Portfolio for university interviews.

[Lukey]

Hi all.

I've recently started getting interview offers for university, and as you would imagine they require me to bring a portfolio along with me. I've already got the photos I want to use I'm just having trouble finding somewhere to get them printed into a book of some sort.

I'm not actually sure what I should be looking for in terms of printing a portfolio, so any help would be greatly appreciated!

 

[Photodiva]

You could possibly mount them on mount board - A3 or 400x500 (use white or black but not color) and keep them in a portfolio holder. I'm not quite sure that you'd need to go to the bother of getting them printed into a book, after all, you may soon decide that your portfolio picture change as you progress.

 

[itsdavedotnet]

Keep it simple.


Some half decent prints (ds colour labs are very good and cheap) on some mount board is fine. Don't need to be huge prints either, 12x8 is fine

 

[Steve]

My daughter has just got offers from two universities for a photography degree...waiting for interviews for others.

We spent a lot of time getting her portfolio together, and the following seems to work:

Each University has a different requirement, but generally it's between 15 to 25 prints.

Don't mount them. Get an art portfolio case to store them. If you can afford it, the portfolio cases from Silverprint are brilliant and have really high quality clear plastic in the inserts that looks far better than the normal slightly thick and opague inserts.

My daughter's folio was A3 size. Most other interviewees had A4 size, but the A3 gives you more detail.

Don't just choose photos for folio that show technical competence. The tutors seem more interested in pictures that tell a story or show creative thinking than technically perfect 'nice' photos.

 

[SimonH]

You should have a look at Keepsy. Here's a recent review:

[YOUTUBE]m1We0twU5X8[/YOUTUBE]

 

[Pookeyhead]

As a Uni lecturer.. here's some advice. We don't CARE what the actual portfolio is made from, or what it looks like. We only care about what's in it. Seriously... we don't care if they're in a plain cardboard box.. so long as the images are well printed and display a professional attitude to print presentation.

You mention having them printed... are you not already on a A level or other F.E course? Can you not print at college? We'd rather see YOUR printing ability to be honest, as that's an indicator of tour technical ability.

If you can't print, then fine.. Get them printed elsewhere, but so long as they are in a convenient, and reasonably presentable form that protects the images, we don't really care.

It's about you, and your work.... nothing else.

What course are you applying for?


[edit]

Forgot to mention.. if loose prints are being used... mount them. Also... if you're coming from A level or BTEC.. bring your log books/sketch books... we need to see your academic process and research.

Don't mount them. Get an art portfolio case to store them. If you can afford it, the portfolio cases from Silverprint are brilliant and have really high quality clear plastic in the inserts that looks far better than the normal slightly thick and opague inserts.

If the prints are lose in a box, then please mount them. We need to handle them and pass them around.. we don't want to be responsible for damaging your prints.

Silverprint are very expensive. Paying a lot of money for a print box will not get you a place. Seawhite's of Brighton make excellent print boxes for less than half the price of Silverprint.

Do not use cheap folio inserts with textured finish though... it makes the prints hard to see.

I'm not joking though... so long as the prints are high quality, and well presented, we're not really bothered about the container they arrive in. We know decent folios and print boxes are expensive, and we know most students don't have much money. This is why we put little importance on such things otherwise people could buy their way in. It's print quality, and the images themselves that count.

If it's a BA course, be prepared to talk about your work... WHY you took what you took. We expect you to demonstrate a deep interest in the medium and there be evidence of reading around the subject. I'd be asking you who your favourite photographers are, and why. I'd be asking you technical questions too to gauge the extent of your experience. Most BA courses are looking for switched on, creative, and self starting students who have passion for the medium. What we don't want are students who just like taking photos and have no interest in it as an art form or an academic subject as well (if it is a BA course that is). I can practically guarantee you this will be the same for all BA courses.. unless they are desperate for numbers and do not recruit ethically.

Just a heads up....

