In a year or two's time

After having a well earned break from education i would like to consider going back to do a PGCE so that i could teach photography at sixth from and college level.

Therefore i have been looking at places i could study a PGCE and the entry requirements etc:

Firstly i looked at The University Of Manchester although they do not offer a photography related secondary PGCE.

Secondly i looked at Liverpool Universities, 

They seem to have a more varied range of PGCE's including art and design which requires a 2:2 or above degree classifacation.

Other universities that offer creative arts based PGCE's:

It is a dream of mine to live in London but i feel i'm not ready for the move yet, as i am wanting to do the PGCE in a couple of years London would be a very exciting step and i feel they would offer a wide range of arts based PGCE courses!

Budgeting and pricing up for exhibition

For my final major project i ended with 8 final images all square format, i now need to set a budget a price up the printing etc.

My budget for the whole exhibition printing, framing, a book, business cards etc is £200.

I have started by looking at DS Colour Labs.

For 8 14" by 14" poster prints it would come to around £46 which i thought was really good, i think the size would be just right.

I then looked at frames to fit this size photograph, the nearest i could find from Ikea was 50 by 50 cm which is around 36" by 36"obviously too large although i could use a white border around the edge. For my 8 images it would cost £160 just for framing and then the £46 for prints. 

Another option i have considered is acrylic blocks. On DS Colour labs they have Acrylic Panels 5mm or 10mm thick in a floating style which means they sit ever so slightly off the wall. These are expensive although as they are acrylic blocks you would not need frames. I have considered my options and feel it would be more beneficial and look aesthetically pleasing to have the acrylic panels so i plan to only print 4 out of my 8 images resulting in me paying £166 without needing frame. I also wouldn't be able to fit 8 16"x16" prints into the 4ft x 4ft space we have be allocated. 

I feel four 16"x16" acrylic panels will fit perfectly into the 4ft x 4ft space allocated along with the book i have made and my business and post cards. 

The postcards are being provided by the university so there is no cost there, and for 50 double sided colour business cards it should cost no less than £20, i also have ordered my book to go alongside my exhbition which cost £35 including delivery.

My total mock up has come to £221 only £21 above my target budget.

Photography competitions i plan to enter

Here are a list of the photography competitions i plan to enter:

I plan to submit the following image to the Live, Love and Laughter competition:

 I plan to submit the following images to this competition:

 I plan to submit this image below to the GetLenses Eye Competition:

Job Opportunities

As my studies are nearly over i had to start thinking about a job for when i finish. I already worked as a part time member of staff on the photo team at Sealife Manchester and planned to go to full time when i had finished university.

About 6 weeks ago now the assistant manager at work left so there was an opportunity for me to move up in the company. I had debated it for a while as it is definitely a step i would consider but was conscious that i had my final major project and dissertation to finish and still have several lectures to attend. The job would require me to work five to six days a week on mostly ten hour shifts so it was a lot to think about.

In the end i decided i would go to the interview, i thought if it's meant to be i will get the job and the other problems will sort themselves out.

I realised i needed to update my CV as i hadn't done in over a year and this was for a specific job role.

My previous CV for the sales assistant/photographer job:

and the updated version for the Assistant Manager role:

Currently studying:

BA (Hons) Photography at the University of Salford

I have developed an ability to communicate and express myself through a wide range of performance and creative subjects. Dance is one of my hobbies which I enjoy greatly and during sixth form I had a very personal involvement teaching 11-14 year olds two hours, this involved choreographing my own dance routines and putting on shows for the children to take part in. During this I gained skills in directing and organizing people, I feel this would highly benefit me and aid me in your working environment. I would feel confident communicating at all levels.

Education and Qualifications:

2011 – 2014 University of Salford - BA (Hons) Photography: (pending)

Includes working to meet briefs in short time spans, creating an online blog to document your workings, using the photographic studios and receiving an understanding of the photographic world.

2009 – 2011 Lymm High School Sixth Form

BTEC Photography: Double Distinction

AS Level Art 2011: Grade D

A2 Level Media 2011: Grade D

AS Level Media 2010: Grade B

2004 – 2009 Lymm High School

Studied the following at GCSE level:

• Art
• Media
• Performing Arts
• Dance
• German
• Additional Science
• Science
• Mathematics
• English Language

Attained a Grade C or above for all GCSE's including Mathematics and English.

Work Experience:

June 2013-Present: Sales Assistant/ Photographer for EPT (Sealife Manchester)

December 2012 – Present: Rainbow Day Nursery (Lymm)

January 2011: Marco Marco Italian

May 2010 - December 2012: Rainbow Day Nursery (Mere)

October 2010: Spooky World

June 2009 - 2011: Saddler's Arms Pub

Relevant Work Experience:

Sales Assistant/Photographer at Sealife Manchester:

• I have a sound understanding of all aspects associated with this job, including the photo opportunity, the photo desk and the spreadsheets required for cashing up.

Other photography-related experience:

• Invited to photograph portraits of the graduating students at Cheadle Hulme High School
  - This involved doing studio style portraits of the head boy and girl and using my creativity to set up shots of the students showing their skills and hobbies.
• Able to set up and use a fully working studio including lights, back drop etc

Skills:

I have always worked in jobs including many other employee's, this has given me the skills to work in a team and enjoy other peoples company. I have a good knowledge of word processing, spreadsheets, presentations and data base and also excellent use of internet and email. Good communication skills gained from writing essays and doing presentations throughout my education.

