Portfolio Printing and Sequencing

I spent the Monday soft proofing my work ready to start printing Tuesday. I hadn't made any clear decisions on borders besides the A4 prints which I experimented with. I knew I wanted a large border but was unsure by how much. I began to print the portraits at A4 size and the landscapes a little smaller so that I still had a large edge on the longer lengths of the A3 page. Once I started to print a few I quite liked the amount I had chosen to have and stuck to it. I wanted them small but if they were to be any smaller I wonder whether the smaller detail of the skin of the portraits and small objects in the background may get lost. The smallest I had to print was around A5 which was the diptych of an image and writing. They worked better being smaller to fit with how big the original text was when the message was written for BA2b. I did face some issues with ink marks, and when working under pressure accidentally printed 2 of the same image and forgot to take borders off the diptychs. However I got there in the end eventually... 7 hours later!

I spoke to Ross about my portfolio and how I should sequence the images but he said not to worry too much. With it being a box the viewer will be moving the images around anyway so the sequence will be changed. But I did want to put a sequence together to show the best of my work first and last. With the help of peers they reminded me to start and end with my best work and make it consistent and most relevant to my practice. I started and ended with a portrait. The majority of the images within my portfolio are portraits therefore it only seemed right to do that. Metaphorically I decided to use the image of my nan standing behind the door, closing off the last image of the portfolio. She is also smiling which I felt was a nice way to end the work as it's not focusing on the death but rather the celebration of her life.
When putting the images in order I tried to picture them in a book. The box is a clamshell so they will see 2 images at a time, like a book. Therefore I was experimenting to see which images work better together in a pair as well as within the whole project. 

Overall I am really pleased with the final presentation of my portfolio. A week ago I was panicking that I wouldn't have enough work to show for. After really studying the images I have produced for BA3b it turned out I had done a lot better than I thought. I would have preferred a different box, in colour and texture however it was down to what I could afford. The box is simple and doesn't interfere with the work which is probably better anyway. I'm also really pleased with the name plate. My dad helped me out and bought it for £5. I was worried I would need to spend more on something like that for it to look presentable. However it doesn't look tacky and gives it that professional look which is what I was hoping for.