This is a thought that recently occurred to me and I'm not sure how it would be received.
In addition to the usual architectural portfolio, how would you feel if a potential job candidate included some photography of your firm's buildings in their portfolio? I obviously don't mean using these photos to apply to other firms, but rather photos the candidate went out and shot specifically for applying to your firm. I feel going out and photographing the firm's buildings takes the whole 'research the firm and their work' to a much more personal level...but maybe it's a bit over the top and could come across as brown-nosing.
Photography is a big passion of mine and I feel I'm pretty good at it. I have lots of knowledge in post processing images as well as shooting medium and large format film. After I finish up my M.Arch I think my photography could be a great supplemental skill that I could bring to a firm, perhaps negating the need to hire a professional photographer in some instances.
Input from any firm owners or people who do the hiring would be much appreciated. Last thing I'd want to do is appear to be blowing smoke up your ass.
Not sure what the photos would be used for in the interview. I know what my buildings look like…are you drawing parallels between your work & the prospective firms work? Demonstrating your photography skills? Flattery?
Know this much, my son used photography of area projects by other firms in his interview presentation as a way of talking about design and demonstrate his knowledge on design (didn’t have anything built himself yet to demonstrate)….explained clearly up-front that it wasn’t his work & why he was using the images….got done, the guy sat back and said he was disturbed that my son would misrepresent himself claiming he did work that he didn’t….interview over. Good to think outside the box on interviews, but the idea has to be knucklehead proof.
I would use the photos mainly for the "why do you want to work for us" portion of the interview. At this point I could use them to show aspects of the firm's work I enjoy and hope to learn how to do. For example, if the firm uses lots of interesting connection details with a focus on construction craftsmanship I could show a number of (hopefully professional quality) photos of those detailed connections and explain my intention of learning how to draft CDs depicting such details. Or if I enjoy the firm's approach to context I can show a few photos showing a project within its larger context and explain particular aspects of the design that are similar in intent with a project of mine. Basically the photos would be a visual supplement to my explanation of why I want to work at that particular firm when discussing their work. I could also use it to compare projects in my own portfolio that attempted to do similar things or dealt with similar situations with maybe different (and less successful) results.
A secondary goal would be to show my photography skills that the firm could potentially utilize.
I suppose the best way to go about this would be to have them in a separate mini-portfolio that is presented at this particular point in the interview. Maybe this would be a way to knucklehead proof the idea so I don't fall into a situation similar to your son.
a big part of my portfolio out of school was photos from travels.
interviewer would look at it and comment they didn't remember that Chateaux, Corb habitat, or pyramid that way.....essentially impressed. and btw I feel like I learned a lot about architecture through 35mm
but to your brown-nosing comment....
I worked for a guy in Berlin and I went and photographed his first major project, he was kind of put off and made fun of me - he was like - hey you should of hung off the side of the building - I think he just thought I was stupid for chasing down his work.
They most likely don't need to learn about their work from the job applicants, especially how their work relates to yours, etc. You are complicating the job interview uncomfortably. It looks like a lot of unnecessary effort for a little gain. Most firms are looking for neutral specialists or general help in architecture that fit the job description they want to fill and to get the work done. You don't want to look like a fan but look like a qualifying employee for the job. If you must, inconspicuously sneak a photo of their work in your portfolio section about your photography. That might create a favorable sympathy for you, granted you have the job description qualifications they are looking for.
^^^ Think there is risk of misinterpretation when talking about anybody else’s work…architects are generally prickly on such matters, one wrong word or thought could sink the boat…you are right not to bind them in your portfolio….I wouldn’t even bind them, just loose photos in a folder and only pull one out if needed to explain a thought....then put it away….still generally don’t like the idea.
The fundamental problem with interviews is nobody knows anybody, there is no point of reference so to interpret what someone says or a person's intent…you really don’t know who you are talking to…tell you one thing, somebody that puts my work in my face and starts commenting on it better have his shit together.
Sorry, better to photograph other work of non-competitors and use those.
You should still research and photograph the buildings, just don't bring pictures or mention it in the interview. But when the conversation gets around to them saying, "I did this one project..." You can discuss it coherently with them.
Sounds a little ass kissy to me. I would feel like you are a suck up and instantly stigmatize you as a worker bee ... Just being honest. Some people may like having their ass kissed but I would want someone who I'm paying to have the balls to tell me when something I do sucks... otherwise they have little value to me in any designer role. The picture thing would instantly make me think of you as an obedient worker bee rather than a leader and independent thinker who brings value. Im not trying to sound mean...just giving my honest opinion in hopes that it helps...
Awesome, thanks for the comments everyone! Some really good insights have been brought up. It was something I thought of out of the blue this morning while listening to an Archispeak podcast.
I figured doing this could be taken in a multitude of wrong ways so I'll avoid doing this when the time for job hunting comes around.
May 28, 16 2:20 am ·
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Photographing a firm's work to show at an interview
This is a thought that recently occurred to me and I'm not sure how it would be received.
