Portfolio App for the iPad?

Carl asked me what I use as a portfolio app for picture presentations on the iPad and it's one of the (many) things I just don't think I know enough about to speak of. Anyone have any favorite ways of presenting pictures on the iPad they'd like to share?

Mike

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Featured Comments from:

kirk tuck: "I second the use of Portfolio but I wanted to step in here for just a second and bring up one little thing: Everyone keeps mentioning 'slide shows' and when I hear that I presume that the slideshow plays through the images at a fixed pace. But that's not at all the way ad agency people want to see images; either on a screen based portfolio or in real life. The don't want an automated slide show. They want to be able to spend as much or as little time as they please on each image. They want to control the pace. Always. Slideshows are great for unmanned presentations but are not what people should be looking for in a portfolio app for an iPad."

Mike adds: I concur completely. The user needs to be able to control the pace through the presentation, preferably by swiping or with a fixed, non-moving arrow. (It always annoys me when I'm clicking through images and the arrow moves under my cursor and I have to reposition the cursor.)

Comments

[Zed Martinez]

I use this one: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/portfolio-for-ipad/id384210950 The interface builder is a little contrarian, but it has all the useful features needed for straight portfolio presentation as well as client review. More importantly though, it has good integration with Dropbox so it'll automatically sync and update portfolios from cloud folders. Combined with export presets in Lightroom it's a quick and powerful way to push photos up and have my portfolio update instantly to reflect the new additions or removals.

[Craig B]

Most of the portfolio apps have been orphaned. I just use photo app now. Make an album and let it play.

[Stephen Kennedy]

Foliobook is a great solution. The author is a photographer and it’s been around since the advent of the iPad.

http://foliobook.com/

[Alex Buisse]

I keep an eye on whether a good alternative ever comes up, but have never found an app that could rival Portfolio for iPad. It is quite flexible in its presentation options, a bit cumbersome but not *too* bad to load and organize images with and most importantly, is very reliable. I have been using it to show images to potential clients since 2013. Well worth the $10 or so.

[Vince]

I've used Photo Manager Pro for years (on a web recommendation of Jeffrey Friedl, of Lightroom extension fame among other things). It provides easy upload capabilities, doesn't mess with the pictures re compression, allows them to be arranged in custom order, and so forth.

I can't see how much it is since I already own it (one of the core inanities of the App Store), and I don't see that their website mentions it.

[Larry Angier]

After I'm finished ingesting, editing and processing my work through my normal workflow of Photo Mechanic and Photoshop, I gather my images in a folder and process my master files using Image Processor Pro to crate a folder full of consistently-sized high-quality jpeg images, usually 2400x2400 pixels and sRGB tagged images.

Since I already have Apple's Photo app, I'll import the jpeg files into it and then create an album which I may further shuffle, add or delete images. Once I'm happy there, It's just a matter of selecting the album in iTunes to sync to both my phone and my iPad.

Since the Photo app comes free with the Mac and iPad/iPhone and works reasonably well, I haven't found the need for anything else.

I've been doing this for years and usually have 40-50 different collections of images I can share instantly on my iPad or even share with people using Airdrop if needed. It's even easy to hook this up to a projector or HDTV and show them to groups.

Not having to schlep around a box of mounted prints and being able to have dozens and dozens of prepared portfolios and presentations with me all the time is priceless. I can even show installations and exhibits of my work to to potential clients and museums.

For my print and books, It's simply a matter of creating a PDF of the publication and adding it to the Books app. Same concept but a different format that also works and is another app included with the iPad.

[Michael Perini]

I have always used Portfolio.
It is simple, allows different collections and other basic features like locking out the rest of your iPad so you can leave it the way we used to leave 'our Books"
It works.
It is also the only one I have used because I like it. There are quite a few others.

[David Place]

Easy in Photos App: > place images in a Album > Play Album as slide show ... or ... a new app called Peek-a-View in iPad App Store: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/peek-a-view/id1491554407?ls=1

[michael Perini]

I Just noticed that Adorama did a video on the Portfolio App
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=87iCJ08cSeg

[DavidB]

I do not have an iPad — but do use my iPhone to display my images. I've been happy using Photo Manger Pro.

This allows me to carefully curate my images into folders that are then uploaded to the iPhone using iTunes.

[Greg Heins]

I use something called - wait for it! - Portfolio for iPad. I looked at various options a couple of years ago, chose that one, and have had no reason to keep looking.

[David Adam Edelstein]

Honestly the easiest thing I’ve found is Dropbox - I throw images into a folder on my desktop, that same folder is set to “make available offline” on my iPad (so I don’t have to go through the shenanigans of downloading them when I want to show someone), and then I just tap a couple of times to make the images full screen and page through them.

