e-mail Portfolios

[Ikiri]

Hi,

OK, so like many retouchers out there I have a website with a retouching gallery.
For obvious reasons, some photographers don"t want their "before" shots to be seen by the general public – which I totally understand.

However, in some cases I'd really like to show those "before retouching" shots.

The options I can see are:

1) "before & after" (~1000px wide) JPG files attached to personal e-mail with a confidentiality disclaimer
Downside: if I send it to one photographer, strictly speaking he"s not allowed to pass that e-mail on to any other photographer I may not know (and who may want to hire me based on what he sees)

2) PDF file with all my "before & after", nicely laid out, photographer's name underneath each image, disclaimer inside the PDF saying that the images are not allowed to be shared/uploaded to the web

3) Private gallery on website, which requires username & password to access. (Keeping search engines out of there with the appropriate robots.txt file)

In any of the above 3 scenarios: Would I still need the photographer's agreement so I can use the "before" shots?

How do YOU go about this?

[Benny Profane]

Re: e-mail Portfolios

Tough one. It's the reason i still have a nice printed portfolio. Of course, that won't work for distant clients.

I've done (2), but, with no photographer's name. Most people don't know how to hack into a PDF, but, if they do, why put the name on the before, if that's a concern? If they really want to know, convey that info in a phone call, away from the image.

I'd like to do (3), with a password that changes frequently. Please get back if that works for you.

[Ikiri]

Re: e-mail Portfolios

Yes, I still go around with a printed portfolio as well. Still the best way to show the work I think.

As for option (2):
I have one photographer who insists on having his name on the image, and also that of the 3d artist who contributed some material towards an advertising job we did together. Be it JPG, PDF or printed portfolio... A fair thing to ask, I think.
For consistency, I guess it makes sense to include names of all photographers. Positive side-effect: it shows how many people I've worked with in the past. And it's a gentle way of "name-dropping" if there's any big names in there

As for (3):
It shouldn't be too hard to implement this. If you frequently change the password, I'd recommend to put some words next to it: Something like "If you'd like to receive the current log-in details, please e-mail me".
That way, you're not losing any photographers, AND potential clients/photographers will appreciate/remember you as being cautious about copyright and what you share on the web.

[Benny Profane]

Re: e-mail Portfolios

Smart. (the last thing)