mollieyoungblog-blog

[mollieyoungblog-blog]

Conclusion

Overall the Professional Practice module has really been useful this semester. By creating this blog I have been able to research further into different career paths I could take. 

Becoming a photographer is my main goal in the future, it was really helpful to learn about freelancing and the technical areas such as HMRC. The Prospects website was particularly helpful to me as it allowed me to find careers that were best suited for me personally as well as providing case studies by different people giving realistic accounts of different jobs. 

There were many different careers that I am able to apply for in which my photography degree is very relevant so this research blog has opened up a whole new world of possibilities for future, many of which I will probably research further in the future. 

Within the next few years I really plan to push myself in gaining experience in the working world, especially with photography. I would definitely consider entering some different competitions to gain experience and possibly put my work out to the public. The idea of doing a placement or work experience would possibly be part of my plans in order to enhance my skills within photography, gather some different contacts in the creative work and ultimately make some money from my practice to kick off my career.

For the practical element of this module I put together my own fashion photography shoot / spread. This was a lot of fun and generally really successful. 

I hadn't considered fashion photography as an area of photography that I would like to work in however this was really good experience. After a lot of planning and various photoshoots I had a large quantity of fashion images, many of which I was really happy with. I would consider fashion photography in the future as it was a lot more interesting than I had expected initially with this module. 

For my project I had decided to collaborate with a fashion student from the university, this was really great experience. Chloe provided me with a range of really beautifully created items to photograph in the studio which followed our initial ideas for the shoot. I think it was really interesting to work with someone else on this project as we were able to bounce ideas off of each other and really help each other with our work. Normally I would describe myself as quite quiet and shy therefore it was really challenging to push myself by working with other people however this was really valuable. It meant that I got experience working with others and made the idea of working for different clients a lot less scary!

In conclusion I felt this module has really benefitted me in researching my future career path and also pushed me out of my comfort zone within photography through creating my own fashion series of images. 

[mollieyoungblog-blog]

Photography Awards

The British Photography Awards

The British Photography Awards is a photography competition that takes place annually all over Britain including specialised competitions in Northern Ireland. The competition raises money for different charities as well as providing prizes for the winners.  Prizes for these awards include cash prizes, trophies, badges, mounted and framed copies of your work created and digital badges and watermarks.

For the Northern Irish competitions they have been split into the following categories - 

This would definitely be worth looking into. The guidelines for entering the competitions are quite simple; entrants must pay a small entry fee, entrants can enter more than one category and up to 40 photographs can be submitted. This competition is extremely popular with over 3,700 entries this year!  

The competition covers a broad range of areas to summit to. I think even without winning it would be good experience to apply to this sort of competition to experience the process. By winning this competition this could be valuable in getting my work out there as well as the prizes to be won. 

World Press Photo Contest

The World Press Photo Contest is an annual photography competition aimed at photographers with the best single exposure images that contribute to the past year of visual journalism. 

The competition is organised into a variety of different categories:

Contemporary Issues

Environment

General News

Long-Term Projects (Shot over a minimum of 3 years.)

 Nature

Portraits

Sports

Spot News

These can be entered as single images or as stories to be judged by a jury of photojournalism professionals.

This is an interesting competition as it is based on a lot of journalistic work which I haven't personally looked into a lot however the prize of being in a travelling exhibitions appealed to me the most as it is a really great opportunity to be part of an exhibition and be seen by millions of people. 

Sony World Photography Awards

The Sony Word Photography Awards is a photography competition that has ran for 12 years and counting that has paired with Sony. The competitions have been split into different areas.

Professional - This section is free to enter and is open to all photographers. They are looking for the “Photographer of the year” with 5-10 images from one of the ten different categories. These categories include: 

Architecture

Brief

Creative 

Discovery 

Documentary

Landscape

Natural world & Wildlife

Portraiture

Still Life

Sport

The winner of this section wins $25,000, Sony Digital imaging equipment and is included in the exhibition at Somerset House, London.

Open - This section is open to photographers of all ages, backgrounds and experience levels. They have to enter their best single images to win this selection. The winning photograph must be again from one of the ten categories (Listed previously.)

