BA (Hons) Commercial Photography

Studying on the BA (Hons) Commercial Photography course will prepare you for a successful career in fashion, editorial, beauty, advertising, architectural photography, fashion film (moving image) and post-production or set and run photography studios and even set up a magazine (we have successful alumni doing all of this and more!).

You will learn outstanding and innovative advance image production skills with expert workshops and tuition. Contextual studies, professional practice (Mental Wealth) and entrepreneurial skills will be supporting your development and readiness for industry 4.0.

Interdisciplinary collaborations with students from our BA Design Interaction, Graphic Design, Illustration and Animation courses or with our award-winning fashion students, architecture or urban dance students will allow you to exchange skills, technical support and subject expertise across disciplines. Collaborative and interdisciplinary practice is what we do well and we have many examples of outstanding student projects commended by our industry contacts.

You will be encouraged to experiment and develop emerging technology such as AR/VR and eg. 3D technologies designed to give you edge in the competitive job market. We see these as future skills for fourth industrial age (4iR) in commercial photography.

Image credit: Sophie Mitchell

This course is designed to give you the opportunity to prepare you for a successful career in fashion, editorial, beauty, advertising, architectural photography, fashion film (moving image) and post-production or set and run photography studios and even set up a magazine (we have successful alumni doing all of this and more!).

Through BA (Hons) Commercial Photography you will gain fresh perspective and approaches (divergent thinking) giving you an edge in the competitive job market, and skills for the fourth industrial age (4iR). 

You will undertake interdisciplinary collaboration with students from BA Design Interaction, Fine Art Technology, Graphic Design, Illustration and Animation or find collaborators from e.g. our successful fashion department or our unique urban dance course, gaining access to exchange of skills, technical support and subject expertise across disciplines.  

• Tawjihi: 60% for Foundation
• 3 x AS Levels: Foundation
• US High School Diploma: GPA 2.0 for Foundation
• US High School Diploma: GPA 3.0 + SAT1 1070 for Direct Entry to Bachelor's
• International Baccalaureate (IB): 25 points with minimum 15 at Higher Level for Direct Entry to Bachelor's
• 3 x A Levels: Direct Entry to Bachelor's

The changes in digital technology and distribution has provided opportunities for the new generation of photographers and graduates, who are more able to adapt to the technological challenges and processes, but also opportunities in multi-disciplinary and expanded practice such as fashion films, moving image digital billboards etc., aided by high quality moving image capabilities of the current DSLR cameras. 

The majority of the BA (Hons) Commercial Photography graduates will work as self-employed and/or freelance. They may start work as photography assistants gradually progressing into freelance photography or they may set up their own studios/ entrepreneurial ventures such as magazines.  Increasingly graduates may take on roles such as producer, project manager, social media manager; digital marketing and design or marketing and PR. 

The BA (Hons) Commercial Photography will offer not only technical and creative skills but opportunities in multi/ inter-disciplinary and expanded practices, prepare students on the course to bring interdisciplinary practices into their practice such as e.g. producing fashion films.

Students and graduates may also seek opportunities to work with e.g. bloggers and other opportunities created by social media. The graduates are able to market to wider international audiences through platforms such as Instagram, gaining opportunities such as one of our recent BA Photography graduates getting retouching jobs through Instagram posts, now retouching for photographers working for high-end magazines such as Vogue.

We expect BA (Hons) Commercial Photography graduates continue to follow career destination that our current BA (Hons) Photography alumni have achieved.

Currently the BA (Hons) Photography course alumni work in wide range of careers such as: Freelance Photographer, Award-winning Feature and Documentary Director, Flight Test Photographer, Senior Photographer at NET-A-PORTER GROUP, Director of a Photographic Studio (The White Rabbit studio and Espero Studio), Co-director of Location Scouting Company, Fashion Photographer, Interior Photography, Portraiture Photographer, Property Photographer, Documentary and Portrait Photographer, Lifestyle, Portrait and Product Photographer, Videographer, Freelance Camera Operator, Digital Operator, Freelance Lighting and Digital Photographer's Assistant.

Explore the different career options you can pursue with this degree and see the median salaries of the sector on our Career Coach portal.