Lisa Pritchard of the Lisa Pritchard Agency answers your questions. This week, she looks at the advantages of a printed portfolio in the digital age.

Question: ‘Do I still need a printed portfolio ? Doesn’t everyone just look online these days’? If the answer’s yes, do you have any tips on presentation, how many images to include etc?

Lisa Pritchard: The answer is a resolute yes, you do still need a printed portfolio. As long as there are face to face meetings, and as long as there are printed end applications (magazines, brochures, posters), the portfolio will still have a place.

The majority of advertising and design agencies, and most magazines and newspapers,  still ask to see a portfolio and it is expected that you will bring it along at any meetings. Even if your market is consumer or private clients –weddings, family portraits- it’s preferable to present the images as prints in a folio at initially rather than on a laptop. If anything it’s a welcome break from the computer screen.

A client’s first point of reference is usually the website but the norm is then to request a folio. There will be times when a photographer might get commissioned simply from viewing the work on the website. But generally speaking I think the portfolio will be with us for a long time yet. Whichever industry you are aiming to get work from, the presentation of your folio should be of a high professional standard. It says a lot about the photographer and the service they are likely to deliver- whether eye catching and slick, or scruffy and out of date.

Get the best portfolio and slip case you can afford. You need to give the impression that you’re a professional and that you mean business. But don’t forget its purpose – it’s a marketing tool, not a precious coffee table book. One photographer used to send out a pair of white gloves with his folio so it wouldn’t get finger marks on- not advisable. I would avoid a bound book as it is important to update your folio and the option to tailor it to clients requests is a bonus. I’ve sent out hundreds if not thousands of portfolios over the years and can count on one hand the amount of times they have come back damaged. Have your name embossed on the cover and on the slip case-ideally this should be in your chosen font to match the rest of your brand identity. A folio with a pocket in which to put your cards is handy so they don’t end up crumpled

Avoid anything that looks cheap and ‘studenty’, like a spiral bound or small document folio.

In terms of colour, black is fine, but if you want to stand out from 99% of the photography population, try something different. Don’t get overly creative, a purple fake fur cover is only appropriate if your work is very flamboyant. The general rule is simplicity, something to enhance your images.

Avoid a box of loose prints.  Prints will get lost and being able to order the images in a certain way can be as an advantage. It’s just easier to flick through an album style book rather than worry about having to put the prints back in the same order and the right way round.

Make sure the prints are good quality on decent paper- hahnemuehle fine art inkjet paper is very nice. Choose either matt, gloss or semi gloss paper according to what suits your work best, there isn’t really a preference. I would avoid acetate sleeves as they are reflective and can get scratched,  making it difficult to see the images.

Size wise, A3 or A3 plus is good. It shouldn’t be too big and cumbersome so it irritates  potential clients , it needs to be easily portable and should fit on a bike. Anything smaller is ok for additional duplicate folios but its better to present your images in the larger format to show the images off.

Have a page with all the necessary contact details at the beginning or end of the folio, plus a tag (e.g a laminated card including your branding) on the slip case. This should include your name, address, or the address you want the book sent back to , website address,  phone number and email. You’d be surprised at the amount of folios I see with no contact details aside from a bent business card at the bottom of the slip case.

Present the images in landscape or portrait format according to which best suits your work. Don’t mix them up, its not practical to have to keep turning the book around.

25- 50 images is an acceptable number. If you include some pages with multiple images on you can get away with showing more overall. This can be appealing to design agencies and magazines who are used to looking at images as stories rather than singular images. Avoid image overload, it will dilute the impact.

It’s important that the work included is consistent ,at the very least it needs to look like it’s all by the same photographer. You need to leave a clear and memorable impression with either your signature style or chosen subject matter so you come to mind when the right job comes along.

Only show work that is relevant to the viewer. E.g don’t show gritty photojournalism to a commercial client or wedding images to a trade magazine (unless it’s a wedding magazine!)

Only show your best work. Don’t be tempted to include commissions for the sake of it. Unfortunately, the clangers stay in people’s heads longer than the brilliant stuff

Make sure the images flow well,  the folio should have a beginning,  a middle and an end. In my experience photographers are not always the best judges of their own work and find it difficult to be subjective ; too many emotional associations cloud their judgement. Try to get advice from industry experts or look at other folios.

Include some thumbnails at the back crediting the images or giving them a title , whether  commissioned or personal . It puts them into context for the client. You could credit the image on the main pages but the thumbnail feature does seem to go down well.

A recent clients’ list will give confidence in a potential commissioner.

As soon as you can afford it, get duplicate folios. Many of the photographers I represent have 5 or more folios, one has 10.  You want to be able to bike your book over immediately when its called in and leave it with someone for about a week without bugging them to get it back. If you do have more than one niche- e.g still life and portraits, it is worth having folios with different contents. However I would consider showing only one folio with all your best work at ‘go sees’  as long as it all hangs together well ; chances are if you show someone only your still life work, they’ll be looking for portraits the next day and you won’t be considered.

Update the potfolio on a regular basis. An art buyer once told me that the worse thing for them is seeing a book that’s not been updated for ages:  it just gives the impression that the photographer is not doing anything. There’s no excuse for not shooting personal work to keep the book looking fresh.

Several of these suppliers offer a full package and further advice: www.cathyrobert.com, www.wyvernbindery.com, www.siliverprint.co.uk, www.plasticsandwich.co.uk and www.brodiesfolios.com.