Course Outline
Course Structure
You will start your studies in this masters degree in Freelance Photography building on a solid foundation of professional practice, with an emphasis on an individual skills audit that will inform your professional development.
The course will provide a platform for you to deepen your understanding of your own photographic practice and entrepreneurial experience, whilst encouraging the ongoing acquisition of contemporary photography skills and specialised technical expertise. You will also develop a critical awareness of the central concerns facing today’s freelance photography industry.
Very specifically, MA Freelance Photography is about shaping your own unique visual identity and creative branding as a working freelance photographer, and about connecting with specialised markets and meeting client expectations.
You will meet with your tutors in small workshop classes and in individual tutorials. You will work in small groups with other students on practical tasks, and with industry professionals on photo shoots. A lot of the course content will grow out of your own individual photographic interests, and much of the assessed work will involve you shooting for, and collaborating with, real-world clients. We invite a wide range of relevant industry speakers, from photographers to picture editors, from creative directors to experts on social media marketing. They will all offer their own professional insights into the industry.
Over the course we will explore key areas of professional practice, including the use of DSLRs and high-end medium format cameras, creative lighting strategies in both the studio and on location, and ways to conceptualise and direct a shoot. We will look at post-processing and retouching skills, and how to maximize the efficiency of your workflow. Finally we will explore how you can most effectively market yourself and target your potential clients, evaluating business opportunities and facilitating growth through innovation and creativity.
We encourage you to experiment, to try out innovative ideas, and to produce truly original work. Although we often draw upon insights from the past, we are always looking to the future, and we want you to develop a body of work that really makes a difference.
You can find out more details about the course modules below.
Modules
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Professional Photography Skills (30 credits) |
Enterprise (30 credits) |
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This module enables you to analyse your own photographic and professional experience and explore the specialist skills and competences relevant to particular market sectors and client needs.
We encourage you to undertake a series of challenges in order to evaluate and address gaps in your professional skills base and to deepen your understanding of photographic practice and professional portfolio development.
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This module explores entrepreneurial techniques, processes and practices. You will put ideas into practice, develop a strong sense of your professional development needs, be involved in creating networks (in and outside the university) and refine an action-orientated approach.
By focusing on a spirit of entrepreneurship, we will encourage you to take ownership of your own personal professional development. You will identify industry challenges appropriate to your award, and turn them into opportunities for you to enhance your independence, confidence, networking capacity and strategic thinking. This will encourage you to become a reflective creative worker. |
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Creative Freelance Strategies (30 credits) |
Production Lab (30 credits) |
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This module will focus on professional identity, stylistic approach and creative visual branding, with an emphasis on developing innovative photography and self-promotion.
You will identify and develop your own unique photographic style and creative brand. You will engage in strategies to position your visual identity within specified freelance markets and explore creative self-promotion techniques to target clients. |
This module prepares you for MA by Practice, and draws upon other taught modules which established professional conventions and explored current industry challenges.
You will be provided with the opportunity to innovate, and to apply and experiment with a range of production skills appropriate to your award, supported by a systematic exploration of methods for research and production development. |
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MA by Practice (60 credits) |
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To complete your award, you will originate, execute and deliver an individual and extended practice-based professional project at the forefront of your field.
You will develop and consolidate your mastery of key skills, and knowledge of and engagement with current opportunities in the field of production. This module encourages and tests skills of initiative and independent practice and is conducted largely outside the classroom with support from a tutor. |
Assessments
Assessments usually emphasise scholarly or professional practice through which the key learning objectives are tested. Three weeks are set aside for assessment work.
Placements
The MA has a strong thread of individual personal development planning, supporting your studies and enhancing your career ambitions. To this end you will undertake a placement with either professional freelance photographers or work with your own client-base to a publishable outcome.
The Birmingham School of Media has a number of close contacts in the creative and cultural sector, regionally, nationally and internationally, which will aid in finding appropriate placements and exploring work in these industries.