Artist Statement

Basically a statement is a 100-200 word piece of writing which acts as an introduction to your practice as a whole highlighting the common ideas, motivations and process of the work.

- It is best to write in 3rd person rather than 1st person, so that the statement can be taken without editing for press releases and other materials.

- Don't use unnecessarily technical or complicated terms to describe your work/ideas.
- Talk about the physical aspects of the work as well as the conceptual ideas.
- Be objective and clear when talking about the work rather than expressing your personal opinions about it.
- Discuss the medium you work in - does it link to the project concepts in some way?
- Is there a particular intention behind your work? Do you want it to have a particular effect on viewers?
- What social concerns or issues motivate your work?
- Don't include information about past career achievements or other biographical information.

Bulletpoints took from Artquest, which I found through research on google. 

Rhys Clarke is a British documentary photographer. His work focuses on the individual and is the voice of the middle man. He wants to create justice and to appeal to those who can make a change. Rhys' work is not just art but a creation of what is happening around him, therefore a story, a story manifested through photography. 

Below are some different ideas of what people say in there own personal statements, of which I have been researching and gathering ideas from: 

CV writing

An important part of job searching is having a good CV available at all times with updated information showing the client or employer what you have achieved and been up to before applying for the job. Therefore I have decided to look over my current CV too see what needs changing to make it more suitable for where I am currently standing. Before changing my CV to my requirements I decided to look at some good and bad examples of CV's so I can alter any bad points of my current CV.

The two CV's you see above are very different in many ways. The bad CV have bare minimum information and looks unprofessional and untidy. You can see how the CV's vary from the yellow notes at the side. Taking these notes into consideration I started to look over my own CV to see if anything needed changing. To my disbelieve not much did, other than the fact I have been attending university for the past three years, which I added on. This bit still needs finishing though, but at the moment I do not know what grade I shall receive, if any. Here is my current CV: 

Rhys Clarke

33 Moss Lane, Cadishead, M44 5DE

Home: 0161 775 6728 Mobile: 07758209026

Email: rhysc_2k6@hotmail.co.uk

Personal Details 

Languages:  English Nationality:  British Health: Excellent

Profile 

I have recently just finished university, I am a enthusiastic and motivated person. As an effective team player I have strong communication skills and I am able to adapt my communication style to the needs of my professional or social environment. I am quick to grasp new ideas and concepts and to develop innovative and creative solutions to problems. I am able to work well on my own initiative and can demonstrate the high levels of motivation required to meet the tightest of deadlines. Even under significant pressure, I possess a strong ability to perform effectively. I have excellent interpersonal skills, accurate organizational ability and an aptitude to pick up new skills to an exceptional standard. 

Objective 

I am looking to find full time work in a retail environment. I am looking for full time work to support myself financially throughout my studying and also gain good experience in the industry I look to work in, hopefully developing myself further and introducing further employment opportunities. 

Education 

GCSE’s      Subject                                Grade 

                   English                                   C

                   Maths                                     C

                   BTEC Science                     Pass

                   Media                                     B

                   Resistant materials                C

                   ICT                                         B

                   Geography                             C

                   History                                   C

Zenos IT:

CompTIA N+       PASS

CompTIA A+       PASS

Advanced Apprenticeship for IT & Telecoms Professionals  PASS

2011-2014 University of Salford BA (Hons) Photography

I studied my GCSE’s at Culcheth High School in Culcheth, Warrington 

Culcheth High School

Withington Road

Culcheth 

WA3 4JQ

Career Summary 

November 2009 - January 2010         Makro 

Between November to January I undertook the role as an sales assistant at Makro. This was a temporary role. This role is predominantly customer service however also involves stock replenishments, merchandising, cash handling and security. The role i was undertaking was on the seasonal department. 

July 2010 - October 2010                   Bank Fashion 

Between July to October I undertook the role as an sales assistant at Bank. This was part time work. The role consisted of customer service, stock replenishment, stock taking, security and standards of the store. 

June 2008                                         Carphone Warehouse 

I participated of 1 week work experience within Carphone Warehouse. Whilst there, i was involved in the daily running of the department including: programme installing, database work and rearranging of stock. This work placement helped me gain problem solving skills and to improve my communication skills within a team and also as an individual. 

September 2010                               Zenos

I have recently finished undertaking an IT apprenticeship at Zenos. When at Zenos my main role’s consisted of finishing assignments to there required deadlines, undertaking examinations to gain my CompTIA A+, Microsoft qualifications. This line of work helped me to gain time keeping skills, punctuality and communication skills.  

Interests & Activities 

I am primarily interested in Fashion, sports and socializing, however I also enjoy music (particularly live), reading and many more activities. 