 

[Steve]

As a Uni lecturer.. here's some advice. We don't CARE what the actual portfolio is made from, or what it looks like. We only care about what's in it. Seriously... we don't care if they're in a plain cardboard box.. so long as the images are well printed and display a professional attitude to print presentation.

You mention having them printed... are you not already on a A level or other F.E course? Can you not print at college? We'd rather see YOUR printing ability to be honest, as that's an indicator of tour technical ability.

If you can't print, then fine.. Get them printed elsewhere, but so long as they are in a convenient, and reasonably presentable form that protects the images, we don't really care.
.

Wish that had been made clear to me at the open days we attended....the feedback we were given from lecturers was quite the reverse.

Bit annoyed if this is the case as feel we have been made to go to un-necessary lengths for her portfolio.

One Uni...cant remember which... Staffs I think even gave us a five page booklet on portfolio presentation that stipulated what colour the background insert paper should be.

On a positive note she has been offered a place at both the interviews she has attended....just a bit peed off if we could have taken a 'cardboard box' of prints instead

 

[Pookeyhead]

One Uni...cant remember which... Staffs I think even gave us a five page booklet on portfolio presentation that stipulated what colour the background insert paper should be.

That's just ridiculous. In what possible way can that be a measure of whether a student has potential?

On a positive note she has been offered a place at both the interviews she has attended....just a bit peed off if we could have taken a 'cardboard box' of prints instead

take my comment with a pinch of salt... it would still have to be a sturdy, clean, well presented cardboard box Shove your prints in an old walkers Crisps box and no.. that won't score any points However... why would a Uni demand an expensive folio? Of what possible benefit could that be? All you're actually doing is excluding those who have limited means... who's funds could be better spent on making their print quality better.

A cheap, and well presented print box from Seawhites with mounted prints would be a cheap and professional looking way of presentation.

If a Uni insists on some stupid presentation rule, then you're gonna have to do it if you really want to attend that Uni, but I'd seriously be questioning why they would make you jump through such hoops when it is in no way a decent measure of a student's abilities or potential.

 

[Steve]

That's just ridiculous. In what possible way can that be a measure of whether a student has potential?



take my comment with a pinch of salt... it would still have to be a sturdy, clean, well presented cardboard box Shove your prints in an old walkers Crisps box and no.. that won't score any points However... why would a Uni demand an expensive folio? Of what possible benefit could that be? All you're actually doing is excluding those who have limited means... who's funds could be better spent on making their print quality better.

A cheap, and well presented print box from Seawhites with mounted prints would be a cheap and professional looking way of presentation.

If a Uni insists on some stupid presentation rule, then you're gonna have to do it if you really want to attend that Uni, but I'd seriously be questioning why they would make you jump through such hoops when it is in no way a decent measure of a student's abilities or potential.

David,

That echoes my thoughts exactly, but as a parent of a daughter wanting to attend University I attended all the open days and listened very carefully to what was advised.

Nobody said we 'had' to get an expensive folio, but silverprint was specifically recommended by a lecturer at, I think Manchester Met, but can't be certain.

When somebody in a position of power/knowledge gives 'advise' I have to say we just followed it almost without questioning it.

 

[Pookeyhead]

David,

That echoes my thoughts exactly, but as a parent of a daughter wanting to attend University I attended all the open days and listened very carefully to what was advised.

Nobody said we 'had' to get an expensive folio, but silverprint was specifically recommended by a lecturer at, I think Manchester Met, but can't be certain.

When somebody in a position of power/knowledge gives 'advise' I have to say we just followed it almost without questioning it.

Well.. advice is something else entirely.. advice is not a requirement.. Silverprint folios are lovely, yes, but I know Man Met quite well, and can't imagine for one minute they'd turn someone down because the print box or portfolio wasn't top notch quality. I can only imagine it was advice, and not a requirement. I still think it's putting a great deal f pressure on students, and also parents who feel they have to fork out shed loads on presentation when all we're really interested in is seeing potential.


