peter pan doesn’t have a portfolio either

Still no portfolio here, it’s kind of a concern of mine. I have managed, however, to make a list of things I want to put into the fetal portfolio. Also, I’ve done a lot of research on which publisher I want to use. What I have discovered:

1. Lulu is great for text-heavy prints. Their image quality is questionable, as is their paper quality. Binding is predictably good. I need at least 32 pages for perfect bound.

2. Blurb is new and sometimes the quality wavers… People either have a lot of complaints, or love it. Overall, their photo image quality is better than Lulu, but you have to use their crappy software, which is very restrictive. Text looks pixelated and sometimes fuzzy. They use decent paper. Apparently their softbounds are not nearly as nice as their hardbounds.

3. MCHH or Whitehorse, whichever you want to call them, is impossible to navigate, and doesn’t seem text friendly.

4. About twelve other pod (that’s print on demand, for the uninitiated) publishers that have given me a massive headache.

5. I totally discovered that professional photographers are surprisingly evil at times. I can’t find it just now, but while doing online research on the various publishing companies I read many photographer’s statements that essentially boiled down to: “It doesn’t matter how much it costs you [the photographer] to have the book ordered, because the price you’re charging the client is so incredibly high that it makes no real difference.” Outrageous. I mean – I do realize that photographers have a livelihood to protect, but one person in particular was suggesting that professionals retail these books (and only the books, not the session, etc.) for $700. Books that retail direct-from-manufacturer for roughly $150. Grotesque. Consider that these are prices suggested after paying a likely $3,000 in other photographer’s fees (for, say, a wedding). It’s just such a terrible swindle. Most photographers lay claim on their client’s negatives and digital RAW files indefinitely… Usually so that in order to have a wedding album, or whatever the case may be, the client must go back and pay the photographer, again. Excuse me, but I thought photographers were artists, not con-artists.

Well, it has been a very educational evening.

Long story short… I may or may not be able to put together a portfolio, but I can definitely figure out who should print my portfolio.

Or not.

I wonder if this is yet another symptom of my refusal to grow up?