[Jim Richardson]

I went through this drill, looking for a portfolio app several years ago, and landed on Foliobook. It displays the images beautifully, has a very classy menu page, delivers a clean and professional experience. On the downside the interface is sometimes difficult and the process not always straightforward. But if you want the portfolio to look great Foliobook will deliver.
I just did a check (“Foliobook vs” search in Google) and found somebody touting Porrfolio for iPad. He liked it because it did cloud syncing across devices but still gave the nod in visuals to Foliobook.
These apps seem to get 3.5 stars a lot. Reviews read “Great, but...”

[Speed]

Some time ago, Mike wrote a series on the importance of making prints which, thankfully, caused me to start making prints. And I learned that what I see on the screen is not what I see on a good print.

I guess that if your photograph is created for viewing only on a screen you never need to make a print.

[Jim Henry]

I've used Photo Manager Pro for a number of years. I like its features and have never had a problem with it.

Here's a link for the Apple Version:

https://apps.apple.com/us/app/photo-manager-pro-6/id1076480192

It says it is $2.99. I'm using an earlier version - I haven't tried Ver 6.

[Dick Scheibe]

I use Lightroom Mobile as a portfolio application. It syncs with Lightroom Classic on my iMac so I can add and subtract images as I process them. BTW, keep writing and posting. I enjoy the blog daily.

[Winfried Heyland]

If you are using Lightroom CC just use slideshow. A few transitions are selectable and the timing is ajustable. Simple and straightforward.

[Scott]

I have a SmugMug account and that seems to work well as an organized portfolio. Of course, it’s also accessible from anyone’s phone, tablet or computer, not just mine. It allows you choose which galleries to store on you iPad for offline access.

[Howard Sandler]

I show clients their proofs from events using an app called “Portfolio”. Allows slide shows with music too.

[David Saxe]

I use the Lightroom app. It syncs with my Lightroom Classic and I can adjust my portfolio pics very easily.

[psu]

Traditionally I used to take selects and suck them into Apple Photos (iPhoto back in the day) on a Mac and then sync the albums over to the iPad with a cable. Like an animal.

This works OK, but over the years got to me more and more tedious.

I use Smug mug now. And it's OK though not really perfect. It's hard to convince it to always have all the pictures downloaded locally at full resolution like you'd want.

[Chap Achen]

Since I have Lightroom on my iPad, thru my subscription to adobe photoshop and lightroom, I often use it. However in the past I have also downloaded an app called Folio and I still use that as well.

[Richard Tugwell]

I use this...

https://apps.apple.com/gb/app/minimal-folio/id385429744

[John Beardsworth]

If you use Lightroom and have the subscription, Lightroom Mobile is an ideal way to maintain and show multiple "portfolios", however one defines them. So you could have a professional portfolio, one for a sideline, another for family photos....
Updating portfolios, an important but easily-overlooked aspect, is dead easy and completely integrated with Lightroom. With dedicated portfolio apps I always found it such a pain - I'd never quite remember the updating method and put off the task, which only made remembering worse!

[Victor Bloomfield]

Use the Slideshow mechanism within the Photos app:
* Select the photos
* Put them in an album
* Apply Slideshow within the album
You can flick the photos to the side to change them, or use Options in the lower right corner to set automatic transitions.

[Henning]

While hardly ideal as a portfolio app due mainly to its poor sorting function, I use the Lexar app that is part of the Lexar Jumpstick, a storage device with both USB-A and Lightning connectors. That makes transferring images from a computer to the iPad extremely convenient and fast, as well as allowing me to keep additional image sets on the Jumpstick that don't use up memory on the iPad.

For image sets I know I'll want to keep on the iPad for extended periods I use GoodReader, which has various other functions as well which make it one of my essential iPad apps. Transfer from the computer is slower and more cumbersome though.

[Alberto]

I asked myself the same question about Android, and I came back empty handed. If anybody has any suggestion, I'm all ears.

I only found an actual portfolio app, and during testing I found that it compressed the images so much that there was color banding all over the place, so it failed at its very core purpose. Meh.

In the end, I'm using the native gallery app, which sort of does the trick, but it's using it against its strengths and it's not really a pleasurable experience.

One would think that it would be a well-catered for niche, but surprisingly (at least for me) it's not. Maybe it's a business opportunity?

For the editor: I don't mean to hijack your ios-related post Mike, but this looks like a good opportunity to aggregate all opinions across different devices.

[Dan Khong]

That is a good question. I can delete but I cannot reposition my images around in my iPad. Am I missing some art of doing it?

[John Kauk]

I started using the Portfolio for iPad app way back in 2010. There's a bit of a learning curve and it doesn't have the best user interface but it does look good. It's customizable and you can lock the interface with a PIN to keep clients from wandering away from the gallery you want them to see. https://ipadportfolioapp.com

[SteveW]

This may not be what folks have in mind, but I use Google Photos, and it's free (for high quality JPEG uploads, which is more than sufficient for iPad or electronic device viewing). It's also easy to share photos/web albums with Google Photos.

