MFA portfolio advice

[jon cocktoe]

Hi Folks,

I ran across some advice regarding portfolios that I think you might be interested in. It's specifically about photography portfolios, but I'd imagine much of what is said would apply to painting or sculpture as well. Here's the link:

http://www.aphotostudent.com/2009/12/16/mfa-application-portfolio-editing/

Have fun editing!

[nathancotephoto]

I had already edited my work down to three separate series before reading that post and i think ill end up leaving it at the three. Maybe i need more development but i dont feel confident enough in 20 images from one series to send them all. What i mean is i have a good 10 strong images from the series i intend to explore with the most fervency and the others i feel dont express where i am wanting to go. Well, there isnt one guaranteed formula, so in a few months ill know if the images succeeded or not!

[jon cocktoe]

I had my portfolio whittled down as well before I read that post. I've got two sets of 10 images, so I think I'll be OK. I've got a whole bunch of portfolios that I was thinking about using, but in the two that I chose, one directly evolved from the other, so even though the images are quite different, the ideas follow along the same thread. I think they're looking for a sort of theoretical cohesiveness, or at least a progression of sorts. I explain my work in further detail in my SOP, which I posted here: http://forum.thegrad...photography-mfa

Hopefully this is good enough, but only time will tell. For now, I'm keeping my fingers crossed. It's so hard to know what people want especially in the arts because it's all so subjective. But I like the advice that the author gives at the end:

"In the past when I tried to second guess what a judging panel might want and I didn’t get accepted or win, I was a lot more disappointed than when I stuck with my own artistic vision. So…stay true to yourself, pick your twenty strongest photos that work together to reveal your interests as an artist and don’t lose any sleep over it."

Good luck!

Edited December 17, 2009 by shutterbug