The winner of this prize receives $5,000, Sony Digital Equipments and a trip to London to be crowned the “Open Photographer of the Year.”

Youth - This section is open to photographers aged 12-19. They must enter a single photograph responding to one of the Best single images by photographers aged 12-19 following the brief. This is the 2019 brief - 

The winner of this section receives flights to London for the award ceremony, Sony Digital Imaging Equipment and is included in the exhibition at Somerset House, London.

Student - This section is free to anyone who is undertaking a full-time photography programme however their institutions must be registered with the competition to take part. This competition is split into two sections - 

1st Challenge - 3-5 images

2nd Challenge - 5-10 images

10 entries are shortlisted to participate in the 2nd section of the challenges in order to find a winner. 

All of the 10 shortlisted photographers are given Sony Digital Imaging equipment and are flown to London to attend the Sony World Photography Awards ceremony. 

The 1st place winner will receive €30,000 worth of Sony photography equipment for his or her institution.

This competition would be worthwhile considering as it is a really valuable experience and there are a lot of opportunities and prizes given. This would really challenge my own work and get the chance to win prizes and show off my photography.

It was really helpful researching different photography competitions as they are really easy ways of pushing your photography to gain experience and create a name for yourself. I would definitely like to enter some different competitions over the next few years to hopefully gain experience, get my work recognised and even earn some money for my photography!

[mollieyoungblog-blog]

Case Study - Director

I looked at the case study of director, Tom Marshall. Tom did an undergraduate degree in film production which really benefitted his career as it gave him a lot of practical experience as well as a theory based knowledge of film. 

Tom got into this job by initially making some short films, as he progressed he decided to create a short film in which he invested a couple hundred point into and was accepted into a few film festivals. This short film won a number of awards and was discovered by a region screen agency that funded short films. This led to his first publicly-funded short film that turned into a second. He then landed a job with Channel 4 which made him noticed by a London agent progressing into further TV broadcasting. 

As a director he undergoes a lot of different tasks such as location scouting, casting actors, altering scripts based on the locations, cast and budgets available. Ultimately he is in charge of the show and ensures that what is filmed agrees with the pre-production plans. After the actual filming takes place he works on the edit of the film and receives different feedback from the producers and executives. The final goal is to create something as close to the original as possible. 

One of the most challenging parts of being a director is the time management as you are working to a deadline and trying to create your best work. Ultimately there is a lot of pressure to succeed and you must take into account crucial elements such as budgeting and schedules. You have to prepare for technical issues and problems along with answering a lot of questions by being in control. 

Tom’s best advice for working in this field is gaining a lot of experience, watching a lot of films and creating a lot of films. Being noticed is key as you won't be able to get yourself out there if you don't share your work. Networking is a key element to give yourself the best advantages possible!

[mollieyoungblog-blog]

Employability Skills

The definition of soft skills is described - ‘personal attributes that enable someone to interact effectively and harmoniously with other people.’

I researched into what soft skills were and what different skills were commonly looked at by different employers. The top 10 examples of these skills included: 

1. A strong work ethic - meaning that you are motivated and dedicated to your job, this insures the employee does their best work. 

2. A positive attitude

3. Good communication skills - you are able to both verbally communicate as well as listen. This is very helpful when working with others as you can give and take information through your communication. 

4. Time management abilities - you are able to prioritise tasks as well as balancing a number of different tasks. 

5. Problem solving skills - you are able to resolve issues and be resourceful.

6. Acting as a team player

7. Self confidence

8. Ability to accept and learn from criticism - you need to be able to accept criticism and grow from this allowing you to be more successful. This will help you both professionally and personally. 

9. Flexibility/Adaptability - you need to be able to adapt to new situations and challenges to succeed. 

10. Working well under pressure - this is key when working as you will be able to work effectively and successfully to accomplish goals and handle your stress.

It was really helpful to find out what were useful soft skills to have in order to be the most appealing to possible employers. These are skills that are more personal rather than physical skills which is some ways are a lot more important as it defines you and how you ultimately are set apart to others. 