I've just noticed that Seawhite's seem to be trade only now... which is a great shame. However, Silverprint's boxes are not TOO expensive... just more so than Seawhite's. A4 is around £35. Print sleeves for the boxes are about a tenner for a pack of 10 if I recall... so for an average folio of 15 to 25 images, you're into about £50 all in via Silverprint.

Forget silverprint's actual leather folios... they're around £100 for A4... plus sleeves... which are around 16 quid for 10 I think.

Their split case folios are a nice compromise.. go on their website and have a look.

It's all down to your budget. If it looks professional... neat, tidy.. shows pride of presentation... that's all that matters. I will insist that clear sleeves are a great advantage if you are not mounting prints... do not use cheap textured plastic print folders from art shops... they're hideous.

 

[itsdavedotnet]

My uni interview, I had a set of very simply mounted prints, on black card, and shoved in a £4 a3 portfolio bag case style thing from wilkinsons. Looks smart enough for a uni interview...as has been said, spend more time thinking are fully about what the pictures are and what they say about you and your work - far more I portent than card stock....

 

[Steve]

Their split case folios are a nice compromise.. go on their website and have a look.

Yes, thats the one that was recommended and we got and with the ultra clear sleeves it does look great.

As for it being only 'advice', well if a policeman advises me not to do something, I don't do it.

If my solicitor advises me to do something, I do it.

The whole point of advice is that it is an indication of what that person feels you should do, without being prescriptive.....ignore it at your peril.

For us it has ended postively...daughter has two conditional offers so far with more interviews to come, and a nice folio case that should last her many years.

 

[srichards]

Staffs requirement would show whether someone can follow instructions. That seems a basic skill...

These days printing work out seems rather old fashioned. Is there any reason not to take in a tablet or laptop with it all on screen instead? Especially if your work is aimed at being viewed that way. If the crusty rps can accept electronic portfolios I don't see why a uni shouldn't.

 

[Pookeyhead]

Staffs requirement would show whether someone can follow instructions. That seems a basic skill...

One would hope they have already demonstrated that at A level or BTEC.. no need fr this at interview at HE level really. Just an unnecessary expense.

These days printing work out seems rather old fashioned. Is there any reason not to take in a tablet or laptop with it all on screen instead? Especially if your work is aimed at being viewed that way. If the crusty rps can accept electronic portfolios I don't see why a uni shouldn't.

With all due respect, that's just not true. Digital workflow skills, including printing to a high professional standard are highly sought after skills in assistants, and assisting is still the primary route into the industry. It's also a skill you will need yourself for promotion. People still like to see prints because a decent print is a MUCH better representation of technical ability than a digital image on a 9" screen.

 

[Steve]

I'm very jealous of students going to University to study photography. I did a Finance and Accounting degree..... yawn.

I'd go back and do one now if it wasn't for the high tuition fees.

 

[srichards]

One would hope they have already demonstrated that at A level or BTEC.. no need fr this at interview at HE level really. Just an unnecessary expense.

With all due respect, that's just not true. Digital workflow skills, including printing to a high professional standard are highly sought after skills in assistants, and assisting is still the primary route into the industry. It's also a skill you will need yourself for promotion. People still like to see prints because a decent print is a MUCH better representation of technical ability than a digital image on a 9" screen.

The industry people I was listening too recently said ipad presentation is where it's basically going and they generally pitch work on those. Many take prints but they usually find clients are quite happy with tablets and often prefer them. This is for photographers rather than assistants though.

 

[Pookeyhead]

For promotional use, iPads and all tablets are great, but to interview an assistant, they'll wanna see other skills. Remember, a degree course, as much as it is an academic course, needs to address industry needs, and assistant these days need to have excellent digital workflow skills, as they will be the ones dealing with the RAW files, copying, batching, retouching etc... and they will more than likely be called upon to prep files for print too. Seeing a graduates printing prowess is still required and desired.

You're referring to photographers promoting themselves or pitching for work... I'm not.. I'm on about graduates pitching for assisting jobs. There's a big difference.

