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Benjamin Flynn is a photographer, currently studying at the Brooks Institute in Santa Barbara, CA. He’s set to graduate in August. And yet, he’s already thinking about his marketing and self-promotion. He’s already active in a professional world where the commercial market for young people is, let’s face it – tough to break into. Ben sent out 60 promo packages to different art directors,

Often I’m talking about the outside of one’s portfolio – the cover design, brand, etc. Today, let’s talk about the most important part – the work inside. The prints in your portfolio have got to look top quality to really do your work justice. This is super crucial for photographers. I recommend you print yourself as you’ll have more control over the final output quality. Of course

Your portfolio should be a well considered strategic positioning of your work. As Larry Volk (my co-author) puts it, “Creating a sequence for a portfolio of your works, even if they are varied by type of design or media, can contribute to a stronger, cohesive presentation. Just as with a sequence of photographs, the relationships within a page spread, as well as the pace and flow of your sequence, are not somet

Giving a gift is special. The winter months give us lots of opportunities with Christmas, Hanukkah, New Year’s, Valentine’s, and more. It gives us a good reason to show off that other kind of gift – ie “one’s natural ability or talent.” Of course talent only shines through with hard work and determination. Often this is true of promos as well – a good idea alone means nothing

Just in time for our presentation at SPE, I’ve been working on a promo poster to announce the 2nd edition of our book and also promote the website. The concept plays off of the “No” in “No Plastic Sleeves” and is a Yes/No flowchart that essentially follows the process as outlined in our book. It started with an idea on paper, evolved through whiteboaring and lots of Photoshop/Illustrator

This postcard promo for Nashville editorial photographer Josh Anderson really shines. Literally and figuratively. A gold foil stamp on one card shines in the light and is a nice special touch. But the thing that I most admired about this promo is the integration of typography and image into a unique, contemporary and stylish design. It’s a design aesthetic that not only looks great but also speaks to the “

This holiday promo from photographer Ashley Gieseking is sure to cheer most folks. Holidays are a great time to reach out and connect with old and new friends and clients.

When I saw this promo, I just had to reach out to Swedish photographer Jens Lennartsson. Luckily, he had heard of No Plastic Sleeves and been to the site. So he was happy to have me share it. This idea is certainly unique and seriously well executed and it also generated a lot of buzz online (which is how I heard of it). Time will tell whether the action figure or the buzz it created generates more leads. Jens had 40

When photographer Chris Sembrot set out to create his latest promo he set the bar pretty high – “keep costs low, be visually interesting and make it so great that it would be difficult to throw out.” He knows from his previous experience as an art buyer that it takes a little extra something special for an art buyer or art director to actually hold onto a promo. Melissa Hennessey told me – 

Fun promo from photographer, Brook Pifer. Newsprint is a great idea for a mailer. It’s a larger, multi-sequence format, less expensive to print, folds up great for mailing and lighter to ship. Mixing in the hashtag merges the “old” media of newspaper with the “new” media of social networking. Great way to keep things fresh. Brook told me, “I’ve been inspired by how instagram

These color themed promos from PlainPicture, a photo agency based in Hamburg, Germany, are eye-catching while still remaining minimal in their design approach. The promos focus on the agency’s “unusual and unexpected” photography while still grouping imagery around a common theme.   Aaron Vähi told me - The design of our print advertising / promotions is usually reduced and minimal as to put as

This promo from lifestyle and portrait photographer, Eli Meir Kaplan promotes a very cool project he’s doing on soul musicians from DC called Soul51. The packaging and cover design of this booklet really makes it a stand out. Eli told me, “I’m a big fan of soul music and music in general and I’ve often wondered what happened to the artists whose records I would see in stores but didn’t b

This undergrad portfolio book from designer, Andrea Meli from San Gwann, Malta has it all! It’s a showcase for Andrea’s strong brand design skills, excellent book and editorial design, and more. He even includes a 3D printed rendering of his logo (created in Cinema4D) – very cool! With business cards and a website Andrea is ready to take the design world by storm. Andrea says, “I had one goal;

Industry Seminar with Danielle Currier and Larry Volk, Sponsored by ASMP “Your Portfolio Strategy: Focus Your Work, Brand Your Vision“ Thursday, March 06th, 1:30pm – 2:45pm How you edit, sequence and present your work is key to establishing a career as a professional photographer. Larry Volk & Danielle Currier, authors of No Plastic Sleeves: The Complete Portfolio Guide for Photographers and De

This is a great share from masterful bookbinder, Scott Mullenberg. Scott told me, “I thought you might be interested in this video, by photographer David White, about Mullenberg Designs and the building of his portfolio. We spent 2 days filming ( I believe in April) and it was just released a couple weeks ago. We’re pretty pleased with what Dave created (post production is everything!).” Scott Mulle