BA (Hons) Photography portfolio guide
The course allows you to master traditional and modern photography approaches alongside multidimensional technologies such as CGI and photogrammetry.
A strong interest and ability in photography, design and visual research skills are qualities you will need, as well as a desire to learn the traditional and digital making skills required on the course.
What to expect
Your digital portfolio should showcase the depth and breadth of your creative ability, idea generation and development, while demonstrating an enthusiasm for the course and subject area.
To supplement the images you submit, we’d recommend either including a supporting statement or annotations alongside each of your images.
Our preference would be for your portfolio to be presented as a PDF. If you create this as a powerpoint presentation, it allows you to add text boxes to annotate your work. This can then be converted easily into a PDF to reduce file size.
What to include in your portfolio
The work in your portfolio can be produced as part of a formal course of study or evening class, or anything you have produced independently.
The work contained within your portfolio can be produced as part of a formal course of study or evening class, or anything you have produced independently.
Please include the following elements:
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20 photographs - please include a number of images for each project you have produced and add a short description with each image. If they were produced in response to a brief, please include a description of this. You should include notes on books, articles, relevant exhibitions or cultural visits that have influenced your work.
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10 images of workbooks relating to finished work - please include pages that relate directly to your projects, and pages that evidence research you’ve undertaken into other sources such as practitioners, writers and exhibitions. We want to see evidence of the development of your projects and what research has informed this.
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A supporting statement or annotations alongside each of your images.
What we're looking for
We’re looking for your portfolio to demonstrate your:
- understanding of photography as a subject and its wider social context
- ability to express your creative process and decision making
- ability to reflect on what is, and is not, successful about your work
- interest in the history of art, contemporary culture, critical theory and media studies
- enthusiasm and commitment to study photography at university level
We want you to demonstrate a creative approach to photography that evidences strong visual communication skills.
Your portfolio should show evidence of:
- enquiry, research and observations
- ability to come up with creative ideas and solutions
- ability to conduct research to help with the development of your work
- experimental work
- a good level of technical skill (traditional and/or digital)
- an ability to select and present a range of work to a high standard
After you apply for an undergraduate course
Once you've applied for university, there's still lots you can do while you wait for a decision on your application.