Folio Review

The folio review went well! At first I was nervous because I knew I didn't have a lot of work to show and hadn't given my portfolio much thought if the professionals were to ask questions. However we were with 3 really lovely professionals who made us feel relaxed and easy to speak to. 

I picked up whilst the professionals were talking to the others in the group that when we go to our interviews with our portfolios we needed to be confident. We need to be able to talk about each one of our images with confidence if we are asked to talk about it. There doesn't necessarily need to be a reason behind why you took that photo but more interest into the subject of it. This was useful to know because like they mentioned sometimes you just take a photo because you like the scenery or the person. But having a few extra words to talk about it looks good. Also when talking about our work we need to be positive about it. If we can't talk positive about the images we are presenting then don't stick them in the portfolio. 

We spoke a little about portfolios, what some of us had in mind and some options to consider. Most of us had said we were doing books, however the professionals preferred boxes. A box requires gloves and the images need to be handled. That gives the viewer more of an experience and encourages them to spend more time looking at the images. They can present them how they want by laying them out and seeing all of the images as a whole rather than individually in a book. I quite liked the way they put that through for us and has made me now consider a box. 

With the portfolio, whether box or book, I should think about putting in gaps. Either thin, paper sheets to separate them in a box or blank pages within the book to give the viewer more time to think about each image. It would also feel like a photo album in some sense to fit in with the concept of my work. 

When it came round to presenting my work to the professionals they really liked my work. They went back to the portfolio boxes and mentioned how unique it would be to present my work in a folder to imply this photo album feel or a box to also imply an idea of a memory box. The ideas were great and has given me more to think about. I need to consider the colour of the box/book as it should compliment my work. 

They asked what I had planned for the future. I said that I was unsure, but wanted to apply my photographic practise somewhere within my future career if possible. They mentioned how my work can raise awareness and become advertisement. I have thought about this before and included it within BA3a when I needed to talk about the context of my practice. However I'm not sure whether that is a route I want to go down. They also mentioned wedding photography. I always thought I would be a wedding photographer but after a couple of experiences I really disliked the pressure. 

Just a few bits of feedback about the work I am creating... One of the professionals mentioned that the images that I presented, mostly from BA3a, needed to be boosted in colour. I need to bring more warmth into the images. I should be using tethering to capture the sharpness in the right areas. 

As of exhibition they mentioned that the way I had presented the smaller images for the folio review reminded them of postcards. This is something that I could do for the exhibition as something extra for people to take away with them. The work on them may be a bit too personal to give away as postcards but within my current work I'm planning on capturing landscapes and still life so perhaps they could work better on postcards.