3.2 Documenting Your Process

Show the journey

Document not just finished pieces but your process — experiments, studies, revisions, and dead ends. This evidence shows how your inquiry drives the work.

Photographing artwork

Photograph work with even lighting, true color, and no glare or distortion. Good documentation is essential — the portfolio is judged from images.

Details & progress

Include detail shots and in-progress images where they reveal technique or development. Presentation quality affects how your work reads.

Key terms

Document process

experiments, studies, revisions, dead ends

Photographing art

even lighting, true color, no glare/distortion

Judged from images

the portfolio is scored from submitted photos

Detail shots

reveal technique where helpful

Presentation quality

affects how the work reads to scorers

Try an AP-style question

Documenting drawing process can include…

1. essays about art history
2. sketches, studies, and in-progress photos
3. receipts for the art supplies
4. finished drawings and nothing else