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BA (Hons) Commercial Photography

BA (Hons) Commercial Photography

BA (Hons) Commercial Photography offers you the opportunity to push creative boundaries and challenge the perceptions and expectations of contemporary commercial photography. You'll develop your image-making and production skills to a high standard while gaining an in-depth knowledge of the expectations of contemporary commercial practice, and how to operate within it.

Duration: 3 or 4 years full-time
Placement year: Optional 1 year
Course code: W644 (UCAS)
Institution code: A66 (UCAS)

Duration: 3 or 4 years full-time
Placement year: Optional 1 year
Course code: W644 (UCAS)
Institution code: A66 (UCAS)

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Course information

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Course team

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How to apply

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Studios and resources

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Graduate success

Overview

The media relies on creative imagery to communicate messages. Our BA (Hons) Commercial Photography course gives you the opportunity to develop a specialist career, working within fashion, including beauty; advertising, including still life and lifestyle; and documentary and editorial, including portraiture.

BA (Hons) Commercial Photography course information

This course gives you the opportunity to develop a specialist career, working within fashion/beauty, advertising, documentary/editorial and portrait photography. Through the combination of creative and technical skill, you'll challenge perceptions and push boundaries, through making imagery that's at the forefront of contemporary photographic practice.

Three reasons to study BA (Hons) Commercial Photography at AUB:

It's a focused, creative course that allows specialism in fashion/beauty, advertising/lifestyle and documentary/editorial/portraiture.
We have a curriculum and structure designed to allow technical, creative and critical development, as you work towards becoming creative photographers within the industry.
We have a professional environment, offering resources that support your ambitions and that are comparable with industry standards.

If you want the opportunity to set the future agenda for commercial photography, and have the commitment and drive to make the most of every opportunity, this is the course for you.

BA (Hons) Commercial Photography graduates have gone on to work for clients including Louis Vuitton, Stella McCartney, Chanel, The Times Fashion Supplement, Love Magazine, Dazed and Confused, Huck, Kit Magazine, The Telegraph, The Guardian, Vogue (UK, India and Italy), Nike, Adidas, Lacoste, Wall Street Journal and the BBC.

We’ll help you to gain a broad understanding of photographic practice and theory, so that you graduate confidently with the creative and critical visual language needed to work in the industry, both as an individual and within a creative team. As part of this course, at all levels, you’ll attend guest lectures by visiting photographers and industry professionals.

You'll have great employment prospects, even before you graduate. In recent years, students have been commissioned and published while still on the course through prestigious competitions.

Career options are varied too. As well as setting up freelance businesses, graduates go on to work in a variety of roles within studio management, retouching, assisting, styling, and advertising.

Over the three years of study, you can choose to focus your specialism within one of the three award titles:

BA (Hons) Commercial Photography (Advertising)
BA (Hons) Commercial Photography (Fashion)
BA (Hons) Commercial Photography (Documentary/Editorial)


Course duration	3 or 4 years (full-time)
Placement	Option of a 1-year placement
UCAS course code	W644
UCAS institution code	A66

Placement year

All undergraduate courses at AUB offer an optional placement year, to be taken between your second and third years of study.

If you’re unsure about this optional placement, you don’t need to decide now. Once you’re here and studying with us, the course team will discuss the placement options with you, so when the time comes, you can make a decision that’s right for you.

Exchange and international summer programmes

Students on BA (Hons) Commercial Photography have the chance to broaden their horizons through exciting exchange and international summer programmes. These opportunities allow you to study abroad at one of our brilliant partner institutions, experience different cultures, and enhance your academic journey.

Student gallery

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Portrait of a girl embracing a figure all dressed in black, their arms wrapped around one another.

Portrait of an older bearded man wearing glasses, a tie and a knitted bobble hat. The word SWANS is showing at the front of the hat.

Two models, one posing while facing the front, the other with their back to the camera and their arms raised, both against an orange-brown backdrop.

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Lady in red dress stands on a chest with smoke coming out from behind her. There is a luggage trunk to her right and a pile of documents to her left.

A woman in a backless garment is photographed side-on with a baby in their arms.

Lady in white sits on a high-backed chair with smoke behind her, surrounded by several sphinx cats.

A man stands in a garage doorway next to vintage car with a spanner in his hand.

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An older lady stands in a living room with a handbag over her shoulder. There is a chair with two cushions to her right and a table, a lamp and a sofa to her left.

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APPLICATIONS ARE OPEN

Now that you've found the perfect course, it's time to apply.

