This page will feature particular examples of students' sketchbooks with a short commentary. We are not advocating any one way of creating evidence. We are keen to showcase a wide range of examples, including ePortfolios. If you would like to share examples of your students' work, please get in touch.

Bursting the bubble writing: Sketchbook advice for GCSE Photographers - A helpful sketchbook related blog post with examples.

A level Example - Unit 1, Year 12

This sketchbook from a Year 12 student demonstrates a wide range of skills and presentation strategies. The student achieves a consistent aesthetic with the use of hand written titles. Pages are generally well-balanced and not overly decorated with superfluous details. Contrast and texture is a achieved through the judicious use of white on black and brown paper elements. Handwritten notes predominate suggesting that this book reflects the student's thinking and creative process - she is working things out on the page. There are copious images and evidence of substantial contextual research linked to her own practice. Annotated contact sheets and a wide range of techniques and processes, including darkroom experiments and film photography, reveal an experimental approach that combines depth and breadth. A link to the student's photo blog is prominently displayed on the title page. The book provides high quality evidence of all four assessment objectives.

A level Example - Unit 3, Year 13

This candidate has begun her contextual research for the Personal Investigation with the ideas and practices of avant-garde artists in the 1920s and 30s - the Dadaists and Surrealists. She then traces these ideas through examples of modern and contemporary photography, responding to them with her own thoughts, largely about identity. The exploration is thoughtful, coherent and creatively documented, revealing a growing understanding of the links between historical and contemporary examples. She mixes text and images to communicate her ideas, ending the sketchbook with a detailed written evaluation which draws together the various strands of her investigation. There is lots of evidence of risk-taking, experimentation with different materials, processes and techniques plus development and refinement.