 

[mrjames]

think of a portfolio like a web site- going down to the shop and buying a folio is similar to getting a website from wix or something

creating a custom website from scratch using code to create something that fits in with your style will show that you can consider how your photos fit into context- when you have to design your first exhibition and you want to do something more than just bang up some ikea frames you'll understand

but for a folio- get creative (and aesthetically tasteful) or go cheap

if they ask you 'why did you show your work to us in this way' the correct answer is either "because I wanted you to concentrate on the work" or "because this compliments the themes I'm trying to show in my photos/because it's disposable nature compliments the social comments i'm trying to make on throw-away society/by designating my prints as luxury items I am trying to elevate the status of photography from one of unlimited mechanical reproduction to one of synthetic luxury"

the incorrect answer is "because it was £100 and it's made of leather and I liked it"

people who study photography degrees also go on to be picture framers, exhibition designers, curators, artists

my girlfriends an artist and her photography portfolio is an a3 sketchpad with photos mounted on newspaper and drawings/paint between the photos and sometimes even on the photos- her drawings completely fit the style of her photos and the folio itself feels like an extension of the images

 

[Pookeyhead]

Making a folio is an interesting alternative, but interviews are a stressful process for staff at Universities. We have very little time to review them. We get around 8-12 interviewees each time, and 8-12 folios to look through. Interesting folios are always welcome, but not if they're fragile, or fiddly to look through. Be ceative by all means.. that's a GOOD thing... but not at the expense of practicality.

On the whole though... we'd rather see creativity than the ability to spend £100 at Silverprint....

...but we'd rather see creative PHOTOGRAPHS regardless of the folio.

 

[OptimusBri]

All I had for my University interview was A3 prints mounted on black card, and it worked fine Personally, I think you should mount your work.

David has given some great advice here. Of course you should present your work well, but it needn't cost a fortune and the main focus should be on your work itself

 

[Steve]

Would have been much easier if daughter had been allowed to make presentation on ipad. I guess it just takes Universitites a little longer to catch up with commercial reality and the real world.

Will Universities still be insisting on printed portfolios in ten years time, or will they be accepting digital presentations by then?

 

[ernesto]

I guess it just takes Universitites a little longer to catch up with commercial reality and the real world.

Universities are not necessarily there for commercial reality and the real world so what are they catching up with?

You are thinking more along the lines of apprenticeships and purely vocational activities.

 

[Steve]

Universities are not necessarily there for commercial reality and the real world so what are they catching up with?

You are thinking more along the lines of apprenticeships and purely vocational activities.

Well, all the University open days we attended, at the talks they made a big song and dance about how commercially relevant the degree was, and how many of the tutors are commercial photographers who have become lecturers.

I accept that some degrees are purely academic in nature. However, this is not the case for the photography degrees at the Universities we attended.

They all stressed the commercial aspect of their degrees alongside the academic and fine art elements.

 

[ernesto]

although even a degree that is undertaken as commercially relevant soon becomes academic when the majority of people with a degree go on to do something totally unrelated to it.

 

[Pookeyhead]

Would have been much easier if daughter had been allowed to make presentation on ipad. I guess it just takes Universitites a little longer to catch up with commercial reality and the real world.

Will Universities still be insisting on printed portfolios in ten years time, or will they be accepting digital presentations by then?

I thought I'd addressed this. We're not insisting on print because we're behind the times at all. A practising photographer may well use a digital folio, but we need to gain as much information as possible about the student's abilities, and that includes the technical aspects, and those technical aspects include printing amongst other things. Images on a iPad using iPhoto are scaled down, and it's hard to assess them in the same way as a high quality print.

Also, iPads are great to promote your work, but if I was hiring an assistant who's just graduated, I'd want to see how well they can prep work for print, how well they can colour balance a set of images etc. These are skills in demand. You can not easily assess that by looking at a scaled down low res image on a 9" screen. iPads are convenient, but don't think for one minute they'll be replacing print any time soon. People will always want to hold prints, and see the detail in a large format image. That's not old fashioned, that's just normal. What next... iPads on gallery walls??

