Exciting news...but what do I do?

[gsusmaniac]

Well,

In the last week, the local Treasure Coast paper has run two of my pictures. One was the editors pick.

Well last night, I got a call from a friend about a house on fire right up the road from me. I grabbed my camera and took off. The Sgt. walked me right up to the house and let me take pictures and what not. Then off to the house I went.

When I got home, I called up the paper and talked to the night editor letting her know that I had gotten some pictures of the house. She told me that the photographer on duty had already turned in a couple, but that she would like to take a look at mine anyways. (I do this mearly for the fun of it)

So I loaded them up on FTP and she sent me an email back saying that she really like the pictures and asking me if I had thought of trying to do freelance for the paper.

I proceeded to tell her that it has crossed my mind and one day I would like to make a living taking pictures, but for now I am up for anything. I also included in my email that they had run 2 of my pictures in the last week, one of which was the editors pick.

In her response she says...

If you had the chosen spot on A22, which our photo editor picks, then she most likely already likes your work. Whether you can cover story and events is a whole other issue, but you definitely can handle spot news nicely.

Send in a portfolio of your images along with your resume to:

Kelly Rogers, Photo Editor
Scripps Treasure Coast Newspapers
1939 SE Federal Highway
Stuart, FL 34994

Good luck and let me know if there is anything else I can help you with!

Deborah

So now for my question-

How should I send in a portfolio?
Digital?
Actual Prints?
In a folder?

What kind of photos should I put in my portfolio?

I am pretty excited about this and would kind of like to get it right the first time! Plus it would give me a good reason to buy some new equipement!!!

[faisal]

Depends.....if you can drive to their office after making an appointment with the appropriate person then I would say actual prints cause digital jpegs don't do much justice to picture generally IMO. If you can't drive there and if they prefer digital copies...than you can either link them to your flickr page where you can make a new set with some of your best pictures or you can email them a contact sheet/s.

If printing, you could either use a folder, a plain photo album....whatever you get. Just make sure the prints are bigger than the normal 4*6. I prefer 5*7 cause they are cost effective.

For what picture to choose. Look at the newspaper and see what pictures the editor has chosen for the 'editors pick' photos. Also look at the type of pictures they have with their news stories....

[gsusmaniac]

Awesome Faisal, thanks.

Yeah, Stuart is only 45 minutes away...and I really like dealing with people in person.

I work in a print shop and have large prints also...would that be a little overkill?

I need to get some prints made of my stuff anyways...so I may sift through all my photos and start a photo album. I will just arrange with pictures I think that would be more appealing to them towards the front!

[faisal]

Regarding what print size to use....wait for the more experienced people here to provide the advice.....Just remember quantity doesn't matter, quality does. So you don't have to print like 50 pictures , that would be a overkill....10-15 can do the job....Also make sure the investment you make for the portfolio is not too big that if in the end you don't get a positive response from the paper, you might regret spending the money.
Also CMYK is preferred over RGB in print (in magazines and newspapers from what I know), so keep that in mind though I might be wrong....

and you're welcome.... :)

[Camerajunkie]

Congrats!

(Sheesh, it wants me to type more.)

I'm excited for you!

[jcon]

Actual prints is a must for portfolios. As previously stated, images online dont do justice to a printed image.

As for the size... go 8x10. You dont need more than 10 images in your portfolio, if you get too many images in there, you look insecure and the customer will get bored. get yourself a nice leather album and have it engraved with your name or business name if you have one. The album/portfolio will run about $100(us) and will be well worth it, trust me!

Congrats on the new venture and best of luck with it!