The early deadline may have passed, but applications are still open! Check out our handy 'how to apply' guide and our portfolio top tips.

Apply Now

AUB SHOWCASE

We're proud of our alumni, and rightfully so.

Explore the incredible work of our freshly graduated 'Class of 2024' in our online AUB Showcase.

Browse work by course, student or theme.

Discover AUB Showcase

Meet the BA (Hons) Commercial Photography course team

Our lecturers and technicians are specialists in their fields. Read more about their experience by browsing their staff profiles below.

Conrad Tracy Course Leader

MA, FHEA

Email me ctracy@aub.ac.uk

Richard Lloyd Lewis Senior Lecturer

MA, BA (Hons), FHEA

Email me rllewis@aub.ac.uk

Pauline Ferrick-Squibb Senior Lecturer

MA, PGCE

Email me pferricksquibb@aub.ac.uk

Rob Payne Senior Lecturer

MA, BA, PGCert, FHEA

Email me rpayne@aub.ac.uk

Carri Angel Senior Lecturer

MA, BA (Hons), PGCE

Email me cangel@aub.ac.uk

Martin Coyne Senior Lecturer

BA (Hons), MA, PGCAP

Email me mcoyne@aub.ac.uk

Professor Paul Wenham-Clarke Postgraduate Course Leader – MA Photography

PhD, MA, FBIPP, FHEA

Email me pwenhamclarke@aub.ac.uk

Rhiannon Evans Senior Technician - Photography

Email me revans@aub.ac.uk

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Libby Billings Technician Demonstrator

BA (Hons), PGCE, FHEA

Email me ebillings@aub.ac.uk

Lee Harper Technician Demonstrator

MSc

George Piper Technician Demonstrator

Email me gpiper@aub.ac.uk

Fin MacMillan Technician Demonstrator

MA, BA

Email me fmcmillan@aub.ac.uk

Creating imaginative images that meet the high commercial standards demanded by clients within the creative industries has to be a collaborative venture. We're perfectly placed to make this happen, with all of the key disciplines physically located only minutes from each other. Therefore, the creative collaborations that happen on the course replicate that of our industry, helping our students to create images that push the limits of expectation at undergraduate level, giving the opportunity to truly prepare our students for employment, as they become the next wave of creatively focused photographers, within fashion and beauty, advertising and documentary/editorial photography.

Conrad Tracy, Course Leader

Watch our course videos

Course leader Conrad Tracy talks about what to expect from studying BA (Hons) Commercial Photography here at AUB. He also unpacks what makes a great photographer.

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Student Stories

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Photo Portrait Now: Our display at the National Portrait Gallery

We Level 5 BA (Hons) Commercial Photography students got to take trips to the gallery and had the opportunity to...

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Finlay Williams – Wedding successes, the Nürburgring 24 Hours, and beyond…

Since studying BA (Hons) Commercial Photography at AUB, I’ve noticed my...

A dreamy scene of two models holding candy floss in front of a ferris wheel from below.

Jessica Williams – ‘AUB shifted my perception from competition to collaboration’

Commercial Photography at AUB has changed that perception I had, teaching...

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Nick Teo – creating 'I AM NOT MY DIAGNOSIS' and studying Commercial Photography at AUB

I have always loved storytelling from a young age. It started out with me watching...

Application process

Meet our Industry Patron – James Hancock

Meet the Industry Patron for BA (Hons) Commercial Photography – James Hancock.

James is the founder of photographic agency Hancock and Handsome (H&H), which works with brands and agencies to create engaging, impactful imagery and film with personality.

As well as representing talent, they're a full production agency and happy to contribute as much or as little as clients need, to make their shoots a success. H&H’s wider team of stylists, hair and make-up artists, directors of photography, etc., are industry-leading, and most importantly, great people to have on set.

Explore our Industry Patrons

Studios and Resources

The photography facilities at AUB recently underwent a multi-million-pound development and refurbishment, which saw the creation of brand-new digital suites, a collaborative specialist photography hub and brand-new colour printing facilities.

You’ll have access to seven dedicated photographic studios and specialist photographic equipment.

Photography Studios

Photography and Commercial Photography students will have access to our seven photographic studios.

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Photography Resources

In addition to our well-equipped photography studios, you'll also have access to industry-standard...

Digital SLRs

Digital SLRs are available to book out on location and to use within studios, including full-frame Nikon and Canon...

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Digital Suites

Our Digital Suites offer a digital post-production facility and digital teaching space.

Print Bureaux

Print Bureaux allows students to print work to commercial, and exhibition standards, through the support of...

