Quick facts
| Qualification type |
Level 3 Extended Diploma |
| Duration | 2 years |
| Study times |
You will be expected to be in college for a minimum of 3 days per week, from 9:15 to 4:00. Your timetable will be confirmed at induction. |
| Entry requirements |
4 x GCSEs at Grade 4 or above. At least one of these should be Maths or English. Entry is via an interview where your commitment, enthusiasm and motivation should shine through. |
| Campus |
Leonardo House, West Suffolk College sixth form campus, Bury St Edmunds |
| Work placements | Work related experience |
Is it for me?
If you enjoy photography and would like to build your skills and a career - this is the course for you. Across all your assignments and structured sessions, you will learn and master a range of skills. There is a wonderful mix of technical competence and pure creative freedom. These range from working in our traditional black and white darkroom, to creating highly innovative digital pieces. Our staff are all qualified photographers and deliver a course with high expectations and ambition.
This course will allow you to express your own interests and individuality. Exploring both the unlimited world of creativity and the importance of photography as a tool for recording the world, society, nature, humanity and 'the moment' is at the core of this course. Photography is powerful and allows us all to see the world within a frame.
What you'll learn
Creative and Technical skills:
- Camera skills - manual and digital
- Studio lighting
- Darkroom methodology - black and white - chemical-based film development and printing
- Digital - various software - including Adobe CC (Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign)
- Portrait, fashion, social-documentary and commercial photography
- Locational photography
- Mixed-media image making
- Introduction to moving image and editing
- Idea generation
- Exploration and experimentation of media and processes
- Independent development of work into own unique outcomes
- Contextual studies - historical, modern photography and links to wider world issues
Professional Skills:
- Working on 'live' assignments
- Meeting deadlines
- Working with focus and independence
- Communication
- Presentation of outcomes
- Online professional social media profile
Work experience placements
Work related experience is encouraged as part of this course, this practical experience is invaluable for your creative journey and future career prospects. By actively engaging in hands-on work, you will have the opportunity to apply the knowledge and skills you acquire in the classroom to real-life situations.
Assessment
This course is assessed by deadline-driven coursework with no exams. All coursework is assessed at Pass, Merit, Distinction levels against the qualification unit criteria. We are proud to be a University of the Arts London (UAL) accredited college, the largest creative awarding body in Europe.
Further study
Example careers
- Photographer
- Photography technician
- Artist
- Digital image editor
- Studio Manager
- Art Director
Days & times
Starting September 2025