iPad Portfolio app - SOLUTION FOUND

[luxborealis]

What are you using that you are happy with for showing a professional portfolio of photographs using iPad? I would like something does not require an internet connection (i.e. photos are on the device).

The app I'm currently using, Portfolio Pro, has not been updated. I've been getting iOS messages warning of possible incompatibilities and have also received one from Dropbox telling me of an incompatibility come September.

Please advise.

[pcgpcg]

I just use the "Photos" app that comes with the iPad. Create an album with your portfolio and it's easy to scroll through or make it loop through a slide show offline. What additional features are you looking for?

[Kevin Raber]

Here are a few.

They work ok but they take time to set up.  I tend to use albums in Photos at as it syncs with all my Apple devices. Hope this is useful.

Foliobook ...has some great features.  A bit daunting but video tutorials will walk you through everything.
http://www.rocketgardenlabs.com

Portfolioforipad
http://www.rocketgardenlabs.com

Portfoliopad
https://www.mainboard.com/portfoliopad/

Pro Photo Portfolio
http://www.burntbirdstudios.com/pro_photo_portfolio.html

[john beardsworth]

I have used a range of them. MinimalFolio, Foliobook, Xtrafolio are the ones that I liked most, but what made me abandon them wasn't their presentation features - it was the awkwardness and time involved in managing / updating images, which seemed to be Kevin's point. Updating your portfolio is usually very manual, so you don't do it often and have to relearn the method every time.

It's much easier using Lightroom Mobile. Its Present mode isn't as fancy, but it's sufficient. Best of all, LrM automatically syncs with all my devices and I can manage content with Lr on my Mac or PC, in Lr Mobile on the iPad or phone, or in a web browser. To use Lightroom Mobile offline, you just need to enable Offline Editing for any collections you want.

[pearlstreet]

Lightroom - it has a presentation button.

[luxborealis]

I just use the "Photos" app that comes with the iPad. Create an album with your portfolio and it's easy to scroll through or make it loop through a slide show offline. What additional features are you looking for?

I use iOS Photos for many things, but not for a Portfolio for the simple reason that it does not keep the photos on the device, but rather on iCloud – and I've not found a way to "tell it" to keep certain photos on the device, while allowing the more ephemeral photos to live in the ether.

Thanks for the suggestions and links, Kevin. I'm also looking for actual users of each to suggest why they chose one over another. Online reviews these days seem only to be done by fan-boys or marketers.

LrM: thanks for the suggestion, but I won't be going down the Adobe subscription path.

[john beardsworth]

LrM: thanks for the suggestion, but I won't be going down the Adobe subscription path.

Then just use it without subscription - ie free. Nothing will sync to/from your desktop, but you can manage pics in various mobile devices or by logging into lightroom.adobe.com in a web browser. The latter allows you to get pictures into LrM by dragging and dropping files from your computer, avoiding the camera roll.

[luxborealis]

Then just use it without subscription - ie free. Nothing will sync to/from your desktop, but you can manage pics in various mobile devices or by logging into lightroom.adobe.com in a web browser. The latter allows you to get pictures into LrM by dragging and dropping files from your computer, avoiding the camera roll.

Thanks, John. I was unaware LrM is usable without a subscription.

[john beardsworth]

Thanks, John. I was unaware LrM is usable without a subscription.

[Update] Apparently it changed in October 2015 (can't find a reference). I forget the details, but I think you get started as a trial of the subscription version. Just watch what you're signing up for, and if you need to reinstall Lr on your desktop make sure to use your standalone licence code rather than your account.

[Joe Towner]

I've kept Kredo loaded for this type of role.  The baseline is free, and 5 galleries with 20 shots each works.

My biggest issue is larger detail photos, I haven't seen a way to properly interact with high resolution stuff.  Will see what the new iOS gives with a file manager and such.

[TommyWeir]

I like the flexibility of Curator - http://curator.co/learn-more/

You can set up text and websites also within the presentation.  Might be useful.

[luxborealis]

As it turns out, I already had the solution... Documents by Readdle . It's a file system/management app I installed when I first bought my iPad years ago. I use it all the time as a file system for various documents as it's like having a regular HDD or SSD folder system of documents, not unlike what iOS 11 seems to be moving to. It opens dozens of different types of files and has PDF notations, a built in browser, etc.

