Well, what I say here is only what I've learned that seems to work where I am ... in Los Angeles and is specific to fashion, editorial and commercial photography. I hope that others who are also in th know, share their experience, too. I don't want to be a one woman show here ....
Stylebites and
Softgrey? Anyone else?
There are some standard sizes in the fashion and commercial biz for portfolios but they are not the standard sizes that you get photos or art supply portfolios. Weird ... but true. Hair, Makeup and Fashion Stylists usually use 9x12 or 11x14 pages and photographers often use 11x14 or 14x17. This requires special books designed for our industry and an extra cost to have photo labs do these special size prints so it's expensive.
Most people start with a black leather or imitation leather portfolio with their name imprinted on the front cover. Basic, professional and classy. But once someone's work is well recognized and of top notch quality, some prefer to kick it up and get aluminium, wood or other expensive materieals for the cover. The sleeves should be removable, because they need to be replaced from time to time to keep them looking good and they must be archival quality (non acid) to prevent yellowing and fading of the photos.
Here's a few links of places that do the right kinds of portfolios and you'll see how expensive they are. But it's one of your most important marketing tools, so the money is well spent.
http://www.houseofportfolios.com/
http://www.reedpresentations.com/portfolio/index.html
http://www.nabookarts.com/portfolios.html
Here's a few ideas about how to set it up:
1. Use only enough sleeves for the images you have ... do not have empty slots. Remove any extras.
2. All images should fit the entire sleeve and be the same size ... don't be tempted to use different size photos. The only exception will be "tears" or "tear sheets" (your work, torn ... not really torn, but carefully cut ... out of a magazine) which won't alway be the right size.
3. If you have a horizontal shot always show it right side up ... no sideways pictures. There's pretty much only 2 ways you can present it. The first is to have it blown up to fit across both facing pages (like a magazine centerfold) if the fold does not fall across a face or something important or you can have it printed horizontaly with a white or black border across the top and bottom (sort of like a wide screen image on an old fashioned TV set).
4. Place you very best shot in the front and the second best shot at the end, if you can. First and last impression .... make a stong one.
5. Remember that you will be judged on your worst shot, so only use the very best, even if you only have 4 shots. Do not use any so-so images, even if
your work was good ... if the overall image is not great, it won't help you. Most people cannot separate your good work from something negative about the image ... so just avoid the temptation.
6. If you have "stories" consider even number of pictures (2, 4, 6 etc.), so that these pages can be shown facing each other to keep the flow.
7. Whenever 2 images are facing each other make sure that they look good together ... consider color, lighting, subject matter and mood.
8. Your book (portfolio) should "flow" ... which is hard to define, but it should make sense as you look through the pages. Group similar types of shots together with the strongest at the front and back ... maybe darks with darks and brights with brights. You sort of have to tell a story about you and your work ... your strengths and your goals (what type of work you expect to get).
9. You might consider more than one portfolio ... for me I have one that is fashion and editorial and another that is commercial and lifestyle. I have both types of clients and they each like to see work that relates to what they are doing. Too many types of work in one portfolio, sometimes puts them off. It's up to you to decide what works in your market ... that takes research. You need to find out what types of shoots and gigs that pay in your area and cater to those potential clients. For instance, having a really high style fashion/editorial portfolio won't get you any work with people who shoot Land's End catalogs ... but if you have a strong portfolio showing that you can do their type of styling/makeup/whatever then they would be more likely to consider you for work. And they would just be scared off by the edgy editorial looks ... they'd be afraid that you would overdo everything and not stay consistent with their image.
That's what I've learned from many people in the biz ... but there are lot's of other good ideas out there too. Hopefully lots of people will share.
... My work is on my site 
This is a place to start ... check out his work, PM each other and see if you can work something out.
