If you can find a copy of the Gregory Heisler book, I really enjoyed it. It’s not so much about apertures and f-stops but about how he approaches specific subjects. Looks like it’s actually only $5 on Kindle right now, so if you have an iPad, that might be a great pickup. It’s called Gregory Heisler: 50 Portraits: Stories and Techniques from a Photographer’s Photographer
They look different than iPhone photos. Different is sometimes interesting.
I would just include the good photos. Editing it down to a number is probably just going to take you longer than if you did a quick cull, an easy edit, and then delivered everything.
When it comes to the photography business, the “business” part is considerably more important than the “photography” part in many cases. If you’re OK at photos and great at marketing, you’ll have more success than someone who’s great with a camera and bad at the other aspects of the job.
Also, general “exposure” is pretty much worthless until you get to a very high level. If you can reach 100,000 random people, that’s one thing. But if you’re trying to start reliably making money on a realistic scale, then finding a specific group of people and figuring out how to get your work in front of them is much more important.
Also: Don’t try to make money from photography. You’ll have a bad time and it’ll make you dislike photography.
Just be honest and ask. You could get a grumpy response, but if you’re going to work in a creative field, you’ll have to deal with that a lot anyway. It’s good practice no matter what happens. Hahah.
I teach a lot of people photography and I’ve noticed that Youtube has changed the way people learn photography and it’s not necessarily ideal. The main issue is that people don’t learn in a linear way. They get a camera, then look up specific techniques they want to do. People show up to lessons with me and they know all these “tricks” and techniques, but they don’t really understand why they work or what they’re actually doing.
I had someone come to me that said they keep their DSLR at ISO 400 or lower at all times because that’s when the files “look the best.” They just misunderstood what someone said in a video and it led to them getting blurry photos. I had another person say they kept a circular polarizer on the lens at all times (even when shooting indoors) because they watched a video about the benefits of a circular polarizer.
I really do think there’s a benefit to a very linear learning process like a book or a class because you’re building a foundation that you can expand upon.
I’ve also noticed a whole genre of photography dudes who just parrot what they hear in tutorials, even to people with more skill than them. I once posted an editorial portrait in a photo group. It had appeared in a national magazine. Some guy asked what I shot it with. I told him it was a 50mm lens and he told me I should try an 85mm lens because Scott Kelby says you should never shoot a portrait with a 50mm lens. Brutal.
If it happens every year, I’d just bake it into my schedule since I know it’s gonna come up. I’d streamline the process as much as possible by telling them “Hey, I don’t have a lot of room in my schedule this year. I can meet all of you at TK place at TK time for a half-hour and squeeze everything in. Dress seasonally and be on-time because I have another engagement after that I can’t be late for. Looking forward to it!”