UAL Photography diploma students team-up with four local businesses!
Final year students on our UAL Extended Diploma in Photography course have been working on a live brief with four client companies, the project has seen students work in groups to create promotional images for four local brands, getting first-hand experience working on a live project whilst creating portfolio assets and gaining valuable feedback on their work. Clients include jewellery brand Seastone Jewellery, sports team The Golden Smog Warriors Basketball Team, food brand The Hungry Scarecrow and arts-based community and creators Creative Village.
Student Lucy Harrison said, “the aim of this brief was to create a series of professional, high-quality images that met the client’s vision and purpose and could be used as promotional material, whether that be on social media or websites. We have been working collaboratively in different groups with each client for a 2-week period to plan, shoot, and produce the final images.”
Students have arranged different shoots and have worked both at the client’s HQ and in the studio “we have been shooting a variety of images for them in our studio but we have also visited where they work and captured photos on-location.” explains fellow student Mia Baldwin. Mia said she particularly enjoyed working with The Golden Smog Warriors “as we got to experiment lots and I was really happy with the images I submitted.”
She said that she has found getting feedback from the clients valuable, “while working with the clients I have gained lots of different experience and they have given us feedback, which we responded to by doing further photoshoots to improve our imagery.”
Lucy agreed that working with the basketball team allowed her “to experiment with new techniques and capture the team’s spirit throughout my photos. Sometimes it’s challenging to produce an outcome that perfectly fits the client’s brief as it may be too broad or too specific, however its enjoyable to be able to explore different aspects of commercial photography with the wide range of clients we’ve been lucky enough to work with.”
“Creative Village was the last client we worked with in this project and was really enjoyable.” Lucy said “we worked with them for two weeks and completed a variety of photoshoots both in our studio and at the company’s workshop. I really enjoyed the creative side of it all, their team was fun, collaborative, and made the whole process fun and inspiring!”
Second year photographer Toby Hudson said “all clients have been enjoyable to work with and interacted well with us, helping to guide us towards what they want us to produce as well as giving us our own free will.”
Lucy said that “by doing this project I’ve been able to gain so many new skills that will help me in my professional career. For example, I’ve learned how to communicate more effectively with clients, listen to their feedback, and adapt my ideas to suit their needs. Each client has been different in how involved they’ve been. Some have given very clear direction, while others have allowed more creative freedom. This has helped me develop confidence in managing different types of professional relationships and taught me the importance of flexibility and collaboration in client-based work.”
When asked how she has found studying her diploma Mia said “I really enjoy studying photography and all the projects I have done so far. The course is helping me gain lots of experience, especially when working with clients and I have learnt a lot of transferable skills.”
“I am really enjoying the course as it’s allowing me to develop my technical and creative skills while exploring different areas of photography” said Lucy, “I’ve especially enjoyed the variety of projects and the opportunity to experiment with new techniques, both in the studio and on location. The support and feedback from tutors have also helped me grow in confidence and refine my personal style as a photographer.”
Lucy also praised the diploma’s career focus, “I feel like it is helping me to gain experience in the photography industry as it gives me the opportunity to work on real client briefs, collaborate with others, and build a strong professional portfolio. It’s also helping me understand what it’s like to work in different photographic settings, preparing me for future opportunities in the industry. I chose to study here as I knew I wanted to be able to focus on developing my photography skills in a creative and supportive environment. The course gives me the freedom to experiment with different styles and techniques while also helping me build the professional skills needed for a career in the industry.”
Toby reflected, “overall, the photography diploma has been enjoyable. It has given me space to improve with my own personal work through the coursework and my skills have developed significantly while being here.” His future ambition is to break into the music industry “my main goal with my photography work is to eventually work in the field of music photography and slowly work my way up to more popular bands or even festivals.”
Toby said that this project had allowed him to grow in confidence “now that the projects finished I’m more comfortable reaching out to people I am working for as well as working with them along the way. I have a better understanding of the processes to get what I need for a client”
Photography Lecturer Andrew Dunning said “this live project provides students with invaluable experience of working with real clients, supported by staff with experience of working in industry. The photography team are extremely proud of our students and the work they have produced for their client project this year. Feedback from the clients has been extremely positive and we are grateful to the clients for giving up their time to work with us.”
If you are a school leaver interested in photography and image making make sure you check out our UAL Extended Diploma in Photography today.
