Commercial Photography

The Commercial world relies on powerful imagery to give news stories and brand messages impact.

Whether it’s socially concerned documentary or dramatic contemporary fashion imagery, commercial photography communicates its message. On this course we aim to develop a visually expressive generation of fashion, documentary, editorial, portrait and advertising photographers. We’re looking for people who want to push creative boundaries, challenge industry perceptions and set the agenda for future generations of commercial photographers. Our students go on to create images for international magazines, advertising agencies, fashion houses, and more. You’ll gain a broad understanding of photographic practice and theory as we guide you towards a career in the creative industries. You’ll graduate confident in the creative and critical visual language needed to work with teams in your chosen field.

What you will study
The course aims to provide a wide range of undergraduate students the opportunity to develop a specialist career in photography, through nurturing creativity, technical ability and professional and critical understanding, as they mature into critically aware creative decision makers.

The initial stages of the course will concentrate on acquiring the fundamental camera, studio, lighting, digital, research and critical skills to support your development throughout the course. Then will go onto enhance your understanding of the creative industries and the roles within them by expanding your professional knowledge and identifying your individual career potential. It will also promote your personal development by undertaking academic and creative research which could lead to further study at postgraduate level.

The course has a well-developed strategy to ensure that students have the knowledge, understanding and opportunities to collaborate with other creatives at AUB, which allows students to work in a professionally focused environment, as part of creative teams. You’ll enter the industry, or masters level education, confidently, invested in the creative and critical visual language needed to effectively progress within your field of practice. Course contact time includes scheduled teaching sessions, but also supervised time in the workshop or studio, and the remainder will be independent study. 100% of assessment for this course is coursework based.

By the end of the course you will be able to...
• Apply creative photographic ability, evidencing professional levels of outcome, independent thought and understanding, evidenced through the production of your work.
• Work independently, or as part of a creative team, in the production of creative photographic and moving image work.
• Use professional understanding when identifying career opportunities and placing your own work within the creative/photographic industries.
• Apply a critical and theoretical understanding of photography within historical and contemporary contexts, offering opportunities to study at Masters Level.
• Show evidence of effective problem solving, research, communication and presentation skills through applying creative and conceptually considered solutions to professionally focused briefs.

Studios and resources
The course is housed in a multi-million-pound facility, including digital suites, a collaborative specialist photography hub, black and white darkrooms, colour darkrooms, a print bureau and 7 photographic studios. The course is also supported by a ‘media store’ which houses a vast array of professional standard equipment, from digital and analogue cameras and lenses of all formats, through to portable lighting for stills and moving image. For the start of the 2024/25 academic year, the course will be working to a new curriculum, which has been developed to ensure it is offering a contemporary experience within commercial photography.

Coursework and practical work