Photography Portfolio?

kjt

Hey Doug,
Super to hear you know you want to do this so early! I wish I'd have known when doing the LC. What you need to do is start early which it looks like you're doing.

What you need to do is keep a 'learning journal', this is usually a big a4 hardback journal where you

- write/draw all the ideas you have for photo's/photo shoots,
- write gallery reviews (if you go to them)
- print & paste in some of your own photos of where you've experiments (long exposures/ models etc)
- paste in photos of your inspiration, why you like the shot, maybe how you could try recreate the shot

Anything you want to put in but aren't sure where to put it usually goes in the journal. All that you should give in is the learning journal and the prints you want to submit.

Chorcai has some great points, personally I wouldn't put in technical info with every photo. I didn't have one camera setting included in my portfolio. Although if you're a technical person and it works for you, go for it!

If you're coming up to the IADT open day send me a message and I could meetup with you for a bit, bring in my portfolio and possibly ask other classmates who also got in this year so you know what works...?

All the best,
Kyle

Ciara_maire_

Hey, I could really use some help! I'm making a portfolio for IADT.
Is it okay that I'm sending the same one to DIT aswell?
Also, I've gotten myself in such a worry over this journal thing. Do I have to write about each of the 20 photos? and roughly How much am I expected to write? I just don't know where to begin. I would REALLY appreciate any info you can give with regards to the journal.
Thank you.

GhostInTheRuins

Ciara_maire_ wrote: »

Hey, I could really use some help! I'm making a portfolio for IADT.
Is it okay that I'm sending the same one to DIT aswell?
Also, I've gotten myself in such a worry over this journal thing. Do I have to write about each of the 20 photos? and roughly How much am I expected to write? I just don't know where to begin. I would REALLY appreciate any info you can give with regards to the journal.
Thank you.

Yeah of course it's grand that you submit the same one to DIT and IADT. Can't help you with the journal thing though, when I applied I used photos only and not a single written word, and that did me fine.

kjt

Hey Ciara,
Great that you want to do photography!!

You can use the same portfolio for both courses!! I got into IADT this year and it's a super course. With the journal, it's more the ideas you have in your head that they want to see, not all info about the shots. Your thought process as it were. If you have an idea for a photo or a photo shoot, jot it down. Use drawings, magazine cutouts, words, whatever works best for you! I had lots of stickmen as I can't draw. I think I only had 10/15 pages of sketches/writing. Some people in the course had 0 some had 50+

As long as they see you can create and come up with new and interesting ideas, that's all that's needed.

If you have any more questions feel free to shout!

Kyle

Adriatic

Even though I ended up doing a different course altogether, I applied to DIT and IADT with the same portfolio for photography also, I agree with kjt only I also added other shots into the visual journal that were taken the same time as ones that went into the portfolio and talked about the story and ideas for the images to give them information about the final image that went into the portfolio. I had some wacky random art but none related to the images, perhaps that is a downfall. I would've got into IADT only it was my third choice on the CAO but not photography in DIT, they didn't like it. I feel like looking through my portfolio work now.

pauld1

anyone have the submission dates for DIT and IADT this year ?

Ciara_maire_

Thank you so much guys. I appreciate the help. This has really put my mind at ease! I had been writing the thought process of my photo's and very little about the shot itself. I was so sure I'd been doing it really badly but I guess I'll just keep going with what I'm doing
Thanks again!

BrendanRyan

I've been through the delicious DIT system! Theme the **** out of it, although saying that people have got without doing so, they're looking for potential. I had 4 projects when I applied each with about 6 images each, the maximum number could have been different.

If you want one of the lectures to glow with happiness( wanted to say something else) a silverprint portfolio will do the job, silverprint.co.uk , get one A3, you don't need the reality expensive ones just something presentable and pop your prints into the sleeves no mounts, just print them with a mount and stroke the image make sure they're all consistent.

Oh ya as another poster mentioned workbooks are important. If you have research/inspiration clippings jottings on what you thought and so on your in the money, don't worry if you don't they're looking for promise not a finished article.

Good luck
Brendan

JumpingFences

pauld1 wrote: »

anyone have the submission dates for DIT and IADT this year ?

Yep. DIT is the 3rd or the 4th of March, drop it in between 9:30 and 4:40.
Then IADT will give you a time and a date, sometime between the 22nd and the 26th.
=} G'luck.
I'm going for both courses as well, hopefully I'ma get in! =}

Ciara_maire_

Hey guys,
Just wondering whether you have to bring the portfolio into the college personally or can you send it by post?
Any help is appreciated,
Ciara.

GhostInTheRuins

It has to be brought in, can't be posted.

JumpingFences

Ciara_maire_ wrote: »

Hey guys,
Just wondering whether you have to bring the portfolio into the college personally or can you send it by post?
Any help is appreciated,
Ciara.

You don't have to do it personally, but doubt you can post it, seeing as they give you a specific date and time to bring into IADT and seeing as there's only a 2 day margin for DIT, I highly doubt you should post it, but I'm sure you could get a courier. That'll be expensive though.