References: 

available on request

Contacting Companies - Job Search

When I leave University I am going to need a job in order to support myself and my career path. Therefore I have been searching into jobs that evolve around photography. The jobs I have been looking for do not have to be photographing but something that can bring in an income as well as being around photography. Therefore I have looked at jobs within Canon. 

Canon have a wide range of job opportunities including accounting to warehouse worker. All are useful for a student just leaving University. As you can see, under the 'Select job level' category there is an option for Graduate/internship programs. 

"Deciding what to do after college or university can be a daunting task, so our Graduate and Internship Programmes are designed to provide you with the experience you need to develop your career in your chosen discipline.

Programme Our Graduate and Internship Programme is currently closed, but register on our careers site and select Graduate or Entry level to receive emails when it reopens"  Sadly the program isn't running at the moment but there is an opportunity for you to register if you wish.

Revised PDP

I have recently been thinking about other subjects I am struggling with at the moment. Due to my university life coming to a close very soon I have decided on adding development skills which are mostly based on life after University. Therefore I have revisited my PDP and added a couple more developments I must work on before leaving University. The two developments are: Portfolio and Further Study.

I chose these two developments on the facts that I do not have a very good portfolio at the moment, I have the work to put into it but no real thought has come of making one. Further Study isn't something I intend on doing when I leave university but I thought it would be best to have a plan B.

Here is my revised PDP (Still open to further development):

Photo Competitions

Considering one of my development skills was too enter competitions I went on the search for a site which holds events often. I came across a competition being held by The Guardian. The competition consists of different categories for each month of the year. This month being May, the competition is to photograph 'wild'. On peoples travel's they must photograph what they consider 'wild'.

"Have camera, will travel? Then Guardian Travel's annual photography competition is for you. It's an opportunity for you to capture the essence of your journeys around the world, and for us to showcase your work online and – at the end of the year – in an exhibition at Guardian HQ" 

• February: street life
• March: architecture
• April: spring
• May: wild
• June: solitude
• July: beach
• August: festivals
• September: the great outdoors
• October: road trips
• November: work
• December: colour

Here are the categories for the entire year. Luckily enough 'solitude' is next month, considering I have just done an entire project on that particular category I have decided I will enter a photograph from my final major project. I cannot enter beforehand but I have considered which photograph I will use: 

I love the idea of this competition It is my intention to work on the other months. It is not only for the competition, but sites like these allow for your work to be noticed by others which is always a good thing for a photographer. 

Portfolio Practice

Considering one of my new PDP targets was to create my own portfolio I decided it would be a good to create a rough digital portfolio on a website called My Carbon Made. My Carbon Made is a free to use portfolio creator, although you do not have access to all the mechanics I would like, it is a quick and easy way to share your work with others. I would not, however, use this site for my final portfolio but it gives me an idea of how a digital portfolio can look and how they present your work. It was interesting to see how your work looks within a portfolio, although I didn't add the entirety of my photographic library, only adding my final major project, it was eye opening to see how it could look.

Above shows how easy the portfolio was to make, a simple add and update scenario. Also shown is how a couple of my images look in the portfolio creator. Although not the most 'pretty' looking portfolio I have seen, it brings across my work well. 

The importance of a good Portfolio

A massive part of a photographers arsenal is there portfolio. A portfolio practically sums up the photographers body of work. It is one of the main sources a client will look upon in order to see if they are choosing the right person for the job. The portfolio is the main medium in which to show the work you've created. A true portfolio is a collection of your best works, which are categorised, arranged and presented in an organised manner. I have found a website offering some tips in created a good portfolio: 

Know your audience

When making your collection of photos, stop and think about your target audience. Who is going to be looking at these the most? By specifying a certain demographic, you can alter your portfolio to fit their specific interests.

Show only your best
A portfolio is a medium to display your best photos. It shouldn't be a place to vent your emotions, but rather to show off those pictures that are especially well done.

Put them in order
Instead of randomly throwing photos in your portfolio, it's best for your audience if they're in some type of logical order. They can be grouped together by concept, format or even chronologically. It's also best to pay special attention to your first and last photo, as those are most often the most memorable.

The first and last pointers of these three key factors of creating a portfolio were something I hadn't thought about in the past when attempting to create my own portfolio. Knowing your audience is a key part in making a client trust your abilities in the types of photography they are looking for. Also putting the work in order never past my mind before. I thought a portfolio was work placed in a folder for people to view and see whether they like it or not. 

There are two different types of portfolio: Printed or digital. It is important to have both, but in the ever growing world of the internet a digital portfolio can manage to show the world your work which may lead to new clients which would never of viewed it if it was printed.