[Christian]

Haven't used it in a while, but I used to like Foliobook.
The setup process was a bit cumbersome but the results were very nice.

[Moose]

With a web connection, I settled on Google Photos, after trying several. The tiled display of small versions is visually outstanding. I upload only files that will fit on screen without scaling, and Google doesn't mess them up.

Their albums let one very easily and quickly create custom portfolios with drag and drop or from photos already in the database. Uploading photos is a snap.

Without web connection, I hope someone else has a great suggestion.

My iPad is a mini. If I want to show my photos, I use my portable, which folds over to become a tablet. Lightroom Classic's highly customizable interface with a Collection is a decent display app for a portfolio on the computer, sans web connection.

[Dan Walker]

I like smugmug.

[Kristine Hinrichs]

I simply sync collections from Lightroom Classic to Lightroom Mobile on my iPad. That allows you to have several distinct collections for a variety of purposes, one of which might be a portfolio.

[Darren Melrose]

I know there are others out there, but I have to say that I haven't found anything better than the native photos app.
I keep a fairly large number of folders synced to my iPad, a couple of which are portfolios. If I want to show my portrait portfolio, I can easily go there. Same with my street portfolio, etc.
This doesn't need require me to be online, presents in blackout mode, is responsive when swiping and offers a slideshow for each folder if I want it. I personally don't want captions or anything else and so I haven't ever wanted more than what it offers.
Sorry if that isn't the most exciting option.

[Tyler]

I purchased an iPad Air in 2013. Never could adjust to iOS after many years on MacOS. So I set it aside for a time. Then a yer or so later I tried to restart it and nothing happened. Other priorities and I never got around to jumping through the hoops to see an Apple 'genius'. Tried everything I found on Google to restart it and no joy.

Interestingly, this is my 13th Apple computer (I have never tried 'smart' phones) and this is my first flat-on-my-face failure. And I'd paid $600 for the bloody thing.

Tyler
http://www.ora2.blogspot.com

[John R. Fulton Jr.]

Foliobook has worked for me. I have an old iPad iOS 9 but old version works well. Very clean. My B&W looks terrific. 'Seems like it was pricey but worth it.
John Fulton
Spring Lake, Michigan

[Rob L]

A new app tha can work for some folks is Peek-a-view for iOs/iPad OS - https://apps.apple.com/us/app/peek-a-view/id1491554407?ls=1.

It's a quick viewer that does not allow editing or delete functions, maybe not a formal presentation app but great to quickly share photos without worrying that someone will accidentally delete or modify anything.

[JimH]

Can’t you just use the Apple PHOTOS app that came with the iPad? It can do slideshows and even on your TV I’f you have an Apple TV.

[Mark Berger]

Hi Mike

I have struggled to find something that actually ‘delights’. I have settled on PM Pro. It preserves file names, exif, and respects sort order. Interface is little geeky, but end result is okay.

https://www.skyjos.com/pmp/

Regards
Mark

[Peter]

You can sync Lightroom to the Adobe Mobile app and then just select your favorites and view on the Ipad.

[David Lee]

I don’t, but would like to see some suggestions too.

[David Littlejohn]

Well, no one seems to be commenting on this, so I will.

First, I’ve found no perfect way to present pictures on the iPad. I’d prefer the picture centered on the screen surrounded by a bit of white, as if it were printed on paper. But so far I haven’t got that.

My default viewing methods is with the OneDrive app, since I keep presentation versions of my portfolios and snapshots on the OneDrive cloud. The pictures look good (although a bit oversharpened) but are full screen, surrounded by black if the aspect ration is different from your screen.

You can also view the OneDrive pictures in your browser, which at least makes the surrounding areas white. Still sharpened a lot.

Perhaps the best so far is to put a bunch of photos in a Blogger post and then touch one to see it bigger. This brings up a slide show that works nicely. With some work, you can turn the slide show background white. I do this when I publish my yearly “Collection” (portfolio).

Main tip is you need a big JPEG. For the OneDrive method, the long side of the picture needs at least as many pixels as your iPad screen width. I make my pictures 2520 pixels on the long side.

For Blogger, the picture needs to be twice the width/height of the image tag in the HTML, which means you need to manually edit the HTML for each picture. For normal Blogger pictures, I upload a 1280 pixel wide image, but specify its width as 640. This suits the iPad browser whose window is “pretending” to be 1024 pixels wide but is really double that on Retina screens.

TL;DR Check the website using an iPad.

[Mark Roberts]

I can't help the Apple users out there but I'll recommend F-Stop Media Gallery for those with Android tablets. www.fstopapp.com

[Stephen Scharf]

Yep...I use an app called, ironically enough, Portfolio

https://ipadportfolioapp.com

[james Imbrogno]

Jeff Sciortino, one of Chicago's top portrait photographers developed an app called Prezent. I haven't used it but it is very well designed, visually.

https://apps.apple.com/us/app/prezent/id505435521