This summer UAL Extended Diploma in Photography alumni Amber Humble, has been preparing for university and keeping up-to-date with her practice by securing a position assisting Artist George Hutton on a project for Niijournal.

Speaking of the publication Amber said “Niijournal is a publication founded by Campbell Addy that celebrates and promotes diversity. It highlights the representation and challenges that particular groups have faced, as well as their achievements and inspiring life experiences. The publication includes a diversified and exquisite combination of art, photography, fashion editorial, and political and cultural discussion, which is extremely inspiring! Niijournal’s primary goal is to “educate, not irritate.””

She continued, that the shoot was “dedicated to Arthur Wharton, the first ever Black professional footballer. Arthur Wharton’s story is known by few but has had a long-lasting effect on many within sports. During Arthur’s footballing career, he played for numerous teams across the North of England, including Darlington, Newcastle, Preston North End, Rotherham, Sheffield United and Stockport County. With being the first ever Black professional footballer and having such a strong link with the North of England, these portraits represent Black footballers from the North. Those who, knowingly or not, Arthur helped pave the way for, and the many others to come.”

The opportunity came about when Amber “reposted some of George’s imagery on my Instagram story, and he responded asking if I wanted to help him with a shoot. Of course, I said yes! I had no idea what the shoot was about at the time, but I knew I wanted to gain some sort of work experience with a talented photographer! I still cannot believe I was presented with this opportunity; it’s strange how the universe works sometimes!”

Amber said the photoshoot took place at “a football pitch in Hunslet, Leeds, which you can imagine made me nervous (but extremely excited) because it was far from home and I had just met everyone on the job, including George! This was definitely outside of my comfort zone, but I knew it would benefit me massively – preparing me for university and my career! The photography took place in February of this year, so it was quite muddy and foggy, but this just adds to the atmospheric and visual quality of the shots.”

During the photoshoot Amber helped on a range of different set-ups she explains; “I helped set up the backdrops, adjust the camera settings, move props, offer George different model pose ideas, as well as keeping the models comfortable while they were not being photographed. I had never assisted on an actual photoshoot before, so I had only little insight into what to anticipate.”

Commenting on what she felt she learnt from the experience she said she “learnt to be more independent.” She also said “I had never met anyone before and was assisting the shoot on my own; I never imagined I would have the confidence to do so. Furthermore, working with models I’d never met has greatly enhanced my communication skills, which will come in handy when I meet new people at university and pursue a career in the fashion industry. Furthermore, I also feel that this has taught me to always push myself beyond my comfort zone, as it obviously rewards you in multiple ways!”

She said it was “it was a fantastic experience to assist George; he is an absolute talent, and I am eternally thankful for the opportunity. He is a major inspiration to my work; I try to incorporate elements of his technique, from colour palettes to compositions, into my own work but in my own way obviously. I really do believe this will have an impact on my future work because I am now more confident in meeting new people and always pushing myself to just simply do it!”

Amber attributes a lot of her knowledge to her time on her diploma and lecturers, when asked if the course helped prepare her for the work experience she answered; “Oh, definitely! College has taught me a lot about photography, both artistically and technically. If I hadn’t studied it, I probably wouldn’t have known what to do during the shoot. My tutors and other staff have prepared me well for the future, and now that I’ve completed my course, I feel so ready to go out into the world!”

Amber has ambitions to get into editorial photography; “since GCSE art, editorial photography has piqued my curiosity. Which I then made the decision to attempt to replicate, which is how I came to be where I am now! It would be an absolute dream of mine to have my photographs on the cover of Vogue, Dazed and Confused, i-D, you name it! I am going to work so hard for the next few years, keep manifesting, and see where life takes me!”

If you want to see more of Ambers work make sure you check out her Instagram @amberrhumble. If you are a school leaver and interested in pursuing a career in photography we offer a fantastic diploma pathway that offers students the opportunities and skills to carve out an exciting career in this industry! Make sure you check out the course details here.