• Works well in a team
• Flexible
• Organized
• Reliable
• Ability to adjust and adapt to different situations
• Highly Motivated
• Creative
• Eye for detail
• Eager to learn
• Thrives on responsibility
• Computer Knowledge – both Mac and Windows
• Very punctual – keen to be on time
• Confident
• Lively and Vibrant
• Great with children

Languages:

English

German – good basic knowledge written, speaking and reading.

Referee's:

Paul Stockton

Rainbow Day Nursery Owner and Manager

rainbow-knutsford@hotmail.co.uk

Lawrence G. Giles

University Lecturer

L.G.Giles@salford.ac.uk

References available on request.

The result: i got the job and started straight away!

I am thankful for the CV brief last year in showing me whats needed in a good CV and how to write

cover letter .

ALAMY Talk

Emily Hoskin came to the university to talk to us about the stock library Alamy and how they offer a student deal.

The deal is called the 100% project and this gives the student photographer 100% of any money earned on their images for two years. The company usually gives the photographer 50% which is still higher than any other stock library. It is free to sign up and you can't loose as if you don't sell anything nothing happens but if you do you get 100% of the money.

Alamy uses slightly different concepts to other stock libraries for example they do not edit the images you submit to the website. If your images are on Alamy for 5 years and don't sell they will not be taken off.

Whatever you want to upload you can, there is a huge variation of who buys and what sells, there is a massive spectrum of people who buy from Alamy, it has a massive market for everyday photography.

A big tip is to leave room for copy, many buyers are using these images for editorial purposes so want space to add text over, in and around the image.

Licenses

There are two types of licenses on Alamy:

Royalty Free: these are sold per size, the buyer can use it whenever and wherever they like for a one off price, so it can be used freely.

Rights Managed: the buyer has to pay each time they use it, so it is bought per use.

Easy to shoot images: sell as Royalty Free
More individual images: sell as Rights Managed

If you do not have a model release form the image has to be sold Rights Managed.

Keywording:

When submitting an image to Alamy you will be asked to keyword it. This is very important, it is how people are able to find your images.

There are two ways you can keyword your images:

1: Be literal 'Dog'
2: The concepts of your image 'Freedon'

There are three sections of keywords that you can enter:

Essential keywords: most relevant

Main keywords: next relevant

Comprehensive keywords: any other words or phrases

If there is a keyword that you feel has a variation of words for example Guy, man, boy you should put all variations in the comprehensive keyword section.

People will search for exactly what they want for example: bus not yellow not london

you can add restrictions when you upload an image for example which industry it can be sold too or you can limit it to only be allowed to be sold to a certain country.

Prices

These are rough estimates as there is no standard price for the images

Online images: £49
Advertising: £10,000
Book Cover: £450

Average license price £125


It's free
You get all the money
You keep the copyright
You have loads of images that could be making you money
Chance to find out about the industry and what customers want
Non-exclusive
No tie ins
Upload whatever you want
You're in total control

I have signed up and will definitely continue to upload images, the talk was very inspiring and i found Emily really easy to talk too and full of knowledge.

Target 5: Ways of getting my work out there after graduation

I have started to look into ways of getting my work out there after graduation.

I have designed some business cards that i will have for people to take away at the exhibition so that they always have my contact details to hand.

Here are my designs:

This first design is using an image from my final major project, i really like the eye contact in the image it draws you in and gets your attention. I also tried out using a brighter colour on this design instead of black and white and i think its alternative but works well for a younger audience.

The following three designs are more sophisticated and suited to a wider audience. They too are simple but have all information needed and give the viewer an insight into my work. The most work i have recieved that has been freelance has been my event photography whether it be christenings, birthdays or weddings. These are not something i want to do full time but they pay well and are fun to do every now and then. I feel like i should design my business cards to cater to my event photography clients as these are the people who bring me the most freelance work. 

I have also designed some postcards to show at my exhibition, then all the visitors who attend can take one home and be reminded of my work. I plan to have a full page image on one side and my short artist statement on the reverse explaining about my project.

 Reverse of the postcard ^

Front of the postcard >

Social media plays a vital part in getting your work out there and the best part about it is that its free!

I have recently set up my own facebook and twitter pages dedicated to my photography, I now do not plan to have a career in photography, i plan to do event photography as a side line to bring in some extra money from time to time but for now i am happy working as Assistant Manager of the Photo Team at Sealife Manchester, there are opportunities to work my way up in the company (to Manager) and then possibly a training manager of a few venues or an operations manager, managing the whole of the venues in the north west for example. My next step after that will be doing a PGCE so i can teach photography at a sixth form/college level as i feel the teaching when i did my college course in photography was inadequate and i'd love to make a difference in at least one school in the quality of the photography course.

So, back on track, i will use the facebook and twitter pages to promote my work mainly for freelance event photography jobs for example weddings and christenings etc.

Facebook

Twitter

Target 4: Technical Training

Photoshop has always been my 'go to' software to use but i feel now that i have a sound understanding of photoshop i should broaden my skills.

I started to learn how to use Adobe Premiere during the video brief and also Adobe Illustrator during the book brief, i found both quite hard to use but i am hoping to have more practice with these in the future.

I have also designed a book for my final major project using the website Blurb, i found this really simple to use and rather effective. I was able to complete the book design in around 3 hours.