[mollieyoungblog-blog]

Here are some of my final images from my fashion photo shoot. I was really pleased with the outcome of these photos as I felt they really worked well. They presented Chloe’s clothes in exactly the way we had hoped. Through the exploration of coloured filters and interesting materials within the clothing, these paired really well together and ultimately the whole team was really happy with the final outcome!

[mollieyoungblog-blog]

My Work

Within my own fashion photography shoot I was able to put together a successful series of images. I had a few issues along the way in which I had to change models due to time pressures and difficulty to arrange a suitable time for my fashion collaboration, my makeup artist and model taking into account my deadline date and limited availability due to class and work. 

I was able to find an alternative model which meant that was shoot was still possible and luckily the clothes provided by Chloe were still workable with my model, Lauren.

On the day of the shoot things ran quite smoothly as I had previously shot my test images in the studio. Therefore setting up the lights and filters was quite simple and with the help of my team I was able to work to the best of my ability. 

Despite a few issues along the way, I was really pleased with the outcome of my images as they were visually what Chloe and I had hoped to achieve and ultimately my model was great as she worked really well with directions and contributed some really effective poses and suggestions which created some really strong images! 

[mollieyoungblog-blog]

Irving Penn

Irving Penn was an artist known for his printmaking and photography. He is well known for being a photographer for Vogue and succeeded through his creative mind. 

Irving was born in New Jersey and went to the Philadelphia Museum School of Industrial Arts up until 1938. Irving worked as an assistant to Alexey Brodovitch for quite a while gaining a lot of artistic skills. Irving decided to travel across South America and began to take photographs along the way. He ended up in New York in 1943 and began working with the new art director of Vogue, Alexander Liberman. Irving prepared new layouts and suggests new ideas for covers of magazine, when artists saw his spreadsheets of his images he gathered from his travels, it was obvious he had a very artistic eye. 

Penn began to develop a reputation for his style in still life and portraiture, Alexander Liberman sent his across the globe doing fashion and portrait assignments. Separately from these set assignments, be began to start a personal project, photographing nudes in close proximity within the studio, experimenting in how they were printed.

Irving’s work within Vogue became a lot more successful and led him across the world creating excellent photography. Irving wanted to transform his images and do something different therefore he began to research artwork and painting, trying to create an interesting and unique style. He began to experiment with how he printed his images setting them apart from other photographers. Throughout his career he progressed and shot a lot of work for Vogue whether it were portraiture, still life, fashion or beauty. 

Irving Penn’s photography was really experimental and unique which set him apart from other photographers of his time. I really liked his photography as it is quite unusual fashion photography and it involves a lot of experimentation and alternative art methods in order to create his beautiful images. 

[mollieyoungblog-blog]

Case Study - Digital Marketer

I looked at the case study of Sam Malik who is a digital marketer. Sam studied mechanical engineering at university and unfortunately was unable to find a job easily directly related to his degree. He signed up to platforms like Upwork and Elance for temporary work. He began to write press releases, articles for blogs and other materials which he really enjoyed the element of digital marketing. This led him to working through freelance with a tech start-up.  After six months of hard work and achieving good results he was able to  secure a permanent digital marketer role with the company. 

Sam typically has to keep up to date with digital marketing trends and find relevant opportunities. He works overseeing his team, managing job posts, does interviews and PR work. 

The biggest struggle of his job is staying creative, although he never gets bored as the field is so broad, he constantly has to come up with new, exciting methods to attract people and present content. 

He said that his degree directly wasn't helpful however he was able to transfer skills from engineering into his job. Managing projects and being a lot more organised routed from his engineering background and the statistical training from his degree made tasks such as data analysis a lot easier. Ultimately Sam wants to gain experience within his current position but progress into having his own agency providing services within healthcare. 

His best advice for getting into this job was being prepared to start from the bottom and work up within the career. Having some experience such as an internship and/or any freelance/voluntary work is definitely very useful. 

