Interview for photography at university

davidbridges

davidbridges

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David Bridges
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Hi all,

Just got a letter through the post inviting me to an interview at Anglia Ruskin University following my recent application. Just wondering if anyone could give me tips on what to provide and any past experiences of the layout of the interviews.

What they've asked for:
- Portfolio
- Sketchbook
- Then a some other things I can't remember but said something like showing an approach to a theme?! What?!

Thanks for viewing

Dave
 
Edinburgh Napier, Northumbria, UWE (Bristol) and LCC (London)
 
Just photography at all of them except Napier which I went for photography and film.
 
Interviewers like a nice presentation portfolio so don't it's worth splashing out on one. Other than that I remember being asked the following questions (but for college rather than uni)

Where do you think you are at with photography at the moment? What type of photography do you enjoy? Where do you feel you need to improve? What do you want to gain from the course?

This was an entry level course I applied for and i'm aware that more advanced courses ask more technical questions.
 
Only thing i would say is make sure your sketchbooks are filled with writing as well as pictures/sketches. Tutors are very keen to see the thought process behind the images, who inspired you, poems, lyrics, how you are going to carry on the projects, etc. Good luck (y)
 
Well I just had a look at the course your going to be doing (it looks great by the way) but it says it works through a college of art so they perhaps are looking for a bit of detail behind the shots. I cant get into your flickr account right now so I dont know what kind of photos you enjoy taking but say it was landscapes they might be wanting some detail on why you took it from a certain angle, why the time of day, what mood you were looking for, is it a series of photographs, does it reflect the place it was taken. Stuff like that really just to show that you are thinking before you take the picture :)
 
There are some sound pieces of advice in all of the above. I always recommend that my students have detailed annotations in their sketchbooks that show their thought processes, developing ideas, experimentations and influences. Contact prints / thumbnails are always useful to have on display.
 
When I applied for Uni three years ago, I applied to UWE, went for my interview. They grilled me about every piece of my work, I went away thinking I hadn't got in but then they offered me a place. Unfortunately I wasn't overly impressed with the setup there and it all seemed a bit pretentious and wasn't sure of the career prospects afterwards. I'd recommend choosing a course that has a solid record of people leaving the course and going into the industry. Bournemouth and Newport are good but tend to be overcrowded. I am in the 3rd year at UWIC and recommend it. It's a small course with small numbers meaning you always get access to a computer/studio/darkroom which you certainly don't get at Newport. Also the course is quite open in terms of what you can shoot, they let you choose rather than being quite strict like at other unis. Make sure your portfolio fits what they want. Have a variety of images but only choose your best work. Better to have 20 outstanding images rather than 20 outstanding images and 30 alright ones, the 20 good ones will just blend in with the average ones. Be confident and be prepared to answer lots of questions about your work!
 
My daughter went through this last year, she took her A level course work and a portfolio. We picked 20 images and laid them out in a way that allowed her to tell a story. We then put the 'rejects' towards the back of the portfolio in case she needed more to talk about.

She applied for general photography courses at Portsmouth, Nothampton, University of the Arts at Farnham and Rochester, she also applied for Documentary photography at Gloucester and Newport.

She got offered places at all of them and picked Newport as it was the course she really wanted to do and she got a great offer. She also really like Gloucester but their offer was higher.

It's also good to have a couple of photographers you are interested in and some books or magazines that inspired you. You don't need to have huge amounts of technical knowledge, but you do need to be able to critique your work and talk about what inspires you.
 
davidbridges said:
though process behind the images... :-/
Click to expand...

haha my feelings too. I did photography at GCSE and it was part of the art gcse structure, so I was required to produce sketch books and asked by my teachers to draw shots before I went and took them...that isn't the way I took photos and still isn't now. I go out looking for a nice scene (or whatever) and then take it depending on the conditions etc, I don't plan anything :p - It sort of put me off doing any further photography qualification (I did Media Production, both BTEC National Diploma then at degree level, instead).

If I were in your shoes my 'sketchbook' would be more a notebook of locations and previous shots at those locations with details about good times to revisit or possibilities for other shots nearby etc, position of sunset etc. I can't draw for crap so it certainly wouldn't include any sketches.


anyway...for the other stuff, portfolio I would be tempted to get a photobook made up of my fav stuff and then maybe some larger prints made of my shots that I love that I would maybe mount on card and keep in one of them big portfolio case things. (I would then get them framed and hung after interviews).

With the thing about a theme, if you have time set yourself a theme and go out and shoot it. I have many themes/projects in my head that I would love to have time to go shoot. Stuff like "The People Of Leeds" or something that gives you scope to go and get some great shots but keeping to one general theme. I am trying to think of something that fits with your style and location.....even something as simple as "A Day in the life of.." somewhere...Bigg Market in newcastle or something. Day in the life of's can be a bit cheesy, but I guess they just want to see you can work to a theme :shrug:
 
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