Scamp-

Sorry for digging up an old thread, but just wondering about Stillorgan College of Further Education.

I got an email saying:

You must have some samples of work you have done in this area ready for the
interview.

Just wondering if it needs to be as formal as DIT or IADT? Obviously I'm not going to throw them a few snapshots in a ball.

But I was thinking about 20 shots in 10"x8" in a folder? I don't know how much of a theme I'll have running through them.

PurpleLuff

Hey, I have a portfolio for DIT photography ready for Friday. But I'm just after reading the requirements again and I completely missed:
"A printed sheet at either the front OR the back of the portfolio should provide image titles and contextual information if appropriate."

Help! Do I just give my photographs names and it'll be okay?
Also, I have a scrapbook to go with my portfolio, will I put them in one pocket/button folder to keep them together or hand them in as they are and just have my details on both?

Getting worried...:(

Ciara_maire_

I never knew about that either. I'm handing mine up tomorrow and thats not it in it!! I don't think they'd take too much marks from me for that or well I'm hoping.....I also have the notebook with the photos named in it. I hope that'll be okay!
I don't think we should panic! As long as you have the photos and the notebook I'd say it'll be grand!

PurpleLuff

Aw really? Phew! At least I'm not the only one
I'm kinda freaking out. I wanted DIT since I was 15, now I'm 19 I really really want it! :P

I have kinda title things under my photos..like as in what theme they are, not individual names. I really suck at titles :P

Are you just handing up the portfolio & workbook as they are or putting them together some how?

JumpingFences

Ehhhh. . . I think the idea of the sheet at the front or back is to write your titles and all that so as to avoid writing the titles under the photos cause, y'know, gthat would kind of take from the photo. I don't mean to send you into a panic the day before you hand it up. But, yeah. . . D=

PurpleLuff

Em...well it doesn't really.. I'm in a photography class and I've always made my prints in the centre of a white A4 with a black boarder and small bit of text underneath.
My photography teacher said it looks professional..

Er...do you think DIT will think otherwise?

JumpingFences

I dunno, I hope for your sake they don't. That was just my reading on it. I'm sure it'll be grand. I doubt they'll deduct marks for something as small as that, as it's something they can easily rectify next year. Y'know?

Ciara_maire_

Aww! I'd really prefer to go to IADT but if I get in to DIT I'll be a happy bunny!
Okay well In my notebook I haven't dealt with each photo in the same order as the portfolio. So, what I'm doing is writing out a table of contents that corresponds to the portfolio on a sheet of paper and I've numbered all of the pages. I think that'll be okay. hope so...

PurpleLuff

Em, crap.. Why are you in DIT JumpingFences?


Oh dears...yeah, my portfolio totally sucks...

BrendanRyan

The Workbook and the photos are indeed the most important parts! The printed sheet is a little important though, it's should act as a kind of index to your portfolio, if you've separated your portfolio into a couple of projects, then just title the projects and write a little someit about it,(single images are just as good as project based portfolio, it don't matter!) contextulization is just tell a bit about the background of the image, perhaps an image title followed by location and date or if there was something unique about the location, set-up etc.

Try and hand everything you have in in one package if you can, just means they won't end up getting separated and therefore not getting seen.

Wouldn't worry to much bout it, it's only an okay course!

Ciara_maire_

Btw, Just wondering how much marks is going for the notebook/scrapbook?
I'm feeling so unconfident about mine! Will I loose much marks?

JumpingFences

Nope. Maybe next year. . . If I don't get IADT! Don't say that! Think positive! I'm sure it's brilliant. I hate it when people can't see their brilliance!
I dunno if they're awarding points for the notebook, more for the portfolio and notebook as a whole.

PurpleLuff

Okay, BrendanRyan, I have three themes and each photo is labelled with their theme by a short line underneath it..
At the front of the portfolio will I have say my 1st theme as a heading and then listed underneath are the names of the photos?
I thought all that explaining stuff about the photos went in the notebook

@JumpingFences thanks! But I am my own worst critic and from reading many threads on this it doesn't seem at all easy to get into DIT... I really need this course this year.. There's nothing else I want to do

pauld1

handing mine in to iadt next week after just picking it up from dit this week .
just wondering i have my images mouted on a3 boards back to back but i have them thin frames over the images .. would i be better offf without ? ?

Ciara_maire_

I just received my email from IADT.
It says ''All items must be labeled with your name and CAO number'' Do they mean each thing in your folder?
I know this is quite a silly question but better safe than sorry and all that.
thanks.

kjt

It's anything that could fall out and be lost. Your portfolio, the journal, sketch pads etc. There shouldn't be too many things though....

Good luck!!

Ciara_maire_

Oh, Okay thanks a lot
Ehrm, This is the last thing I'll ask, I promise! Just wondering whats the best way to get to dun laoghaire from Dublin city centre? I haven't a clue how to get there.

kjt

You can get a 46a bus from town (you can get it from O'Connell St, Trinity college, Lesson st) it will drop you right outside the college. That's the best way to get there