We were recently in a meeting with clients for a proposed food photography project and like always we came with our portfolio in hand. It’s not that they hadn’t seen our portfolio before, we have a website (which is how they found us), but we bring it because it’s always a great conversational piece. Plus, there are always a few in the meeting who haven’t seen our work before.
One of the biggest reasons, we love to take our portfolio when meeting clients is we can have them pin-point photos they love and would like to have the project be styled after. It’s always nice to see their reactions in person to the work we have created before. Back in the day, photographers would take around large expensively produced books containing prints of their images. We used to as well.
That was a few years ago, now that there are some really great portfolio apps for photographers to use on their tablets or smart phones the whole experience has changed.
With these portfolio apps for photographers, the client can zoom in, sort through thumbnails and easily pass it around the table, all while viewing an elegantly designed app that really highlights your work from a platform their accustomed to.
TOP 3 PORTFOLIO APPS FOR PHOTOGRAPHERS
For each of these portfolio apps for photographers, we created a really short video demonstrating it’s use and our favorite functions with a lot of great photos as well. Check them out!
1. FOLIOBOOK BY ROCKET GARDEN LABS
Out of the 3 apps we reviewed, Foliobook is definitely our top pic as far as sole portfolio apps for photographers goes. At $9.99 it is worth every penny, not just because it displays your photo in a seamless design which is
intuitive for users, but it has the customization and branding capabilities that we as photographers want. On top of allowing us to display our photos, just like on our website, you can add your logo, custom colors, type and create multiple galleries. View photos at full screen and with the ability to zoom in and out on whatever size pics you desire to upload. It is not only uncomplicated for our clients to use and pass around, it’s never failed us with the typical embarrassing, “ah-oh, hold on. Let me fix that” moment. Now with current updates, you can even upload the entire portfolio to Dropbox and send people the link, allowing them to view your portfolio just like a site. Not only does it have a sleek and minimal design and function, unlike most portfolio apps for photographers, this sweet little program doesn’t need to be connected to the internet, ever! Watch the video –
2. BEHANCE PORTFOLIO BY ADOBE
Behance Portfolio Apps for photographers, seems to be more of an addition to their social site, rather than a stand alone app for showing your photography portfolio.
None the less, it’s free and a very usable way to allow your clients to view your artwork in those crucial first meetings. Like Foliobook, you can create galleries, but that is where the comparison pretty much stops. To use the Behance Portfolio apps for photographers, you would need to first create a Behance account and start populating your page with photos. Once that is done you can sync your page with the app on your tablet or smartphone. Some big problems in our eyes are the need for an internet connection, only being able to display low-res images and not able to brand the look and feel of the app the way one would want and expect in portfolio apps for photographers. But with all that it is free and comes with a great community of art directors, creatives, photographers and designers on the social site itself to connect with, which for me scores big points! Watch the video –
3. MORPHOLIO BY THE MORPHOLIO PROJECT
but the ability to upload high-res images and the interface similar to Foliobooks. All of that and it is a free app as well. You can upload via Dropbox or iTunes, zoom in and scroll through your photos, and even receive and give critique through their social network. I could see big possibilities with the critique aspect especially with teachers / students and anyone looking for feedback. The student offer up their photo for critique and the teacher could use the Morpholio tools to easily draw and paint on feedback. All in all, it’s pretty sweet for the price, which is FREE! Watch the video –
Give them a try and see which app works best for you and your style. Anyone of these portfolio apps for photographers are far better than the standard gallery, so you got nothing to lose.
Tell us which one you like best, or what other apps you like to use to show your work, (especially those of you evil, non apple, photographers using android or windows tablets and phones).