Commercial Photography BA(Hons)

From day one of your Commercial Photography degree, you'll develop specialist photographic skills and learn to market yourself as a professional visual content producer. You'll explore the contexts and histories of modern advertising and the fundamentals of marketing communications, and we'll introduce you to a range of commercial photography and moving image-making techniques and technologies.

Modules

Elements of Commercial Practice

You'll be introduced to the fundamentals of commercial photographic techniques and the contexts of practice, project development, research methodologies and health and safety. Through inductions and practical workshops, you'll develop the necessary digital photographic studio lighting skills.

Professional Practice

You'll be introduced to key industry issues, copyright and business practices, allowing you to construct your professional identity while researching and interrogating the importance of professional ethics. You will design and construct your own website and business profile and build your social media presence while developing your CV through workshops, lectures and tutorials.

Developing Approaches to Commercial Practice

You'll take part in technical inductions and workshops to develop digital production skills, from working with professional studio equipment through to the use of moving image. Responding to a series of briefs, you'll create a portfolio of multi-channel digital content and build your understanding of advertising and visual marketing campaigns.

Image in Context

This module focuses on how the photographic image is disseminated within the creative industries. You will explore methods of describing and analysing photographs within the context in which they are placed, exploring key concepts in visual culture and media studies. This will help your understanding of the relationship between image and text, and the professional contexts in which photographic images function.

Through portfolio development, live briefs and work placements, you'll raise your level of technical ability, explore the commercial environment and build on your critical and collaborative working skills. You'll also begin to investigate using photography and moving image within multi-channel campaigns and use theories and concepts to critically reflect on the impact of emerging technologies.

Modules

Building Brand Narrative

This practice-based module will equip you with an understanding of brand narratives and digital storytelling. Through a series of lectures and workshops, you'll gain insight into how brands build communication strategies. From this, you'll go on to develop the project management and moving image production skills needed to produce content in line with brand identity.

Collaborative Project

Working within a small team, you'll research and build a proposal for a collaborative project. You'll have a choice of outputs to work on, which may include: a set build, publication, short film, socially engaged/community project, or a self-initiated collaborative entrepreneurial proposal. Working collaboratively, you will develop an awareness of a variety of roles within the photographic and creative industries, considering ethics, copyright law and other legal matters relating to professional practice.

Industry Knowhow

In this module, you'll gain an understanding of commercial photographic industries and their working practices by honing your business acumen, your ability to interpret briefs and your understanding of industry terminology. You'll also develop your communication skills and pitching/presentation skills and undertake an industry case study.

Audience and Context

Working on a series of live briefs, you'll build your own self-directed practice through the production of a personalised portfolio. This module is designed to progress independent practice alongside building your awareness of the professional context in which your own practice is situated.

Work Experience

This module will prepare you with the professional skills and experience to pursue a career in creative practice. You will consider a range of career opportunities available within the photographic, environmental and conservation sectors. Tutors will help to identify your own particular strengths and interests, and support you in the initiation and organisation of a work placement (typically two weeks' duration or equivalent). 

You can choose to take an optional placement year after your second year on a three-year programme, or after your third year if you’re studying for a degree with an Integrated Foundation Year. 

You’ll be responsible for finding your own placement, with support from the RealWORKS employability team. 

Choosing this option will enhance your industry experience and skills while studying. 

How you’ll study during your placement year 

You’ll spend time working in a professional context, as part of a business or organisation. This can be in one role, or up to three, and must be for a minimum of 24 weeks. 

You’ll develop in-demand workplace skills, deepen your insight into industry and grow your network of contacts, all of which could help you get ahead in your career after graduation. 

Throughout this year, you’ll develop a portfolio of work that includes critical self-reflection on what has been learned from the experience. You’ll be required to evidence your experiences, the skills you’ve learned and your professional growth. 

The final year of your Commercial Photography degree represents your chance to shape your professional and creative identity. Putting your skills to use, you'll showcase your unique photographic practice and critical mind through your final contextual project, portfolio and degree show.

Modules

Developmental Portfolio

Based on the interests you have developed in the previous two years, you'll produce a commercial portfolio that begins to define your individual practice. Emphasis will be on research and exploration towards the completion of your final major project.

Contextual Project

Working independently, with supervision, you'll research, explore and develop your own interests to build a final piece of academic work. This will contextualise where your commercial practice fits within the industry. This project may take the form of a written essay, a curatorial proposal or a multimedia/moving image piece of work.

Final Project

You'll produce a professional commercial portfolio and final exhibition presentation of your practice that will help you enter into your chosen career path after university. This final project should reflect your technical skill, creativity and individuality to industry-level standards.

Why study an Integrated Foundation Year route? 

If you’re taking on a new subject that you haven’t studied in depth before, have been out of education for a while or have a non-standard educational background then an Integrated Foundation Year degree may be the right choice for you. It is a four-year degree with an Integrated Foundation Year to start, which allows you to explore the primary elements of your subject before progressing on to the remaining three years of the BA(Hons) degree. 

What you'll study in your Foundation year

If you choose this pathway, you'll study five core modules in your Foundation year. These are all designed to help you explore the foundational elements of your subject. You'll gain relevant technical skills, learn to experiment and take risks, develop an understanding of professional practice, have opportunities to work across disciplines and collaborate with other students on live project briefs. 

Modules

Explore

You'll begin your foundation year by working collaboratively with others to explore themes of the future. You'll take risks, experiment through play and be supported to break through barriers.

Technique

You'll take subject-specific workshops and develop essential technical and practical skills in your area of study. You'll also enhance your analytical and organisational abilities.

Apply

You'll work with your peer group to think beyond discipline by addressing a societal or global issue. You'll then showcase your work to your peers and deliver and accompanying evaluation of your process.

Industry

You'll enhance your creative and practical skills in your subject specialism by responding to typical industry briefs, underpinned by focused research and experiments. You'll also gain industry insights through guest lectures and workshops.

Launch

You'll develop your unique identity in your specialism through the production of a self-initiated body of work. Your final project will be the bridge to your next year, fully supported by evaluative reviews and critical analysis of the work you have created.

After the Foundation year, you progress into Year One of the full three-year degree, equipped with a deeper knowledge of your subject, a clear understanding of your strengths, and develop a practical and technical skillset and the confidence to excel in your chosen subject. 

If you apply for and enrol onto a degree with an Integrated Foundation Year, you’ll have the option to switch onto a five-year version including a placement year. That means you’ll complete the first three years of your course before completing a placement in industry in your fourth year and returning to Falmouth for the fifth year of your programme. 

The Integrated Foundation Year pathway is subject to validation.