[mollieyoungblog-blog]

Case Study - Photographer

I looked at the case study of Sarah Brookes who graduated from Leeds University with a 2:1 zoology degree. She initially began to apply for roles within wildlife conservation organisations however a lot of these opportunities required  a masters degree, were voluntary or were an internship which weren’t paid for the first 3-6 months. Without any luck Sarah began a job working for financial services. 

She left her jobs after a few years to launch her own company - Sarah Brookes Photography. 

Surprisingly here degree in zoology is very helpful within her photography business as she uses her love for the natural world as a marketing strategy. With the understanding of the seasons and the impact this has on the landscape, this comes in as very helpful when selecting locations for photoshoots.

Sarah mainly offers services such as family portraits along with newborn sessions, weddings and product photography for businesses. She is currently hoping to organise a bridal workshop to give tips to engaged couples planning their dream wedding.

For Sarah one of the biggest struggles was setting up a website and putting her business out there. As it wasn't her area of expertise, it was very hard to find the contacts and to start off her own successful business. In the future she hopes to become a well known wedding photographer however her main goal is just to continue to gain more skills and gain more of a name for herself and her business. 

Her main advice for starting your own business (specifically in photography), was to make sure that you start your business at the best time possible, considering time and money. Finding your own style of photography is very important as you want to set yourself apart from other photographers, taking different courses and workshops can be really helpful in developing your skills over time. 

[mollieyoungblog-blog]

Linkedin

Linkedin is a large, professional network which is used by over 562 million people. It is a method of connecting a lot of working people together and ideal for finding a job opportunity. 

‘LinkedIn leads a diversified business with revenues from membership subscriptions, advertising sales and recruitment solutions.’ - Linkedin Website.

As I had looked at a case study in which someone was able to get a job directly from the use of Linkedin, I thought this would be helpful to look into.

I actually made my own profile on Linkedin as I was curious to explore the site. It was really quick and easy as I put in my details and began to add all of my qualifications, skills and career searches. I was able to have a look at different job opportunities as well as being able to connect to other working professionals. 

Here is an example of how the site works, I simply typed in a job search of ‘Photography’ and narrowed down the location to ‘Belfast/United Kingdom’ leading me to this result. Here is a position based in Derry of a Specialist Medical Photographer. Below the job there is a short description of the job followed by the skills you need and it is quick and easy to hit apply leading you to that process. 

It was really helpful signing up to Linkedin as it was really easy and opens a large variety of jobs surrounding my field of practice quite locally. The option allowing me to add more details about myself is useful as it makes me a lot more appealing to future employers too! 

[mollieyoungblog-blog]

Case Study - Graphic Design

I looked at the case study of a graphic designer called Tom Almond. Tom graduated from Edge Hill University with a degree in Web Systems Development.

Tom became a graphic designer after being approached through Linked In. At this point in time he was working for an office supply company however was interested in different career areas. Victorian Plumbing is the name of the company that he began to work for. 

Different tasks were discussed within this case study as he described some of his typical work. He wrote about a lot of stuff which is completed every week, all the time. This included tasks such as sale branding, print adverts and content on social media. He then went on to say that although there are a lot of tasks that are quite standard every week, they are always trying out new things which is always creating new design jobs. The team at Victorian Plumbing that Tom is involved with consists of ten people, they mainly work independently however they all encourage and support each other within their work. 

Tom said that his degree was very relevant as he took a lot of design based modules throughout his studies. By having a lot of knowledge through web development, this gave him a huge advantage in his job. 

One of the biggest challenges within his graphic design job is finding the balance between finding something that is effective for the audience it is aimed at as well as being visually interesting. The biggest tip that Tom gave was the advantages of being a part of Linked In as it is a great extension to a CV and landed him at job with Victorian Plumbing. 

[mollieyoungblog-blog]

Bruce Nauman

Bruce Nauman is an American artist who works with a range of areas such as photography, sculpture, printmaking, drawing and many other areas. 

Bruce studied initially at the University of Wisconsin specialising in mathematics and physics. He then went on to study art at the University of California. After graduating he then taught at a number of different institutions. 

