BA (Hons) Commercial Photography

Your third year allows you to build on your platform of skills and knowledge, with an extremely focused approach to your career ambitions, working in genre-specific study groups.

Two major practical units provide the opportunity to create the work that will become your professional portfolio, and the unit ‘Research Paper’ will allow you to engage with a critically informed analysis of a subject-related topic.

Graduating from the course you’ll have the opportunity to produce an accomplished commercial portfolio and the critical skills with which to enter the creative industries. It also provides a platform for potential postgraduate study.

All students are registered for the award of BA (Hons); however, exit awards are available if you leave the course early, having successfully completed one or two levels. If you successfully complete a level of the course, you will automatically be entitled to progress to the next level.

For the award of a Certificate of Higher Education (CertHE), you must have achieved a minimum of 120 credits at Level 4. This qualification may be awarded if you leave the University following successful completion of the first year of your course.

For the award of a Diploma of Higher Education (DipHE), you must have achieved a minimum of 240 credits of which a minimum of 120 must be at Level 5. This qualification may be awarded if you leave the University following successful completion of the second year of your course.

For the award of a BA (Hons) you must have achieved a minimum of 360 credits of which a minimum of 240 must be at Level 5 or above, of which a minimum of 120 credits must be at Level 6. This qualification will be awarded upon successful completion of your course.

A BA without Honours may be awarded if you have achieved 300 credits, at least 180 of which are at Level 5 or above, and at least 60 of which are at Level 6.

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.

The methods employed will, whenever possible, lead you, ‘the student’, into the disciplines required of a creative practitioner and promote the transferable skills of self-management and self-reliance.

The course is structured progressively to provide increased opportunities for autonomous learning.

The progressive promotion of student-centred learning reflects your developing maturity, as a student, and supports your individual learning towards your aims and goals.

For every unit of your course, we'll inform you of what you are expected to learn, what you have to submit, how your work will be assessed, and the deadline for presenting your work for assessment. This is made available through Unit Information, which is on your course blog.

You'll receive a final mark for each unit in the form of a percentage, which will be recorded on your formal record of achievement (transcript). Each component of assessment is graded using a notched marking scale, whereby only certain marks are used within each grade. The only marks available within any ten-point band are *2, *5 and *8 (e.g. 62, 65, 68). These marks correspond to a low, mid, and high level of achievement within each grade band.

All learning outcomes must be passed to successfully complete the unit.

On successful completion of your Honours degree course, you'll be awarded a degree classification based on your unit marks. The final classification is determined using all unit marks at Levels 5 and 6 using two different algorithms, which are detailed in the HE Student Regulations. If the two algorithms produce different results, you will be awarded the higher class of degree.

If you've joined Level 6 through either the Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) route or having completed a Foundation Degree (FdA), the final classification is determined using only your unit marks at Level 6.

For further information on assessment, progression, awards and classifications, please visit viewpoint.aub.ac.uk.

Graduates from this course have gone on to create images for clients including The Times Fashion Supplement, Kit Magazine, Huck, Vogue, The Telegraph, The Guardian, and the BBC. Other roles include:

• Wessex Photographic – Branch Manager
• Double Exposure Photographic – Retoucher
• Burton Menswear – Photoshoot Coordinator
• Momento Studio’s and Promotions – Bookings Coordinator
• Harvey Nichols – 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.com – Senior Retoucher
• Closer Magazine – Junior Picture Researcher
• Hut Group – Junior Food Photographer

Many of our students are commissioned and published while still on the course and win prestigious and high profile awards, such as:

• EIZO award for fashion film 2017
• British Journal of Photography, three students chosen as the Ones to Watch Graduates 2017
• Hunger Magazine, 2017 graduate nominated for the feature Five Emerging Fashion Photographers to Watch Right Now
• Association of Photographers Student of the Year’ 2005 (shortlisted from 2002-19)
• Association of Photographers ‘runner-up’ 2007
• Association of Photographers 3 judges choice awards including fashion series 2011
• Association of Photographers Student of the Year (Best of Show) 2019
• The Photographers Gallery ‘New Talent’ Award/Fresh Faced & Wild Eyed: 8 most exciting new photographers 2008, 2011 & 2019
• Portrait of Britain Awards 2019
• Yatzer - A Shade of Pale: Ten Evocative Narratives Exhibition 2018
• Fresh Meet Award 2020
• Eizo Awards 2020