Central Media Store

The Central Media store houses a diverse array of equipment, offering students the means to craft and capture...

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3D Workshop

Our 3D workshops with manual and digital manufacturing equipment and computers

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Drawing Studio

Our iconic blue Drawing Studio is used by student from all courses and was designed by alumnus Sir Peter Cook...

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The Library

The Library at AUB holds an excellent range of print and online collections

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Lecture Theatres and Seminar Rooms

We have a number of lecture theatres and seminar rooms scattered around campus to assist students with their studies.

Innovation Studio

The Innovation Studio operates as a lab for creative technologies, a nucleus for start-ups and enterprises and an industry engagement hub.

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Printroom

Our printmaking facilities are a hub of creativity on campus and have been inspiring students since 1964.

Letterpress and Bindery

The Letterpress and Bindery studio is a central resource, where students can learn and explore bookbinding and letterpress printing.

Teaching, learning and assessment

The course outcomes will be met by deploying a wide variety of teaching and learning methods including workshop projects, studio projects, lectures, seminars, group critiques, guided reading and tutorials.

Each unit is assessed separately, and the assessment forms part of the unit. Assessment both provides a measure of your achievement, and also gives you regular feedback on how your learning is developing.

The integration of theory and practice is promoted and reinforced through a team-teaching approach. Lectures, seminars and tutorials may be delivered by team members, as appropriate, in the creative environment of the studio.

The methods employed will, wherever possible, induct students in the disciplines required of a creative practitioner in commercial photography along with transferable skills (managing self, professional skills and team working), and value and credit any relevant previous experience. A key method will be the promotion of work-related learning, including work placements, visits to the workshops or studios of relevant practitioners or organisations, guest lectures or workshops led by visiting practitioners and ‘live’ or simulated project briefs. Learning and career planning will be consolidated through the encouragement of skills in personal planning, reflection and development.

Teaching is directed at supporting individual engagement in learning, although there will be opportunities for students to work in teams to enable them to learn the value of peer cooperation. Also, it's anticipated that due to the vocational and professional orientation of the course, and to enable students to benefit from the range of resources and disciplines within the University, opportunities will exist for students to collaborate in teams with peers in, for example, Make-up, Textiles, Fashion or Modelmaking. It is also envisaged that live project work may benefit from the collaboration of students from all levels of the course.

The study time allocated to each unit in the course incorporates a balance of teaching support and learning. The progressive promotion of student-centred learning reflects the anticipated maturity of students and allows them to direct their learning towards individual goals. For example, the teaching in Level 4 is directed at providing students with the knowledge, concepts and skills necessary to take increasing responsibility for the management of their own learning as they progress through to Level 5. Level 6 of the course allows the student to confirm their particular creative concerns and to extend the scope and depth of their enquiry, taking the major responsibility for their study. Teaching support reflects these expectations, as mature learners, through tutorial support that complements the autonomous nature of their study.

Negotiated Learning Agreements are the principle means of defining learning goals and monitoring progress and achievements, providing the opportunity for student to extend their interests and abilities, and demonstrate their capacity for sustained independent and professional work.

Guidance and counselling to help students in realising their learning potential will be provided continuously throughout each academic year.

What our BA (Hons) Commercial Photography graduates are doing

BA (Hons) Commercial Photography graduates have gone on to create images for clients including The Times fashion supplement, Kit Magazine, Huck, Vogue, The Telegraph, The Guardian, and BBC. Other roles include:

Wessex Photographic – Branch Manager
Double Exposure Photographic – Retoucher
Burton Menswear – Photoshoot Coordinator
Momento Studios and Promotions – Bookings Co-ordinator
Harvey Nichols, Surfdome and Laura Ashley – Photographer
Magine TV – Marketing Consultant
Popcorn Learning Media – Digital Learning Designer
The Economist – Picture Editor
Salvatore Ferragamo, Pitti Uomo/Bimbo, New York Fashion Week, Guess by Marciano – Photographer
NOW TV – Design Creative
ASOS – Retoucher, Senior Retoucher
Closer Magazine – Junior Picture Researcher, Picture Desk Assistant
Hut Group – Junior Food Photographer
Automotive Magazine – Staff Photographer
Grazia Magazine – Picture Researcher
Condé Nast India – Junior Photo Editor
Show Studio – Photography Technician
Sunbeam Studios London – Studio Assistant
Holland Publishing – Assistant photographer
Dreamer Productions – In-house Photographer
Photographic Freelance – Various
Photographic Agent – Visual Artists