The programme is designed to help you develop a harmonious balance between your creative vision and the technical precision required to produce work across diverse photographic formats and outputs. Alongside hands-on practice, you’ll dive into the ideas behind powerful imagery, understand how photographs shape culture and tell stories. Throughout the course, you will have access to industry-leading Canon, Sony, Hasselblad, and Phase One camera systems, along with a comprehensive range of professional-grade photographic and video equipment.

This photography degree is housed in state-of-the-art facilities and led by a teaching staff actively engaged in the industry, ensuring you receive an exceptional, hands-on learning experience. The curriculum emphasises both technical mastery and creative expression, empowering you with the skills necessary to succeed as a versatile practitioner. Whether capturing the world through your unique perspective, creating captivating photographic art, or executing client briefs on time and within budget, you’ll be equipped to produce striking, high-quality images that resonate with audiences.

Our graduates have gone on build successful careers in various fields, including editorial, documentary, fashion, commercial advertising, photojournalism, sports photography, social portraiture, music, photo retouching, picture editing, publishing, curation, film and TV, and education. All students are provided with professional training in Capture One, Adobe Lightroom, and the Adobe Creative Suite, ensuring that you are adept in industry-standard software and prepared to thrive in any professional setting.

Our school engages with a wide range of partners working across each creative sub-sector to ensure that teaching and learning are in line with the latest developments in and requirements of industry, including:

Industry Partners
Alex Schneidman, Flow Photographic
Frede Spencer, Twenty Twenty
Association of Photography in Higher Education (APHE)
Lucinda Grange, (Adventure Photographer) New York, Zurich and York

Guest Speakers
Alison Baskerville: Photojournalist
Julia Fullerton-Batten: Fine Art Photographer
Liz Smith: Photography Consultant
Martin Parr: Magnum Photos
Mimi Mollica: Photo Meet London
Peter Dench: Photo North
Pippa Oldfield: Curator and Writer
Simon Roberts: Photographer & Honorary Fellow Royal Photographic Society
Tessa Bunney: Documentary Photographer
Tim Wallace: Advertising Photographer
Yan Preston: Photographer

We exhibit in places such as:
• As above &
• Baltic X Fenwick Exhibition
• Free Range, London
• Hartlepool Art Gallery
• Middlesbrough Art Week
• Pineapple Black

Students have the opportunity to work with a range of companies on live briefs throughout the programme, including:
• Notting Hill Editions, Publishing Books Project
• AOP Student Awards
• The Photography Show NEC Birmingham 2024 Emerging Artists Award
• Taylor Wessing Photography Portrait Awards

Our alumni work or have worked for companies such as:
• Boo George - Editorial Fashion Photographer: Emporio Armani, Ralph Lauren, Hermes, Levi’s, Louis Vuitton, Vogue and Calvin Klein
• Peter Caton - Documentary Photographer: UNICEF, Save the Children, Greenpeace, The Sunday Times Magazine, The Guardian, Marie Claire, Esquire, the Washington Post and Le Figaro
• Lucinda Grange - Travel/Adventure Photographer: New York Post, Paris Match, The Times, Guardian, United National Photographers Ltd
• Hollie Galloway - Photographer, Filmmaker, Art Director: End Clothing, Cannes, Sheffield Documentary Film Festival, National Glass Centre, London

Graduates are working or undertaking postgraduate training in a wide range of careers including:
• Editorial
• Documentary
• Fashion
• Advertising
• Photojournalism
• Sport
• Social Portraiture
• Photo Retouching
• Picture Editing
• Publishing
• Curating
• Education

Your portfolio review is a chance for us to get to know you, your creative interests and the potential you could bring to the course. We are not looking for a perfect or professional portfolio. Bring a selection of work you feel represents you - finished pieces, work in progress, sketchbooks, experiments, photographs, digital work or written ideas are all useful. Choose work you can talk about, including what you enjoyed, what challenged you and what you would like to develop next. You do not need to include every example below.

Potential things to include:

A small, considered selection of photographs you have made, contact sheets, notebooks, research, experiments, moving image, writing and work in progress. Around 15 to 20 images is a helpful maximum if you are showing digital work, but selection matters more than quantity. We are interested in your eye, ideas, willingness to experiment and how you make choices - not whether you own specialist equipment.

This creative-industry-focused programme typically provides 16 hours of contact time per week across the academic year. Students can typically expect to receive 10 hours of taught sessions and 6 hours of supervised open studio time, supported by specialist technicians, and have open access to studios and workshops (subject to School opening times and availability). In the final year, students typically engage in a higher proportion of supervised, independent study, reflecting the increased focus on self‑directed practice and specialist project work at this level.

In addition, students are expected to undertake independent study appropriate to a full-time undergraduate degree programme.

Foundation and Orientation

In year one you will learn about workflow for both digital and darkroom applications. Expect energetic critiques, inspiring briefs and projects that stretch your creativity. This is supported by a programme of technical workshops, academic lectures seminars.

• Core photographic skills & commercial studio lighting
• Advanced digital software, editing and post-production
• Exploration of genres; fashion, documentary, editorial and fine art
• Shooting film and darkroom practice
• Location shooting & live briefs
• Professional workflows

Development and Exploration

In year two you will work with short film and moving image and advanced production processes. You will begin to specialise and develop your photographic direction, turning your passion into skillset. This is supported by critical investigation of how to read photographs and understand the importance of images and the various uses and applications in the world today.

• Advanced techniques and processes
• Live-briefs, commercial opportunities and exhibitions
• Short film, video editing and moving image
• Story telling through visual imagery
• Critical thinking and contemporary photography
• Independent working and your own photographic practice

Consolidation and Expertise

In your final year you will develop an industry ready portfolio of work as you consider your personal independent practice and prepare for employment and/or further study, challenging you to push boundaries and discover your unique creative voice.

• Project research and development
• Your dissertation or report
• Self-employability, self-promotion and networking
• Develop your own brief and specialism
• An exhibition of your work and production of your portfolio

Optional Master of Arts.

Develop your creativity even further with a postgraduate study year – https://northernart.ac.uk/masters-degrees/