Stylists, Makeup / Hair Artists, Photographers ... Sending your portfolio to clients

[softgrey]

This question is for ALL the artists and artist reps...
photog, hr, mk up, stylists...

how much do you take into account the client when sending out your portfolios?

do you send the same one to everyone?

do you keep one ready for editorial clients and another for advertising clients?


*i used to have three identical books...
* but...
i find myself regularly taking my book apart and putting it back together depending on who i am sending it to...and this is getting a little old (to say the least)...

i'm thinking on just doing one for editorial and one for advertising so i always have one ready to go...

but maybe i am just too anal and i should just send everyone the same book?..

what do you guys think...??
please share any opinions and experiences
looking forward to hearing your thoughts...

Thank you!

 

[fourboltmain]

I think the best approach is to focus on one kick *** book to show in person, and then have a lot of leave-behind books to leave behind after the interview or even send to them before-hand with your resume, cover letter, etc.

I do think the book should be custom tailored for each job, if you have the amount of work for that. It shows you've done your research and care to show them what's most revelant to the position. It's like a cover letter, form letters don't stick out too much, and you can tell when you read one. It's best to use a portfolio that has interchangable pages, like the plastic sleeves or have some kind of removable binding if you make your own. I made my graduation one out of wood, brass hinges and rivets. Big mistake. LOL

The best leave-behind I've ever seen was a calendar with beautiful photos on each month, with the contact info on each page. I want to make beer coasters myself. Another trick you can do is just shuffle the order of the pages, say... have your advertising up front for an ad position, and put the copywriting, graphic design, whatever in the back, so it shows you have more skills and range.

The two book approach is good too, but bring both so you can show what else you can do and transition to that book to keep yourself in the meeting longer. Keep both books looking identical.

 

[softgrey]

fyi-
this is not about job interviews...

this is about freelance jobs...
which is how most artists in the fashion industry work...
most times there is no meeting...
the client calls you or your agent and asks you to send your book...

more often than not you get the job without ever even speaking to the client...
and if you send more than one--unless you are a photographer and have a personal book and a book of tears...
two books would be completely unheard of and way too much...



so...i'm still looking for feedback...
thanks...

 

[BetteT]

Well, I don't have an agent so any portfolios that get sent out to prospective clients are sent by me. but I haven't had anyone even ask for mine in a long, long time. My on-line portrfolio seems to satisfy them lately, which is really nice. I have more than one ... just as I have more than one book.

But here's my thoughts why I do that: You need to suit your book to your market and really need to find out what appeals to the most prospects in that market. I really think that clients and art directors are wanting to see what you can do in their market ... so they look specifically for those types of images. I think that having high fasion/edgy images in your book will sometimes scare the commercial client. They wonder if you are going to try to take their shoot and push it too far ... rather than provide exactly what they need. So I think that having specific books, one for each of the types of markets that you work in, is advisable. If you have an agent, most likely they will pretty much be tied to just one market ... and many stylists are not exclusive with the agency anyway ... so the agency can have one book and you can have a different one for other types of clients that you send out yourself ... or that another agent might use.

I work in two distinctly different markets, so I have a different book for each ... with some overlap of images. I used to switch things in and out but that got old, fast ... so I just get some duplicate prints made of the the things I want in both books. Now they are both ready to go. Then on occasion when someone is looking for something more specific ... I drag out and add a few specific ones ... but that doesn't happen often.

 

[tristan]

I send out online books more than I send out physical books now. So for bigger jobs I'll tailor the books to the client.

But two different books is a good idea if your working in two very different styles. Let say you do costume/stage makeup/special effect AND fashion then I think two books would be appropriate. But if you're doing mainly print stuff (which most artists at the agencies like Timothy Priano/Art+Commerce/Filomeno etc are doing) then one book with a variety of your best work should be sufficient.

 

[softgrey]

thanks for the feedback...

 

[fashionista-ta]

My two cents from a completely different industry

I find customizing to be important, because you don't want your more advanced/cutting-edge work to intimidate the client if you suspect they aren't that cutting-edge & you have your own reasons for wanting to work with them anyway ...

Maybe you could index the items in your books in a code that no one sees but you, by level of sophistication or whatever, to help you remember how you've customized in the past, and make it go more quickly in the future ...

 

[piep]

I have one book which I show in person. I am constantely changing the pages depending on the client I am approaching. the more I show it around, the better my feeling gets what the client would like.
I keep my website updated and when asked to send a pdf, i do choose the images very carefully and tailored to the magazine.

 

[prosperk]

My two cents from a completely different industry

I find customizing to be important, because you don't want your more advanced/cutting-edge work to intimidate the client if you suspect they aren't that cutting-edge & you have your own reasons for wanting to work with them anyway ...

I could not agree more with you. I remember a meeting with quite an important "fixer" advising the Chairman of one of the huge fashion and luxury conglomerates. He told me that he didn't think I would want to do copywriting and editing jobs for them because of my resumé. The lesson I took away from episodes like that was to downplay the top drawer stuff in order to stand a better chance of getting the well-paid work!

Quite amusing, really. The same applies throughout the fashion industry whether you're a photographer, stylist, writer, editor, hairstylist, makeup artist or casting consultant. It's harder for high profile people but then, the reason everyone else is so poorly paid in the "First Division" is because 3% of the artists consume 97% of the budgets! LOL! Well, maybe not that extreme but you know what I mean. So when we look to the Second Division or even the Third Division to pay the rent, it's often best to play down the prestige stuff.