Documents by Readdle allows me to synch a folder of photographs from Dropbox directly (or Google Drive, Box, OneDrive, etc.), keeping the actual file on my iPad, available anytime. Having synced folders also is easy for updating. It also presents the photos well and has over a dozen options for sharing, emailing, etc. a photo.

For me, this works perfectly as a portfolio app and it was right there all along. Oh, and it's FREE! Who said there's no such thing as a free lunch.

[SrMi]

Martin Bailey has a nice blog post about portfolio apps (his choice is Portfolio for iPad):
https://www.martinbaileyphotography.com/2017/08/14/portfolio-for-ipad-app-review-podcast-585/

[Peter McLennan]

As it turns out, I already had the solution... Documents by Readdle . It's a file system/management app I installed when I first bought my iPad years ago. I use it all the time as a file system for various documents as it's like having a regular HDD or SSD folder system of documents, not unlike what iOS 11 seems to be moving to. It opens dozens of different types of files and has PDF notations, a built in browser, etc.

Amazing!  File management for iPad! Thanks Terry.  If it wasn't for Apple's promise to provide a user-accessible file system in iOS11, I'd be all over this.  I think I'll wait, though, and see what Apple comes up with.

[TommyWeir]

The iOS 11 Files app does not have the flick-to-go-through option which Documents by Readdle has.  You can pop them open and closed but not flick along, at least in the beta version.   Also important to note that iCloud's approach, download as needed, may not sit well with your requirements which is to have the images ready at all times.

Readdle is a great company, all of their apps are worth a look.  There's also GoodReader which has a similar file-management approach but many more features than either Documents or Files, including a built-in slideshow.

[Wayne Fox]

As it turns out, I already had the solution... Documents by Readdle . It's a file system/management app I installed when I first bought my iPad years ago. I use it all the time as a file system for various documents as it's like having a regular HDD or SSD folder system of documents, not unlike what iOS 11 seems to be moving to. It opens dozens of different types of files and has PDF notations, a built in browser, etc.

Documents by Readdle allows me to synch a folder of photographs from Dropbox directly (or Google Drive, Box, OneDrive, etc.), keeping the actual file on my iPad, available anytime. Having synced folders also is easy for updating. It also presents the photos well and has over a dozen options for sharing, emailing, etc. a photo.

For me, this works perfectly as a portfolio app and it was right there all along. Oh, and it's FREE! Who said there's no such thing as a free lunch.

Gave it a try.  Images are too small. Once you zoom you can't flick through easily. No fit to screen?  Nice way to quickly browse, but doesn't seem to be a portfolio app.

[luxborealis]

Gave it a try.  Images are too small. Once you zoom you can't flick through easily. No fit to screen?  Nice way to quickly browse, but doesn't seem to be a portfolio app.

It's not a portfolio app, per se, but then again, I export my images from Lightroom, prepared specifically for the viewing on iPad, so they look great on Documents.

[Jeremy Roussak]

As it turns out, I already had the solution... Documents by Readdle .

Interesting. I've had quite a bit of contact with Readdle recently (I'm helping to beta test their generally excellent mail client, Spark, which is a great deal better than Apple's Mail on the iPhone, IMHO). They are very cooperative, very responsive and they deserve to succeed, although how they make a living by giving away such good software I've no idea.

Jeremy

[JoeKitchen]

Gave it a try.  Images are too small. Once you zoom you can't flick through easily. No fit to screen?  Nice way to quickly browse, but doesn't seem to be a portfolio app.

I think for personal use, this looks really nice, especially for editing.  For professional use when showing work to a perspective client, it probably won't work. 

I use Foliobook, and that works very well.  I also maintain a printed book too. 

[Craig Lamson]

I think for personal use, this looks really nice, especially for editing.  For professional use when showing work to a perspective client, it probably won't work. 

I use Foliobook, and that works very well.  I also maintain a printed book too.

Another vote for Foilobook.  It looked really great on an iPad 12.9.  So good I no longer carry paper.