Photography - UAL Level 3 Extended Diploma in Creative Practice

If you wish to pursue a career in professional photography or progress to higher education and take your skills to the next level, this is just the right path.

The course gives you the opportunity to explore Photography in a supportive way, ensuring the information youre learning is current and will help you in your future career. The supportive approach to teaching will help you feel confident in your own ability, as we help you develop skills from beginner to a professional level over your time here.

You will learn to use the camera as a tool to express yourself and will learn the technical aspects of the camera to produce professional quality work.

We cover how to use black and white 35mm film camera, medium and large format cameras, Digital SLR and image manipulation with Adobe Photoshop and Adobe Lightroom. We also delve in to video making skills and using Adobe Premiere Pro to edit the videos we make. Related studies explore the subjects of visual communication, history of art, design and experimental techniques.

1st Year

• First term - Learning the basics. This first term covers a lot of information. How to use our large studio with fully equipped lighting rig and a variety of lighting equipment. Camera and editing techniques, creative theory which involves how to develop a concept and research effectively to express yourself or tell a story. You will present your work to the class or tutor on a weekly basis to develop confidence in your communication.
• Second term - There are several projects. This will be where you start to find out which direction your photography might take you. There is a video project, 35mm Film Portraiture project and a Packaging Design Project.
• Third term - Final major project where you put everything into practice producing work for your portfolio and start thinking about what youd like to do after College.

2nd Year

• First term - Portfolio development. Several rapid projects to push your creativity and help produce work for your portfolio. Music album cover, Applied photography (commercial) and Fine art photography (conceptual).
• Second Term - Intellectual push. This will be the most youve been pushed intellectually to produce a professional project. This project is about raising awareness or protesting an issue you are passionate about. This is for half the term, then there will be a live project with a local company.
• Third Term - THE FINAL MAJOR PROJECT. This is how you get your grade for the whole course, and you need to use everything youve learnt to go out with a bang.

Throughout both years there is regular tutorial support from tutors with professional experience. You will be required to continue with projects independently and it is expected that you work independently outside of sessions to practice and perfect your skills. Its a passion subject, most people choose photography as their hobby to relax and have fun, but you can make a career out of it, which means youll be enjoying every day! Cant get better than that!

The work on the course is project/assignment based, and assessment is continuous throughout the course. Some units will be subject to external assessment.

The units in the first two terms are assessed at Pass grade only. The final unit is awarded a grade of Pass, Merit or Distinction. This unit is achieved through a personal proposal and exhibition and decides the overall grade for the qualification.

How many UCAS points will I achieve on this course?

Our level 3 vocational courses qualify for UCAS tariff points to apply for university in the same way as A-Levels. This course is an UAL extended diploma which is delivered over two years and you could achieve up to 168 UCAS points (which is equivalent to three A* grades at A-Level).

UAL extended diplomas are graded as a pass, merit or distinction (with distinction being the highest grade).

The following table gives some examples on the amount of UCAS points you can achieve on a UAL extended diploma:

| UAL grade | UCAS Points |
| --- | --- |
| D | 168 |
| M | 120 |
| P| 72 |

You can find more details and examples on the UCAS tariff points calculator here.

You will need:

• 5 GCSEs at Grade 4 or higher, including English, Maths and a relevant creative-based subject

Or:

• A relevant Level 2 qualification at Merit or Distinction standard studied at CWA or another further education provider
• English and maths GCSEs at grade 4 or higher

Substantial Level 2 vocational qualifications in relevant subjects will be accepted as GCSE equivalent (with the exception of English and maths).

You will be invited to an informal interview to help ensure the course is right for you. You will need to bring a portfolio of your creative work for the course team to look at. This is to showcase your creative flair, visual research, ideas and technical skills and can consist of a range of work from different medias such as drawing, painting, photography or 3D design. We really like to see sketchbooks however work can also be presented through photographs.