PK

 

[softgrey]

one thing i think i have learned here is that i should get cracking on scanning my work and having the ability to email images to clients...since i do not have a website...


so thanks for that...

and i guess i am doing the right thing by 'toning it down' for commercial clients...
i am just sad that some of my favourite stuff goes unseen because it is too 'edgy'...

but i guess i just have to get over that, right?...

 

[BetteT]

yeah! Get over it.

 

[tristan]

one thing i think i have learned here is that i should get cracking on scanning my work and having the ability to email images to clients...since i do not have a website...


so thanks for that...

and i guess i am doing the right thing by 'toning it down' for commercial clients...
i am just sad that some of my favourite stuff goes unseen because it is too 'edgy'...

but i guess i just have to get over that, right?...

lol it's a bummer i know. But do you have a website? Alot of freelancers and agencies are sending out less and less physical materials and just sending out links. It's really the direction that clients are prefering more and more. And when you have a site you can keep sections really easily, editorial, celebrity, advertising etc. I really recomend it!

 

[fashionista-ta]

one thing i think i have learned here is that i should get cracking on scanning my work and having the ability to email images to clients...since i do not have a website...


so thanks for that...

and i guess i am doing the right thing by 'toning it down' for commercial clients...
i am just sad that some of my favourite stuff goes unseen because it is too 'edgy'...

but i guess i just have to get over that, right?...

Just pitch a few edgy clients

 

[LESider]

softgrey, get a website! as a photographer it seems to be a split between book and website requests but for my girlfriend who is a stylist with one of the better agencies in NY it seems that the website is relied on much more. She has three books that aren't changed around much unless it is a job that isn't fashion based then it might get tailored a little.

If you are somewhat computer literate you can download so many great programs that are easy to put a beautiful website up with. I couldn't understand dreamweaver and was super frustrated until I found FreewayPro which made life soo easy.

 

[softgrey]

i would love to have my own website but i have no idea how to begin...
well- i guess i would begin by scanning the images and so i just bought a scanner and am getting acustomed to it now...
freewayPro?...really?...
i will have to check that out...
thanks for the tip...

now that i am not with an agency anymore it's annoying not to have the luxury of their site...and since i have been on the fence about whether or not to find a new agent i have been slacking until i decide...
but that's just making excuses if it's as easy as you say...

thanks for the push...
i'll try to make that happen...

 

[BetteT]

I haven't had anyone call to see my book in ages ... and I think we are definitely moving towards web sites ... it's just so much easier. The only time I use my book now is if I'm meeting someone ... I just bring it with me, just in case.

There are sites for building your own on-line portolfio that are pretty easy to use. They provide a selection of templates that you can customize to suit youself without using any fancy software ... for a yearly fee. That is what I do and it works for me ... and you already know, Softie, that I am as technilogically challenged as you are. But the instructions are simple ... a bit time consuming until you've got it all set up, but you can work on it slowly and save it untill you are ready to put it on line ... so you can take your time ... months if you need it.

Here's my site which I personalized with my logo and colors ... from Big Black Bag ... and there's lots of others that are similar ... it's just a matter of who has the best and easiest for you. I liked this one because it's easy for me to add, delete and change out pictures, no extra fees that a web master would charge ... it's got a mail feature, so whenever I want I can email anyone on my list which then refers them right back to this site.

Here a few on-line portfolio sites that interested me because I liked the simple, classic templates and they seemed to be pretty easy to understand:

http://www.bigblackbag.com

http://www.foliolink.com/

http://foliosnap.com/

http://www.impactfolios.com/

 

[LESider]

http://www.bigblackbag.com is a great site for an easy website solution.
The favorite and most expensive is www.livebooks.com and there is a great more reasonable service called http://www.sitewelder.com
My earlier recommendation for freewaypro is that it is an easy site for someone who knows their way around photoshop and quark if you follow the tutorial it will guide you. But for over all ease of building and this is the biggest key UPDATING you should consider one of the template style sites.
I'm a bit of a control freak and those sites just don't fit my needs.

 

[softgrey]

very interesting...
LES- i'm def a control freak myself...
so i def prefer the idea of my own customized site...
but that might be a bit advanced for me to manage on my own...
i'm not really used to photoshop and the like-
i just got them at the same time that i got the scanner...
so i've got a lot to absorb right now...
it's a bit overwhelming...


thanks bette for the boiler-plate ideas...
not sure if those would work for me, but i will look into them...
it could be a good way to at least get something up while i try to figure out the more advanced stuff...depending on the client...

much appreciated guys...
right now i have an issue that my book has to be at a 5 o'clock meeting today and at an 11am mtg tomorrow...
and even though i have more than one book..there is always one that is just better than the rest...and that's the one i want to show everyone....

i gotta work out this website thing i think...





*ps-bette- i think you should switch your avatar to the second to last image in your fashion portfolio...it would fit the shape of the long avatar so well!...and it's also my fave image of yours...nice styling there..

 

[BetteT]

That is weird ... I woke up this morning thinking about doing exactly that .... so it's done!. Thanks, Soft!