In addition to the usual architectural portfolio, how would you feel if a potential job candidate included some photography of your firm's buildings in their portfolio? I obviously don't mean using these photos to apply to other firms, but rather photos the candidate went out and shot specifically for applying to your firm. I feel going out and photographing the firm's buildings takes the whole 'research the firm and their work' to a much more personal level...but maybe it's a bit over the top and could come across as brown-nosing.
Photography is a big passion of mine and I feel I'm pretty good at it. I have lots of knowledge in post processing images as well as shooting medium and large format film. After I finish up my M.Arch I think my photography could be a great supplemental skill that I could bring to a firm, perhaps negating the need to hire a professional photographer in some instances.
Input from any firm owners or people who do the hiring would be much appreciated. Last thing I'd want to do is appear to be blowing smoke up your ass.
Not sure what the photos would be used for in the interview. I know what my buildings look like…are you drawing parallels between your work & the prospective firms work? Demonstrating your photography skills? Flattery?
Know this much, my son used photography of area projects by other firms in his interview presentation as a way of talking about design and demonstrate his knowledge on design (didn’t have anything built himself yet to demonstrate)….explained clearly up-front that it wasn’t his work & why he was using the images….got done, the guy sat back and said he was disturbed that my son would misrepresent himself claiming he did work that he didn’t….interview over. Good to think outside the box on interviews, but the idea has to be knucklehead proof.
Carrera: Thanks for the insight!
I would use the photos mainly for the "why do you want to work for us" portion of the interview. At this point I could use them to show aspects of the firm's work I enjoy and hope to learn how to do. For example, if the firm uses lots of interesting connection details with a focus on construction craftsmanship I could show a number of (hopefully professional quality) photos of those detailed connections and explain my intention of learning how to draft CDs depicting such details. Or if I enjoy the firm's approach to context I can show a few photos showing a project within its larger context and explain particular aspects of the design that are similar in intent with a project of mine. Basically the photos would be a visual supplement to my explanation of why I want to work at that particular firm when discussing their work. I could also use it to compare projects in my own portfolio that attempted to do similar things or dealt with similar situations with maybe different (and less successful) results.
A secondary goal would be to show my photography skills that the firm could potentially utilize.
I suppose the best way to go about this would be to have them in a separate mini-portfolio that is presented at this particular point in the interview. Maybe this would be a way to knucklehead proof the idea so I don't fall into a situation similar to your son.
a big part of my portfolio out of school was photos from travels.
interviewer would look at it and comment they didn't remember that Chateaux, Corb habitat, or pyramid that way.....essentially impressed. and btw I feel like I learned a lot about architecture through 35mm
but to your brown-nosing comment....
I worked for a guy in Berlin and I went and photographed his first major project, he was kind of put off and made fun of me - he was like - hey you should of hung off the side of the building - I think he just thought I was stupid for chasing down his work.
They most likely don't need to learn about their work from the job applicants, especially how their work relates to yours, etc. You are complicating the job interview uncomfortably. It looks like a lot of unnecessary effort for a little gain. Most firms are looking for neutral specialists or general help in architecture that fit the job description they want to fill and to get the work done. You don't want to look like a fan but look like a qualifying employee for the job. If you must, inconspicuously sneak a photo of their work in your portfolio section about your photography. That might create a favorable sympathy for you, granted you have the job description qualifications they are looking for.
^+++
^^^ Think there is risk of misinterpretation when talking about anybody else’s work…architects are generally prickly on such matters, one wrong word or thought could sink the boat…you are right not to bind them in your portfolio….I wouldn’t even bind them, just loose photos in a folder and only pull one out if needed to explain a thought....then put it away….still generally don’t like the idea.
The fundamental problem with interviews is nobody knows anybody, there is no point of reference so to interpret what someone says or a person's intent…you really don’t know who you are talking to…tell you one thing, somebody that puts my work in my face and starts commenting on it better have his shit together.
Sorry, better to photograph other work of non-competitors and use those.
show your ability as a photographer if you're applying for a job as a photographer.
show your ability as an architect if you're applying for a job as an architect.
You should still research and photograph the buildings, just don't bring pictures or mention it in the interview. But when the conversation gets around to them saying, "I did this one project..." You can discuss it coherently with them.
photography means nothing if your real work is crap.
Sounds a little ass kissy to me. I would feel like you are a suck up and instantly stigmatize you as a worker bee ... Just being honest. Some people may like having their ass kissed but I would want someone who I'm paying to have the balls to tell me when something I do sucks... otherwise they have little value to me in any designer role. The picture thing would instantly make me think of you as an obedient worker bee rather than a leader and independent thinker who brings value. Im not trying to sound mean...just giving my honest opinion in hopes that it helps...
Awesome, thanks for the comments everyone! Some really good insights have been brought up. It was something I thought of out of the blue this morning while listening to an Archispeak podcast.
I figured doing this could be taken in a multitude of wrong ways so I'll avoid doing this when the time for job hunting comes around.
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