Will we still want to see prints in 10 years time? Probably yes... because compared to a beautiful print, an iPad sucks. We're looking for different things at an interview for a HE course.. we need a format that can help us assess their abilities, and a small lo res image on a small screen doesn't cut it.

Photographers promoting themselves will have a great use for iPads, sure.. but don't be expecting print portfolios to be going anywhere soon, even for established practitioners. When you pitch for advertising jobs, you often just drop your folio off... you fancy doing that with your iPad?

You're just going to have to trust that I know what I'm talking about here... there's still, and will be for a very long time... a need for a print portfolio.

 

[Steve]

I thought I'd addressed this. We're not insisting on print because we're behind the times at all. A practising photographer may well use a digital folio, but we need to gain as much information as possible about the student's abilities, and that includes the technical aspects, and those technical aspects include printing amongst other things. Images on a iPad using iPhoto are scaled down, and it's hard to assess them in the same way as a high quality print.

Also, iPads are great to promote your work, but if I was hiring an assistant who's just graduated, I'd want to see how well they can prep work for print, how well they can colour balance a set of images etc. These are skills in demand. You can not easily assess that by looking at a scaled down low res image on a 9" screen. iPads are convenient, but don't think for one minute they'll be replacing print any time soon. People will always want to hold prints, and see the detail in a large format image. That's not old fashioned, that's just normal. What next... iPads on gallery walls??

Will we still want to see prints in 10 years time? Probably yes... because compared to a beautiful print, an iPad sucks. We're looking for different things at an interview for a HE course.. we need a format that can help us assess their abilities, and a small lo res image on a small screen doesn't cut it.

Photographers promoting themselves will have a great use for iPads, sure.. but don't be expecting print portfolios to be going anywhere soon, even for established practitioners. When you pitch for advertising jobs, you often just drop your folio off... you fancy doing that with your iPad?

You're just going to have to trust that I know what I'm talking about here... there's still, and will be for a very long time... a need for a print portfolio.

Fair enough David. I can understand and see the sense in what you are saying.

Will be interesting to see what the role is of the paper portfolio is in the future.

And by the way, went to a photographic exhibition at Manchester Gallery, and one of the displays was on a tablet screen. Ironically, it was out of order, thereby proving your point

 

[ernesto]

Steve, have to say it seems at odds to me that you want the demise of paper yet still use film cameras

 

[itsdavedotnet]

unis demanding a particular (expensive) album and set of sleeves etc?
That's just unethical and pointless, and shows what they think of their potential students IMO....


A lot of advertising and editorial photographers ARE doing away with print portfolios and using ipads, and speaking to increasing numbers of creatives who are, even if they weren't initially, coming round to photographers using a digital portfolio over print. Yes, print is still valuable, and indeed it's where a lot of work ends up - but certainly for commercial (that is to say, not fine art) photographers, printing really does seem to be on the decrease.

Either way, there's only so much highly detailed specialist knowledge that a college student is going to have about producing prints - and at the end of the day, the £means that most students applying to university are going to have is going to be either a consumer grade photo printer, or a relatively standard print lab using pretty bog standard profiles and a fuji frontier printer.

If someone went and got an album full of high end glicee prints from the print space for a uni interview, IMO they'd almost certainly have been far better off spending that money on producing some concept shots or travelling somewhere or something like that. As you said earlier, you're not after someone to prove that they can spend a lot of money, but looking at their images


OP: concentrate on what's in the photos, which photos you select, and what they say about the selection of work and areas of interest, and stories that you can tell. This is the key.

 

[Steve]

Steve, have to say it seems at odds to me that you want the demise of paper yet still use film cameras

hehe...yes.. I love film, and in a few weeks time will have a permanent darkroom set up at home. But happy to see film on paper and digital on a screen.

 

[treeman]

Interesting thread.

