From my end as an editor, certainly something has been lost in the move away from contact sheets insofar that the process of how the shoot transpired is now tougher to discern. The way a photographer works used to be ‘all there’. Contact sheets were like a gene profile.

Having a sense of what works according to the photographer i’ve hired offers insight into how they will be / or won’t be applied in the future. ‘Delivery style’ is very important and of course partners with issues of timing and attention to detail and yes can make or break a relationship. For example: the dude we funded a rather elaborate shoot with only to be offered 1 frame – um.. to pick from?
He does not work with us any longer.
In short i felt like a gun had been put to my head and yes there was panic. bastard!…. i’m just thinking about that again know… it was NOT a pretty couple days.
It was however the problem-child born of having a working agreement based on trust (read: not binding)

So while favorites are important to promote to your clients don’t die on your sword. Though splashy and exciting when on the shelves do remember: print lines bird-cages.

That said it is important to not submit work you are devastated by. Y’know the one or few you think really suck. Don’t submit those cos you know that there’s always a chance – specially if you believe the publication to have a long line of command – that that select could be the one that goes through

It’s not my job to choose the photos, but I wish it was!
I find it depends on the assignment and direction of the shoot. If I get the “shoot the hell out of it” instructions, I’ll mention a few favourites, but my interning at magazine experiences tell me, it’s what fits with the layout that gets chosen. ESPECIALLY busy layouts:
http://mcavoy.ca/blog/uploaded_images/october09-p77-web-790913.jpg (mine are the popsicle and the ‘za)
I shot 101 Things to Eat for VanMag again this year and as opposed to last year (when I shot it all on white), these images were cropped, rotated and shrunk to make the layout legible. I think Taryn did an excellent job, esp. as I thought she was crazy to get 101 pictures in with different backgrounds.

I don’t think there is harm in saying: this one is my favourite and why, but there’s no guarantee that it’s the photo that is going to work best.

To answer your questions (from my limited experience)…

As far as making suggestions to art directors, I always do. The way I handle a job is to initially do some quick mockups of my favorite shots (maybe 2 or 3, depends on the shoot.) While I’m doing that quick post-processing, I have bridge creating a web gallery of all the shots (or rather a slightly edited down selection of all the shots). I then send along an email with a link to the web gallery, as well as the 2 or 3 favorite images attached to the email. They almost always pick the ones that I like. This is also a good time to play with experimentation (say you want to push your colors in a new direction, or do some interesting crops)…

Regarding representation…

I have had a rep based out of Dallas, TX, since January of 2008. While it does hurt to have to give up a percentage of my fees almost every time I get a job, overall it has been more than worth it. While building up my business from nothing is still a long and arduous process, with her help my name has been in front of a significantly higher amount of people than if I were going alone. Additionally, having an experienced person on my side when negotiating fees, making the best possible estimates, and generally having a much more in depth knowledge of the business (I never would have guessed that all I needed to get more people to my agency portfolio showings is to just bring breakfast tacos! works every time…). Without that help, I would have pulled my hair out; going insane dealing with all of it. It just becomes simply too much for one person. With someone always watching your back, now you can focus on making images and honing your style.

Also, I do think having representation helps in getting someone to look at your work more seriously (whether that’s fair or not). For example, at least for myself, when I see someone’s site that says they are represented, I look a little closer. Don’t you?