Never Leave Home Without A Good Portfolio!
Posted on 02 February 2010
Sales opportunities come out of thin air sometimes and if you’re ready for it, you might just get the sale. You run into people all the time, and if you’re instantly ready with a strong portfolio, you might just get a job or two you would otherwise never hear about.
In Business, There’s No Such Thing As Luck
Okay, maybe that’s a bit of an overstatement, but I truly believe that there is almost no such thing as luck. So many things people attribute to ‘getting a lucky break’ are really more like having an opportunity and taking advantage of it on the spot. Faster than anyone else can. Let me put it this way… luck never happens if you’re not ready to take advantage of it.
If You’re A Designer or Photographer…
There’s absolutely no excuse for leaving your house or office without an excellent collection of mini portfolios. The technology exists. They’re incredibly affordable and easy to use, and everyone thinks they’re cool. I’m talking about an iPhone or an iPod touch. Preferrably a Touch (even if you own an iPhone and I’ll tell you why later) but definitely not a Palm Pre or an Android or some other smartphone. It must be an iPod Touch or an iPhone because people are comfortable with them. Only gadget nerds are comfortable with the other stuff and I can tell you first hand, the slightly smaller screen and painfully slow render time to show a ’sharp’ image on the Pre will be distracting. You don’t want anything to get in the way of your smooth, sharp, pocket portfolio presentation.
A Picture Is Worth A Thousand Words, but Not If You Can’t See It
If you’re at a Chamber of Commerce meeting or having a conversation with someone you’ve just met at the grocery store, at your kid’s school, the barber shop, etc. and if there’s an opportunity to show them what you do for a living (design or photography) then pull out your iPod Touch, navigate to a good set of images, hold the iPod in front of them as you briefly describe the first image, pause for a second, swipe to the next image, and hand them the iPod. Then sit back a little bit and let them do the navigation.
The reason I recommend an iPod Touch even if you have an iPhone, is because your iPod will never ring during a presentation. If you think about it, most people are even a little reluctant to let someone else hold their phone in the first place, and you don’t want to be reluctant to show your portfolio just because you’re expecting a text message. And while your iPod might get a little smeary with finger prints, touching someone else’s face grease on their phone is just gross! Speaking of which, you should probably always have one of those microfiber eyeglasses cloths with you so you can wipe the fingerprints clean before you hand your iPod to someone else. (Which reminds me, I borrowed Jeff Kelby’s iPod Touch once and it had a great screen protector on it that hid all the finger prints. I need to find out what that was.)
No excuses. If you want more jobs, you had better be ready when opportunity knocks!
_
6 responses to Never Leave Home Without A Good Portfolio!
I have booked portrait sessions showing a few pics on my Sony/Ericsson w580i which has a tiny screen in comparison.
I almost bought an iPhone for this very purpose. Then I was again mightily motivated when I was in a meeting with a friend and client who had just bought one and who kept firing his shotgun app at me. That was seriously tempting and I decided to get one once I achieve a particular business target which should happen in the next month.
But then the iPad comes out and if that isn’t the most compelling way to present a portfolio …. don’t cha think?
Bernie-
There’s no question that something besides an iPod Touch would work for those spur-of-the-moment demos, but the reason I bothered writing the article is that there are reasons I believe the iPod Touch is the best possible pocket-able presentation tool. Could you pull it off with my Palm Pre or your Sony/Ericsson w580i? Obviously you did, so, yes.
I just prefer the screen size, ease of use, lack of face oil, and the fact that it won’t ever ring during my impromptu demo or cause me to have to let someone else hold onto my precious phone for a while.
As for the iPad, you’re exactly right! I’m sure it will become a regular featured tool in photography demos, both formal and informal.
But no one is gonna take it with them to the dry cleaners, PTA meetings, cocktail parties, and the grocery store. Heck, I’m even reconsidering getting one for me because I want it for my semi-planned photo demos and I’ll probably justify it intellectually by using the cool calendar at work. (I think my gadget lust is kicking in.)
Great idea.
OK, Larry, you’ve convinced me. I’ve been thinking about a way to present a portfolio quickly and easily and this seems like the way to go. Like you said, I don’t always have my physical portfolio with me and there are some situations where a laptop or even an Ipad doesn’t make sense. An Ipod Touch fills the gap.
Ok Larry, you have set off a firestrom of comparing the Samsung P3, Cowon S9, Sony X1000, Zune HD and the 3G iTouch. For me, the winner was definately the iTouch just because of the support and 101 million apps available, WiFi connectivity, great colors in the screen, the flawless swipe and pinch navigation…the list goes on. Oh yeah, the Cowon has an OLED screen but having put my paws on my friends iTouch, I couldn’t believe my eyes. Thanks for the great tip.
Hi Larry,
I liked your idea so much that I just bought an IPOD Touch. The screen looks good with the photos. I have a question and none of the genii have been able to answer it. I set the order for the photos in the folder that I uploaded. Then the Touch rearranged them randomly after the synching. I thought at first that the numbers on the photos might be the problem. So, I renamed all the images with a standard numbering system. More random order.
I am currently on a PC with XP. Any suggestions on how to cure this. There is some value in being able to decide upon the order that one’s photos are shown.
Many thanks for any suggestions.
Cheers,
Jim