With his own artwork he attempted almost every medium and considered anything he did to be art. 

‘The revival of interest in Marcel Duchamp in the 1960s also clearly influenced Nauman in various ways, from encouraging his love of wordplay to infusing his work with a satirical and sometimes absurdist tone.’ - The Art Story. 

Since the mid-60′s Nauman has created work that explores video, holograms, neon wall reliefs, photography and a variety of other works. I was particularly interested in his neon works. His aim with a lot of this work was to express irony and to go more on meaning rather than what looks best. 

The bright neon works are appealing to me as they are quite crazy and unique and they have a fun element within them. I love the bold colours and strange thought provoking work. 

The purpose of this work is to experiment with the lights, he wants to show the light reflections as well as the messages within the lights. It becomes an experience for the audience as well as just an art piece. 

I almost connected this to my fashion photography work as it explores a lot of lighting and colours similarly to my own photographs. The neon colour immediately caught my eye and brought me back to my plans for my own shoot. 

[mollieyoungblog-blog]

HMRC

You are able to sign up for HMRC when you register for online tax. 

It is really important to sign up to HMRC especially when starting your own business therefore you need to be aware of the guidelines around selling photography as a service. If you do not register or pay there are different penalties that you will be put into place. 

If HMRC finds out that you have not declared income on which tax is due, you may be charged interest and penalties on top of any tax bill, and in more serious cases there is even a risk of prosecution and imprisonment. 

This is definitely something important to be aware of due to all of the technicalities and legal issues surrounding this especially when it comes to starting your own business and having your own earnings. 

[mollieyoungblog-blog]

Source Magazine

Source Magazine is a magazine published in Belfast, Northern Ireland. It publishes the work of emerging photographers as well as exploring the latest in photographic news, reviews of different exhibitions and books / work from Ireland and Northern Ireland. 

This is an effective way of publishing your work to become more known as well as hearing about all of the latest photography information / events taking place nearby. 

I think the best part of this is the fact that it is only open to Ireland and Northern Ireland therefore it is a lot more focused and the opportunities are less limited for us. As shown above, submitting your work is quite quick and simple! It is definitely worthwhile looking into especially from a promotional point of view. There is a lot of information about different events and exhibitions which is really useful for exploring what is available quiet locally!

[mollieyoungblog-blog]

Go For It - Workshop

Patrica McNeill came in to talk to us today about the Go for It programme. This was really useful workshop as it allowed us to find out more about developing a business and understanding all that that entails. 

This programmes provides support to help develop your business plan, this involves taking a closer look at your vision and goals, doing market research, looking at marketing and finance. 

Why should you have a business plan?

It provides direction and focus as well as setting goals. It allows you to identify your problems as well as reducing risks at the same time. They work with the ‘SMART’ system. 

S - Specific 

M - Measurable 

A - Achievable 

R - Realistic 

T - Time Scale

There are many factors you need to consider within your business plan, this includes; Product or service, marketing, operations, people and finance. 

You must test your idea; Is there a market? Is there space in the market? Can you fund it? Are you fit for business? 

Market Research

Market research is very important when creating your own business, it allows you to gather, analyse and interpret information about a market, a product or a service. You need to look at the past, present and potential customers in order to demonstrate 10% annual turnover.

It is very important to research about experience and knowledge of the business as well as your competitors. It is quite useful to have surveys or mystery shopper scenarios in order to get a realistic sense of how successful your business will be. 

SWOT Analysis  - Strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats.

Promoting your business is key to getting yourself out there and getting clients so you must consider advertising your business, sales promotions, PR and personal selling. Without doing this you won't be able to succeed in becoming known or opening up to new clients / jobs. 

What is essential? 

In order to make the best from your business and budget properly, you will need to weigh up what is the most important and whether or not you need different elements such as a premises, stock, tools and equipment, staff or a vehicle. 

When raising finance for your business there are a lot of different options to make it possible therefore you need to look at grants (Invest NI, Princes Trust, Arts Council etc.), Loans (banks, overdraft, credit union, credit card) or Equity Finance (Crowd funding, Business Angels, Venture Capital.)

