Commercial Photography University of the Arts London (UAL)

Overview

Designed for students who are interested in developing professional photographic skills for the creative industries, the Commercial Photography programme at the University of the Arts London (UAL) explores contemporary approaches to photography, with a particular focus on the applications of digital technology.

The emergence of increasingly complex combinations of lens-based technologies has created a need for multidisciplinary practitioners who are comfortable with collaborative working. This course will support you to become a technically adaptive and refined image-maker who is conscious of design considerations and the professional challenges of commissioned work, with opportunities to explore areas including ethics, representation, collaboration and sustainability.

You’ll develop a distinct voice in creative direction and one that can bring a bold, new attitude towards both digital and analogue creation, and graduate with a fearless ability to navigate new market realities.

What to expect

• Technical skills: You’ll be guided through the process of professional image planning, production and delivery by exploring core and specialist skills in areas such as camerawork, lighting, moving image, production design, creative collaboration and post-production techniques.

• Professional development: You’ll gain experience in visual communication problem-solving, creative business skills and multi-channel storytelling through live briefs that will challenge you to produce innovative results against real-world production challenges.

• Industry expansion: You’ll consider how innovations in camera-based technology are igniting new and converging ideas in areas such as 2D/3D imaging, cinematic production, social media content and motion graphics. You’ll also learn about the impact of increasingly blurred boundaries between commercial areas including advertising, art practice, fashion, installation, influencing, platform building and social enterprise.

• Independent practice and collaboration: You’ll become as comfortable with independent exploration as you are with on-set collaboration, graduating as an adaptive researcher, maker, producer and disruptor of traditional creative thinking.

Industry experience and opportunities

You will work with industry partners throughout the course, understanding the requirements of photographic briefs across the creative industries. Guest lectures and visiting commercial photographers will help to prepare you to both follow in their footsteps and to develop your own in-demand practice.

There will be opportunities to work on live briefs set by industry and space to engage with freelance and placement opportunities in a range of areas including advertising, fashion, sport, lifestyle and editorial.