Portfolio advice

If you are thinking about applying for BA (Hons) Photography, we'd like to help you
Photography - girl studying at a desk

What makes a good portfolio?

Please submit a careful selection of your work. Ask advice from current tutors if this is possible. Remember that we are looking for your creative ability and potential, so it is vital to show us how you generate ideas, how you develop projects and how you resolve your final outcomes.

We ask student to submit the following:

1. Sketchbooks or workbooks that demonstrate the starting point of projects and their development. These should contain: your own images with annotated comments; research and analysis of the work of others; indications of how a project develops over its duration (reshoots, rethinking, etc.); ideas about the selection of images from what you’ve made (the editing of your work).

2. Finished images in digital form. Select a range of work, where possible, to show us the range of your experience, abilities and interests.

You can submit your portfolio anytime to artsportfolio@plymouth.ac.uk.

  • Submit your work as digital images only, taken from either original digitally-based work, scans of flat work, or photographs of three-dimensional work.
  • Your portfolio should be a collection of JPEG images saved as either a single compressed file, if JPEG format, OR as a single compressed file or single combined file, if PDF format.
  • Acceptable digital formats are limited to only JPEG or PDF files; we cannot guarantee that we will be able to view work sent in other formats, so please adhere to the guidelines.
  • Online portfolio submissions can also be considered, but please ensure that the files are public and can be viewed by anyone with a link.
  • Once we have received your portfolio it will be referred to our academic admissions tutors. If they think further constructive advice is required then an ‘informal’ interview will be set up by them. Please note this is to support your portfolio development and give you an opportunity to explain your creative process.

Ask, ask and ask

We don’t want the wrong student, and you don’t want to join the wrong course, so please email us at admissions@plymouth.ac.uk with any questions, and we will do our best to answer them.