First Steps

To kick off your business you need to take a few first steps before you can really get your business off the ground. You will need a name and/or a logo for your business. You will need to contact HMRC and inform them of your new business - this allows for technical things such as tax. You should consider opening a bank account for your business, this will keep your finance organised. It would be worthwhile meeting with a business advisor to proceed with making your idea into reality. 

I really enjoyed this workshop as it addressed a lot of different elements that I would need to consider if I wanted to be a freelance photographer or just generally started my own business. There are a lot of key things which must be organised to create a realistic business and a lot of planning must take place before your business plan is possible. The Go For It programme seems to be a really great programme which could be worthwhile looking further into at a point in which I was considering progressing in my career after graduating. 

[mollieyoungblog-blog]

Blick Shared Studios

Blick Shared Studios is an enterprise set up to provide an affordable, spaced workspace available for hiring.

“Our properties have a creative and professional work environment and a friendly, informal and supportive atmosphere that encourages communication, collaboration and inspiration. Our workspaces are affordable and with flexible leases which takes the risk out of renting property. They are also fully serviced which eliminates hassle for residents so they can concentrate on growing their businesses. Meeting rooms and event spaces are available free of charge for our residents and at affordable rates for non-resident creative businesses.”

There are a number of different locations available for hire pricing from £150 per month for a desk space, and shared spacing up to £250 per month for a private office. Before committing to a space you are invited to come for a tour and then you are asked to pay a deposit which is the equivalent of one month’s rent. You are asked to commit to a minimum of 3 months with no additional fees or charges.

Within Belfast there are three different locations available; Malone Road, Hill Street and Cotton Court.

This is a really good idea to hire spaces as it gives you the opportunity to meet other creative people as well as giving opportunities for collaboration.

It is really helpful for people who are trying to start off a business as it gives them a starting off point with a location and availability for office spaces and work spaces. Through reading through different testimonials people felt it was perfect for freelancing as they could meet clients in these locations and they had opportunities to take part in different events as well as gaining work from other residents.

I think this would definitely be worth looking into after graduating as it is a really cheap and accessible option for having my own workspace and meeting other creative people. All of the locations are quite central to Belfast and ideal for being fully submerged in your work.

[mollieyoungblog-blog]

Freelance Photography

When I googled “What is Freelance Photography?” this was the first answer - Freelance photography is photography done on a per contract basis. Instead of working for an employer, a freelancer works on multiple projects for different clients.

I researched how to become a freelance photographer and it suggests you consider the approve points before choosing this career path. Each section opened up a lot more questions to consider and weighed up the reality of working for yourself. 

One of the big things that must be considered about freelancing is how much money you make. This can vary depending on your success and how many clients you get along with how much you are charging. 

According to the website Pay Scale, this is the average salary for a photographer based in the UK, taking into account some of the logistics. A lot of salaries will vary depending on whether you are a specialised photograph e.g - Wedding photographer, Fashion Photographer etc. 

I also looked up the pros and cons of becoming a freelancer:

Pros

1. Flexible Hours 

2. Control over jobs and clients

3. You can work where you want

4. You’re the boss (You only work for yourself and the clients)

5. You get to keep the profits / allocate them as you choose

Cons

1. Not a steady or reliable work load

2. Balancing work time and personal time

3. It is a lot of work finding clients / actual work

4. Risk of not getting paid if you don’t get any work

5. No employer benefits (E.g - Health Benefits)

It was actually really useful to research the pros and cons as there are a lot of areas you must consider before working for yourself especially if it means not having a stable income. 

I read a lot of different sources about how to be successful as a freelance photographer and a constant thing was having a strong portfolio and advertising to get your work seen. It is really important to get clients otherwise you won’t actually make enough in this career therefore you need to take risks and maintain a lot of organisation to work successfully. 

Freelance photography is definitely something I would consider in the future as it would give me a lot of freedom with my work as well as making money from what I enjoy. It is something I would consider doing part-time whilst getting a better portfolio and / or working in another jobs to become financially stable before going full time.