Last month, for the first time in a long time, I was asked to pitch for two new jobs with magazine editors, both specifically asked to see a printed portfolio.

 

[mr_v_s]

I used my iPad and an A4 portfolio in a business meeting and it went really well. It was a little old school to use the portfolio but I really liked the prints!

 

[Pookeyhead]

A lot of advertising and editorial photographers ARE doing away with print portfolios and using ipads, and speaking to increasing numbers of creatives who are, even if they weren't initially, coming round to photographers using a digital portfolio over print. Yes, print is still valuable, and indeed it's where a lot of work ends up - but certainly for commercial (that is to say, not fine art) photographers, printing really does seem to be on the decrease.

I'd say iPad usage is on the increase... not that prints are on the decrease. You're right... it's mainly in mainstream commercial work too. The print folio will be around for a very long time yet though. The majority of people don't want to look at a 9" screen for the same reasons they wouldn't want to look at a 9" print... because it's just a bit too small to appreciate quality at that size for a lot of work.

As I keep saying, we're talking about folios for a different reason though... which people keep ignoring. A folio for Uni is MUCH better presented in print.

Either way, there's only so much highly detailed specialist knowledge that a college student is going to have about producing prints - and at the end of the day, the £means that most students applying to university are going to have is going to be either a consumer grade photo printer, or a relatively standard print lab using pretty bog standard profiles and a fuji frontier printer.

A great many F.E courses have access to some pretty decent print output, and the vast majority of applicants for a BA are coming from BTEC courses... some A level, but we expect less in the way of facilities available to A level students... BTEC students however, usually have access to decent print output, and how they present their work in terms of print quality is quite telling.

If someone went and got an album full of high end glicee prints from the print space for a uni interview, IMO they'd almost certainly have been far better off spending that money on producing some concept shots or travelling somewhere or something like that.

No one in this thread is disagreeing with you.

As you said earlier, you're not after someone to prove that they can spend a lot of money, but looking at their images

Exactly... not sure what you're saying this for.. I agree with you completely.

OP: concentrate on what's in the photos, which photos you select, and what they say about the selection of work and areas of interest, and stories that you can tell. This is the key.

It is... but present them well... or we'll just think you can't be arsed... and that will influence our decision. I'm pretty damned confident I am speaking on behalf of all Uni lecturers who will be interviewing you. You don't need to spend a fortune.. in fact, from the very start I've been talking out out of spending a fortune. We are far more interested in the images than the folio case they are in... but we do want them well presented, mounted if they are lose prints, and in decent quality sleeves if in a folio. Failure to do this shows a lack of pride and professionalism. Cost is irrelevant... well presented can be done on the cheap.

If you turn up for a job interview in jeans.. it won't go down well will it? Same thing here. We don't expect the folio equivalent of a Savile Row suit... an off the peg job job for peanuts will do... it's the effort you make to be presentable that counts.

All that aside though.... it really, really is about the images and what you say about them.... just show a little pride in yourself and your work.

 

[itsdavedotnet]

wasn't disagreeing really, interesting to see a range of thoughts on the subject

 

[Pookeyhead]

wasn't disagreeing really, interesting to see a range of thoughts on the subject

Spiffing, old chap

 

[DizMatt]

very interesting thread.
I would have thought that in a commercial environment ipads are groovy and people like to feel they working with someone cutting edge
but going for a job with a pro, then they will appreciate printing, even from digital media due to the need to process and colour balance for the screen/printer etc and present their work properly as they have more knowledge of what they're looking for. Just my guess.

 

[Pookeyhead]

very interesting thread.
I would have thought that in a commercial environment ipads are groovy and people like to feel they working with someone cutting edge
but going for a job with a pro, then they will appreciate printing, even from digital media due to the need to process and colour balance for the screen/printer etc and present their work properly as they have more knowledge of what they're looking for. Just my guess.

Depends who, and what work. iPads are used a great deal of course.. for convenience. Some people just also like to view large prints. Both are widely used.