800, for the same shutter speed and aperture, vs. brightening the Raw file yourself while protecting highlights in post-processing. This method of working can afford you many stops of additional highlight detail at no cost to you other than a dark image preview.

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Our results are confirmed by Bill Claff, based on the test images we sent him. His graphs show a similar pattern to the a7 III’s results but with the performance lying a fraction behind the Sony and a little ahead of the Canon EOS R at most ISO settings. In real world shooting, though, banding in shadows may decrease the overall usable dynamic range.

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

 
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5 Simple Yet Clever Ways to Impress Your Photography Clients

30 Mar

While a satisfied client is the fuel for further sales and word of mouth, an excited client is the jet engine for your marketing. Unfortunately, many photographers don’t know how to turn regular customers into fans.

In this article you’ll find five simple, time-proven techniques of impressing your photography clients and building a long-lasting relationship from an ordinary photo shoot.

1. Be Professional

01 be professional
Image by niekverlaan

You should portray a professional image of yourself right from the beginning. This doesn’t necessarily involve spending hundreds of dollars on premium graphic design services and printed materials. In today’s world we have to deal with poor customer service too often, so being quick with your replies to client requests is an old yet very effective way to impress people.

Another factor contributing to your professional image is your website. It’s the first thing your clients see when they find you on the Internet, so it’s critically important to keep your site accessible and up-to-date. Don’t forget to update your portfolio and copyright information and make sure your website is mobile-friendly. Update information on your site regularly along with the copyright, share some personal stuff on your blog and “about me” page to show that you’re an open and available person, share your interests to make potential clients feel closer to you even before you meet.

Also, take care of your outfits and your entire appearance. No matter what type of photo shoot you’re heading to, make sure you’re dressed appropriately as it will directly affect whether or not you’ll get future jobs from this shoot. A rule of thumb is to avoid busy and loud clothing in favor of smooth colors and neutral style. Consider your own comfort, but probably more importantly, make your clients feel comfortable with you walking around.

2. Be Helpful, Be an Authority

02 be authority

Image by tpsdave

Give your clients an additional reason to book your service by providing exclusive, helpful information. It can be a blog post on how to dress for different types of photo sessions, or you could organize a workshop for moms on how to take great snaps of their children using a smartphone or a pocket camera. The idea is to figure out your clients’ possible knowledge gaps and fill them.

Not only is this a great way to strengthen relationships with your current customers, but it can also help you establish the reputation of being an experienced, leading professional which works as a charm for attracting qualified leads.

3. Get Creative with Bonuses

Every business is interested in long-term relationships with their customers, and photographers should be no exception. Your loyal clients help you find new client, but what do they get in return? Develop a loyalty program for your customer base. An exclusive discount or a free mini-session just for using your services will definitely leave an impact.

03 give bonuses
Image by GLady

Another neat way to please your loyal audience with an unsolicited bonus is creating a personalized product for them. For instance, with Defrozo you can create custom downloadable client galleries for free. The albums look great on both desktop and mobile screens, and can be built within a couple of minutes. The developers of Defrozo also promise full-featured websites for clients available later this year as the project raises funds on Kickstarter. You could also create a sweet, short video showing some backstage moments using Magisto.

Remember that bonuses don’t have to be monetary. It’s attention and a personal approach that will impress people.

4. Be the guy/girl next door

In other words, get to know what interests you have in common and use this info to customize your approach to the needs of your clients.

Fortunately you can make use of social networks. Not all of your clients will use them or share a lot of their personal details, but you can still get to know people you work with better by simply following their social media updates.

04 be the guy next door
Image by Alejandro Escamilla

Another great way to connect with your clients on a personal level can be seen on the website of well-known wedding photographers Justin and Mary Marantz. They simply listed things they like presented as icons accompanied by funny comments on their About page. That’s the information that turns a “leading destination photographer” into a “guy/girl next door” that understands you in a way no other photographer does, and therefore, can be entrusted to photograph one of the most special days of your life. Genius, huh?

5. Follow Up

Following up is important. When done right, it helps you reinforce relationships with your current clients. Besides, it’s a sure way for you to be recommended more often.

05 follow up
Image by Ginger Quip

It’s not uncommon to send your clients a printed Thank You card, along with a photobook or image pack from their session. You could go further and send them an extra print about a month after. Break the mould of typical follow-up messages that are only sent when a business wants to sell something and only include a note that would remind your client about the fun time you had during the photo shoot. It can work great as a feedback request too.

If sending a physical gift does not fit your budget at the moment, writing a detailed blog post about a specific client’s session is a decent alternative. It won’t cost you a penny, but sincere words shared publicly won’t leave them cold, for sure.

Summary

It’s sincerity, passion for what you do, and commitment to quality that motivates people to stick around forever. Is that what you can say about your business approach? Congrats, then, you’ve got that wow-factor to impress your clients. Remember that when creating your next marketing campaign and it will work like a charm.

What’s your number-one marketing tactic you use to impress your clients? Share with the community by leaving a comment below!

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The post 5 Simple Yet Clever Ways to Impress Your Photography Clients by Julia May appeared first on Digital Photography School.


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