I'd include the drawings only.

it's very difficult to gauge from a flickr set. i don't think we can properly judge your work without it being put together in a book. you have a cohesive set of images that have the potential to tell a pretty great story, if done right. i dig the guerilla-style photography and want to see more of it. that bremen 027 pic is great and to me it's connected in many ways to your new orleans shots. it might be interesting to do research on the two cities, couple that with your own experience, and represent those idea through more sketches and picture studies. it could potentially bring about a deeper understanding of your personal journey--the path that brought you to those places and has helped guide you to where you are now. beyond just doing this for your portfolio, the whole process seems very therapeutic to me.

i disagree with aemkei. if anything, i'd take more pictures. just make sure that you're strategically cropping them.

Hmmm. Maybe archinect should make a central tread for crits and reviews. Seems like my portfolio topic started a tread (and showed me that I need to get better at graphic design lol)

Well, since you asked:

While the images are of interesting subjects worth engaging long conversation, they seem a bit point-and-shoot like… as if a tourist took them… I would encourage photographs that are composed better.

If you know what you want to study (specifically in the field of architecture) then include images that speak more directly to that topic. Tell a story about yourself/your interests through your portfolio.

Depending on the school(s) you are applying to, it could matter greatly how you ‘package’ yourself for the particular program; especially with NO architecture background… Tell a story about yourself/your interests through your portfolio.


good luck!

while those looking at a portfolio for admissions may see the merit of photos of dilapidated buildings, it all seems a cliche.

I agree with city, the images are a bit point and shoot. Photographs with better composition would be better suited. The sketches are nice and will be beneficial, I would be interested to see how you plan to put the whole thing together.

The first point you might want to address is that in some of the photos I'm not sure if you're documenting your own work, or someone else's. You want to make sure that if you're using a photo with art in it (as in bremen 027, bremen 031) you are explicit about whether it is yours or not.

Though the images are 'a bit point and shoot' you took them for a reason, and I suspect that you were selective about what you've included in this flickr set. Explain that. What all schools will tell you is that a finished product (whether it is a photo, painting, sketch etc.) is one thing. Showing a finished product with an explanation of why you completed it is another. I think your photography is important because it's how YOU see things. So, why did you take the photos? Why are they worth looking at?

I love the sketch work. I think you're expressive and you have a good sense of light. However, don't use all of them. If you think there are 5 pieces that really express what you think your strengths are, then only include those, but don't dilute quality with quantity.

i was under the impression the wall art was yours. that is not the case?

mr. bojangles has a good point. if you can tell a story the photos could be interesting, but maybe not on their own. drawings are nice.

for me a portfolio needs to tell a story, have a narrative of sorts. express who the person is that does the work (and as i have mentioned elsewhere, should not just show what a professor wanted you to do)...but then i like to know about personality as much as ability when i look at a portfolio. (for me) polish without the spit is just boring...

your work has characer...if you can fit the work together in a cool way almost anything you want to include is fair game. the hard part is in making a narrative where that works.

thanks a lot for all the feedback. i know the photos are pretty much point and shoot.... i've never been great at composing photos. i was including them more for what they were of than the actual photo, but i guess the photo will need to look better since it is an art portfolio. maybe i can crop them now that i've taken them. i have more art work but the drawings i have up already were all easily scanable so i just put them up.

i have these drawings i made in sketchup. i have no architecture background (if that isn't obvious from looking at these), but i've messed around with sketchup so i figured i could include these and use the sketch styles instead of real world styles and then they would be more like sketch drawings instead of amateurish architectural drawings. still a bad idea or would it be ok to include these with a proper explanation? or maybe work on them or new ones because these are kind of simple?

http://flickr.com/photos/lisalettucestack/2010075833/

http://flickr.com/photos/lisalettucestack/2010874100/in/photostream/

i don't think you need to show architectural ability when applying to archi-school so the sketchup works are not necesary. it is great tht you are playing with the software but unless there is an intention behind the piece may not be an easy sell...

I have a question - Bremen 21 has a problem i frequently think about - it's not straight. It's actually goddamn crooked. However, that's part of the composition. I never do that, even when I want to. Am I just being lame, or will people really judge us for it???

I like your work very much. I would try to scan'em in to photoshop or something and get a few of them some white space - I think they would be very striking with a little breathing room, and would contrast very well with the business and energy of the full page sketches...

totally responding way after the fact.

i like the tilt, but it's my photo and i am so not a photographer, so i don't know how useful my opinion is.

thanks for liking my work! and the advice.

also when i was looking to see which one bremen 21 was, i looked at the one i titled violinists and realized violins are not that big. is that a cello? anyone know?

Looks like a cello to me. Violins rest on your shoulder.

I think it's a bassist...it's almost as tall as the person, and it looks like he's holding the bow like a bassist would as well