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

[xkaes]

I do also think I need to add more people to my work, but I'm painfully shy (hence there are barely any people in my work). I'll certainly heed your advice and keep all that in mind going forward!

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.

[Peter Lewin]

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!

[Alan Klein]

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?

[xkaes]

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?

Excellent point. This is what Admissions will want to know -- Why here? Why now? What will you get out of it -- and what will we get out of it (I don't mean tuition!).

It's nice to set your goals high -- "Yale, Stanford..". Harvard gets about 60,000 applicants every year. About 2,000 get accepted. Are the other 58,000 losers? Far from it. FYI, about half of Harvard "freshmen" had parents that graduated from Harvard -- no kidding. It's pretty much the same at "Yale, Stanford..".

[jnantz]

Hello friends,

I'm considering applying to an MFA photography program this upcoming fall, but am not sure if my works are good or strong enough, so I would like to defer to you experienced experts to see where you think I stand. The great majority of the work was made with my Linhof Technikardan 45S, however, a few were shot with my Pentax 67II and Fuji GW690III. Here's the link to my website:

kristianwolfe.com

Any suggestions, comments, and/or critiques would be greatly appreciated. Many thanks for your time and taking a look!

-Kris

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

[Andrew O'Neill]

Your work is fine. Just make sure you are up on the Art Speak BS. Took me four years of a BFA, before I was fluent at that.

[xkaes]

Our first assignment in my first Design class in the Art Department was to "Draw a line" -- without any requirements or explanation.

Of course, everyone returned for the next class with their "line". Then we had to "explain" our line to the class -- again without any requirements or explanation.

It took me quite a while to figure out what the professor was trying to accomplish!!! But it worked.

[Pieter]

My 2 cents: the majority of the images are quite good and strong. However, there are a couple that stand out as not belonging to the group: the shower head and industrial interiors, the photos being installed, for example. Also, you artist's statement could use some editing, I want to know why you take picture, what motivates you and certainly not the fact that you may have manipulated them to produce the effect you want. I assume you have been to a portfolio review or two (not cheap, but cheaper than the tuition at the schools you've mentioned). Actually, maybe you don't necessarily need to attend school if you can motivate yourself to produce and evolve more of what you're already doing. Why do you feel you need an MFA? To teach? To sell or get into galleries? Today, a degree in photography doesn't open too many doors outside the academic world. Also, I would lose the "Works" page on your website that lists the titles and locations of the photos--it is misleading. They're already there with the photos, just add the year. And unless this issue also a resumé to get a job, no-one cares about your skills (or your equipment, listed separately) listed under "Resources," they should be apparent from the photos. Better if you have a list of shows and if you have been published anywhere, physically or online.

[h2oman]

I will echo some of the previous comments and, like some others, offer unsolicited advice. To give some context, my background is amateur photographer, retired college prof, with the degree required to get that job.

First, I taught a lot of students whose degrees opened the doors for incredible jobs, and others who left school to low-paying jobs they could have gotten without a degree. In both categories, most had a fair amount of debt when they were done, which is a load those in the latter category may never get out from under. As far as those successful in finding satisfying and financially rewarding careers, it should be noted that I was at a technical college. Those students were getting degrees in engineering, surveying, computer tech, medical imaging, dental hygiene, etc.

Second, when I was in grad school, the profs and the program were VERY negligent in preparing us for what we would do when we got out. I had enough previous life experience to read between the lines and parlay my experience into a rewarding career, but it was several notches in glamor below what most of my fellow students thought they would be doing after graduating. I actually thought that the faculty were almost purposely negligent in their neglect to talk about post-graduation expectations. If they had done that, about half the students would have probably left, causing some of the faculty to lose their jobs!

The last two paragraphs are simply reiterating what others have said: Why do you want an MFA? What do you expect it will do for you, and will it really do that?

I like much of your photography - the lack of near/far compositions is no problem for me. I like the sort of more formal style and think it is appropriate for the subject matter. But don't take too much stock in my critique, as I am not nearly as accomplished as some of the others here. Also, regarding people in your photos, I don't think your photographs are about people in an individual sense, but more about humanity and its constructions, so I feel it is appropriate that they don't contain people. After thinking about this a bit, I thought of two photographers who do have MFA degrees, Eliot Dudik and Brian Schutmaat. They have projects that combine human altered landscapes and people, both. But the kinds of landscapes that they photograph seem appropriate for combining with portraits of the inhabitants of those landscapes, and I'm not sure your sort of work would benefit from that. You might look at both of their web pages, though, as they might provide good insight as to what is appropriate for the world you are looking to enter.

I do have some strong feelings about the web page. At the home page I'd put a large version of one strong image, or a slide show of several of them. Move all the thumbnails to "Works, " and get rid of the list, as Pieter suggested. That is where I would expect to see actual images, rather than a list. Then you might organize your work into two or three broader categories, like maybe "Industrial Exteriors," Abstracts," etc. I too believe that there are a few weaker images that should be jettisoned, and maybe some that don't fit well with the others, that could be eliminated.

For my tastes, the pages with text are a bit TMI. I'd get rid of both "Resources" and "My Equipment" entirely. Experienced photographers know all about gear, software, etc., and have their own established preferences. Non-photographers won't care, and might see it as too much tech-talk. And do you realize that where you listed artists/photographers who have influenced you, you have listed 67 names? I don't think anyone wants to wade through that list...

Take that last paragraph with a grain of salt. I'm a fan of Antoine de Saint-Exuperay: "Perfection is attained not when there is nothing more to add, but when there is nothing left to take away," but it could be that the folks looking at your application materials will love excess. I was on a hiring committee once, and couldn't bring myself to finish reading a lengthy, flowery statement of teaching philosophy. When the committee met to discuss the candidate, one of the other members said they loved it! Of course, they were in the English department, and I was in the math department. Everyone laughed when I started voicing my opinion with "In math, we prize brevity..."

Last of all, good luck! I think you are a fine photographer, and just need to hone your focus and message a little if you want to enter the world of "serious" photography.

[Drew Wiley]

It's kinda hard to critique prints per se over the web. Your genre is extremely SoCal 70's-ish. There's nothing necessarily wrong with that, and it just depends on what pushes people's buttons or not. Right person, and you might land an open door, wrong person, just one more "move along" and try someone else next. I suspect many of us have been down that path at one time or another, so don't let it discourage you if it happens.

My personal philosophy is to do the kind of work which feels good to me personally, and not worry about the opinions of others. That's always worked for me; but I never applied to any kind of formal educational art venue either. Avoided that trap, but soon got snatched up by some serious gallery representation anyway. Just get progressively better at what you already find rewarding; and as the dust begins settling, see if an academic art career path is relevant for you or not. And don't be afraid to shake up your own style from time to time if that is what you find rewarding.