No Plastic Sleeves: The Complete Portfolio Guide for Photographers and Designers

by Larry Volk, Danielle Currier

Your resume and cover letter, as well as a digital portfolio, business card and mailers, will function as the first contact and impression you make. These items will work to get your "foot in the door." Ultimately, however, it will be your portfolio book or online portfolio website that will land you the job. The creation of your own portfolio is a creative statement about the value you place on your work and craft. This book first uses a system
* find your visual identity, who YOU are
* use color, typography, and iconography to develop the look and feel of your portfolio package
* create a layout and composition that you love
* establish your online presence
* create content and design of your resume and cover letter
* and construct your portfolio book.

You will also learn bits of useful information along the way about print resolution, marketing ideas, and how to do all of this on a budget. By the end of this book, you will have an out-of-this world portfolio package that you will be able to use to establish and secure working relationships with potential employers and clients.


* shows you how to make the COMPLETE package - letterhead, resumes, mailers, and online
* contains quizzes, questions, and evaluation to help you discover the visual identity your portfolio will have
* shows you HOW to make your portfolio package, rather than simply listing "cool" portfolios
* will help keep your portfolio on a budget

Genres: Photography, Design

270 pages, Paperback

First published February 24, 2010

Reviews

[Online Eccentric Librarian · Rating 4 out of 5]

More reviews (and no fluff) on the blog http://surrealtalvi.wordpress.com/

The book is a great resource for looking at your portfolio from a more interesting and inspired direction. Most photographer portfolios tend to use resources from the same vendors (website templates/branding/etc.) and honestly look very similar. This book is a strong reminder that to stand out, photographers must differentiate themselves in such a way that they stand out more than the competitors. It's the difference between being jeans or Lucky Jeans - if you don't stand out any other way than price, you'll always lose to someone cheaper.

What I really like about this book is that it isn't limited to photography portfolios. As a result, it provides a wider breadth of inspiration that can be effectively used by photographers to be both original and different. The pages contain many illustrations and examples but the authors are also very careful to help photographers understand the importance of marketing and presentation. It's like getting a crash course in marketing that is targeted specifically to artists and especially photographers.

Topics include not only branding and marketing but also tutorials and how-to's on physical portfolio presentation. Design essentials are also covered in depth to make sure that presentations are clean and professional. If the book has a weakness, it's that it feels a bit 'dated' because it does not cover online website portfolio presentation in depth. As well, the information contained within the book seems more ideally suited to students rather than those getting into the photography field from non-academic beginnings. I feel the book would have been more well-rounded if it had been tailored more to adults starting a business rather than those trying to get a job right out of school.

In all, I do highly recommend this to photographers with little or not design or marketing background. Many of the concepts of design and presentation are extremely applicable beyond just portfolios: they can make a photographer stronger and more well-rounded as well.

Reviewed from an ARC.

[Jamie · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is for serious professionals who are trying to learn how to take their photography & graphic design to the next level of presentation.

This book is not for para professionals who want a cheap Livebooks website and a $50 solution to portfolio building.

The authors dive into advanced concepts from typography to book binding. Likewise, they provide examples of other inspirational portfolio presentations to back up all their concepts. Finally, their website, NoPlasticSleeves.com, provides further concepts to enhance your learning experience.

Overall, this book should be required reading for photography and design students to show them how true professionals present themselves. Well done!

[Em · Rating 2 out of 5]

Some interesting ideas, from basic design principles through to how to physically construct a book. There were too many interviews with people who didn't have much useful to say, and it needed better editing (e.g. "dower-looking 20-something", "You know, you're work's not that bad", "room to breath").