Can you guys critique my website/portfolio of my large format photography work?

[manfrominternet]

Just a neutral question so don't get me wrong: do you mean your website or your photography. (I like your photography more than your website.)

Either/or. I'm not particularly fond of my website and have already made some changes to it, getting rid of the superfluous parts like the equipment, resources, and FAQ pages. It's now a bit more streamlined. I'm definitely glad that you like the work more than the website, so that's a win in my book.

[manfrominternet]

Lots of photographers did quite well without ever having people in their photos -- and I don't mean just portraiture. But it's a good idea to have experience with people in your photos -- and I don't mean just portraiture.

But being shy can actually be an advantage for you. Being a student -- who needs subjects -- you have the perfect excuse to ask anyone for help -- just as you asked us! Just ask ANYONE if you can take their portrait -- NOT "picture". Just tell them you need practice, and that they are a GREAT subject. MOST people are flattered when they are told this -- and most agree to help. It's a WIN-WIN.

And, believe me, you will probably meet some very nice people, make some friends, and become less shy -- a WIN-WIN-WIN!!!

And -- keep this in mind -- I suspect the admission team will want to see some "people" work!!! Don't make every picture the same. They will want to see what you can do with a variety of subjects. Add some close-up shots -- bowls of fruit, flowers, insects, nature, animals, high grain, soft-focus, a little bit of everything -- AND SOME B&W. They will want to see your ability and flexibility -- that translates into creativity.

Many thanks for your encouragement! I haven't thought of photographing people the way you have described it, so I'm really glad that you mentioned basically how to do it word for word. I'll definitely push myself out of my comfort zone this year and photograph with much more variety.

[manfrominternet]

I feel almost nervous about critiquing, because I don't have teaching experience or MFA credentials, just 50+ years of photographing and looking at photographs. I think you have a strong personal vision, and therefore disagree with comments about adding people or changing foreground/background relationships. Art is your vision, not ours. I found myself drawn to your images, which is my measure of "good" photography; works that I walk or scan past quickly are my measure of "weak" photography. At a glance one might say the work is mundane, just buildings. But to me the work is about light and geometry, and while my first thought was about Stephen Shore and his pictures which were largely about mundane scenes, your vision is nothing like his, but equally worth viewing. Good luck with your applications!

Hi Peter,

Thank you so much for your kind words of encouragement. One of my advisors told me almost verbatim the same that art should be your vision, not necessarily what you think eveyone else will like. I fully accept that many - if not most - people will not like my work; I'm not making this work for those people. I making it for people like you who 'get it'. I occasionally like to remind myself that people nearly had a meltdown when they first saw William Eggleston's work for the first time at MOMA and absolutely loathed his work. Now he's one of the absolute giants of art photography. Anyway, I want to thank you so much again for your kind and thoughtful words. I really appreciate it.

[manfrominternet]

Your biography indicates you've been to photographic school at UCLA and have had substantial work experience in the photographic industry, Hollywood, art, professional portraiture, etc. So where does that experience and your desires want to take you? Wouldn't your experience give some indications of what your next job should be or at least the area you wish to work in. Have you looked for other work based on your actual photographic experience? That might take you off into related or unrelated areas you haven't thought about. It could be very exciting and you shouldn't be afraid to try something new while expanding on your experience.

I guess my question is, why do you want to take this course? Is it going to advance your career? Is it an abstraction to getting on with your life? Are you procrastinating? Sorry to be so blunt. But that's what I'm picking up from your biography and lack of plans. You're 37 years old so you have a substantial work and photographic school history. Is more school going to do anything for you? Why do you want to go?

Hi Alan,

You bring up very good points, all completely valid. No need for any apologies. There's a bit of truth to all of it, but ultimately I feel like an MFA program (from a 'reputable' school) would open doors to galleries that would otherwise be closed. I suppose I can make it just on my NYU Film & Television degree, but I'm not 100% on that. While I'm sure that Gagosian, Hauser & Wirth, Yancey Richardson, or David Zwirner won't be banging down my studio door anytime soon, I think an MFA would give me a good leg up, but of course, I'm not 100% on that either. I suppose the best way I can describe it is that it feels like the natural progression forward.

[manfrominternet]

Hi Kris

Nice work!
The only thing I'd suggest you edit your submission, first down to 20 images, then work with someone whose editing and taste you trust and edit it down more, and be brutal, don't repeat images (hard edit). I can't really speak to the programs you are applying to. Im guessing you have written aspects of the submission, make sure they connect well to your work, and your statement makes sense. A lot of people have all sorts of things they talk about in their statements, and studio practice &c and they aren't reflected in the work submitted.

Good luck/ have fun !

John

Hi John,

Thanks for the advice and kind words! I also think I need to be a little more brutal about whittling down the amount of images and definitely not repeat any images. (There are actually quite a few repeats in my work, so I'm glad you mentioned it. Now that I'm cognizant of it, I'll definitely be doing a bit of hard trimming.)

[otto.f]

Either/or. I'm not particularly fond of my website and have already made some changes to it, getting rid of the superfluous parts like the equipment, resources, and FAQ pages. It's now a bit more streamlined. I'm definitely glad that you like the work more than the website, so that's a win in my book.

I'm not a fan of long texts in photoforums because I don't read them myself, so 5 lines is enough. So just a short addition to what I find: there's definitely a theme in your pictures and it would be lame to verbalize it. But there are certainly a few images in the series that would not be very intriguing as a standalone photo, but are a sort of hangers-on because they could be interpreted within this theme. If I were you, which I'm not, I would skip these joiners.

[Alan Klein]

Hi Alan,

You bring up very good points, all completely valid. No need for any apologies. There's a bit of truth to all of it, but ultimately I feel like an MFA program (from a 'reputable' school) would open doors to galleries that would otherwise be closed. I suppose I can make it just on my NYU Film & Television degree, but I'm not 100% on that. While I'm sure that Gagosian, Hauser & Wirth, Yancey Richardson, or David Zwirner won't be banging down my studio door anytime soon, I think an MFA would give me a good leg up, but of course, I'm not 100% on that either. I suppose the best way I can describe it is that it feels like the natural progression forward.

Well, then go for it. One suggestion. When you take your MFA courses, include business courses as well. Learning a little about sales, marketing, finances, accounting, etc. will become very important if you start your own business. I know it was when I had my business. Many new business people fail not because they don't know their trade. It's because they get into trouble on the business end. So a little preparation and knowledge there is important as well to be well-rounded. Good luck. And let us know how you're making out.

[bmikiten]

I think Kris has gotten some good critique so far and much of it has been consistent. I like this group because most of the people are respectful and the answers balanced across the board.

[Oren Grad]

Eyeballing a few of the websites of the prestige programs you've identified... looks like the cost of this lottery ticket is north of $150,000, plus of course the opportunity cost of two years of alternative activity forgone. I'd want to have a much clearer, evidence- rather than intuition-based sense of how much it will improve the odds of achieving whatever outcomes you seek.

[Pieter]

One of the advantages of attending higher education institutions is networking. You will meet and be exposed to people you might not run into in ordinary situations. Take advantage of those connections. In today's world, it is unlikely you would be able to just walk into (or schedule an appointment) with a reputable gallery or museum and be able to show your work. That is where your credentials and network comes in.