BA (Hons) Photography and Imaging

This innovative course offers a practical route into the rapidly evolving field of photography and image-making techniques. There will be an inter-disciplinary first semester, where you will work collaboratively with students studying media production, game design & development, and music & sound design to enhance your digital media production skills and to develop your ability to work effectively in a team.

From the second semester onwards, students will have the opportunity to research and experiment with different forms of photographic and other 2D and 3D image creation, as well as to collaborate with students on the other creative technology courses. Aligned with active research and drawing upon technical expertise within the School, students will be able to apply their creative skills and specialist knowledge to a wide range of related industries, such as photography, art and design, fashion, games, tourism, heritage, architecture, and health.

All the time you’ll be developing a portfolio of your own creative work and commercial commissions. Take a look at students’ recent work for some creative inspiration. They’ll be opportunities to showcase your work at exhibitions inside and outside the University.

Modules are assessed by projects, essays and presentations. Methods of assessment for course overall: 100% coursework.

Year 1

• Remix. Remake. Recycle.
  This module introduces you to a range of approaches to contextual research and academic critique in relation to contemporary practice in the Creative Industries. By exploring key themes across a range of creative disciplines, you will gain perspective and insight into current debates within the creative sector. By extending your frame of reference, you will gain a better understanding of how to contextualise your own creative practice through the lens of history.
• Sound and Vision
  One half of this module will focus on developing your visual literacy, so that you can better interpret the meaning or intent behind images. In the other half of this module, you will focus on developing an understanding of the impact sound has on how we perceive events and experiences. Taken together, these explorations will provide you with critical knowledge and understanding that you can apply to the production of your own audio-visual projects, using cameras, recording devices, and audio-visual editing software.
• Creative Agency
  A creative agency consists of a team of experts with different areas of expertise working together to deliver a project in response to a design brief. In this module, students will work together to deliver creative solutions to a range of creative design briefs. In so doing, you will get a taste of how effective collaboration happens between specialist disciplines within the Creative Industries.
• Photographic Workflows
  The module will develop your skills in image capture, in the studio and on location, working with available light, flash and continuous lighting. Making use of digital postproduction techniques, you will develop retouching and image manipulation skills. Responding to briefs both individually and as part of a team, you will develop your ability to produce visually inventive, creative imagery for screen and print. Essentials of production workflow will include file management, sequencing, and presentation for a range of professional contexts.
• Photographic Genres
  In this module you will be introduced to an understanding of genre and its myriad implications, aesthetically, socially, and professionally. Identifying where genre intersects with technique, you will extend your reach in exploring links between genre and audience. You will create a portfolio of images of a conceptual and technical quality that’s representative of an identifiable genre. On completion of the project you will present your portfolio of work to a panel in the format of a portfolio review.
• Emergence of Photography
  This module offers a thematic approach to studying photography from the earliest experiments in the 1830s to the digital forms of today. This story is a multifaceted adventure that takes us to the centre of art and visual culture of the last 200 years. The emphasis is on connections between theory and practice, word and image, and developing your abilities to articulate yourself when writing and speaking about images.

Year 2

• Expanded Photographic Practice
  In this module, you are encouraged to extend your skills to include established and innovative methods and processes, and engage with opportunities offered by new and emerging technologies. Critical evaluation of established and emerging imaging technologies and presentation strategies is developed through guided and self-directed practical research. Collaboration on a final year production will allow for the development of ambitious public-facing work which anticipates meaningful interaction with identified audiences.
• Image-Text
  The combination of image and text is essential to provide and exchange information. Enriching images with words, and words with images, is more important now than ever, especially in the context of growing interest in AI. In this module we move from traditional image analysis such as the captioning of images, to the increased importance of metadata and semantic information. We ask how both images and texts are “read” and “seen” by both humans and machines.
• Making Public
  In this practice-based module you will create a body of creative work for public display. Briefings and seminars examine the wider political, cultural and social contexts of what it is to make work public. In consultation with your tutor, you will examine and identify an appropriate forum to showcase your work. Through visual and theoretical research you will explore an identified public sphere as a means for disseminating work and creating an audience.
• Contemporary Debates
  This module prepares you for the critically advanced research and production required for your final year projects. The focus is on building a literature review utilising topics, theories, and case studies relevant to your areas of interest. You will be introduced to a range of exercises in research and knowledge production designed to help develop and extend your confidence as researchers and creative practitioners.
• Professional Development and Employability
  This module offers you an opportunity to engage with your professional practice and career expectations in a variety of ways, by offering a flexible approach to exploring the multitude of routes into employment or self-employment within the Creative Industries. You will have the opportunity to further your career ambitions through identifiable activities such as work placements, entrepreneurial activity, business planning, creative collaboration, self-promotion, and industry engagement through organised events such as conferences, festivals or design competitions.
• Interdisciplinary Practice
  In this module you are encouraged to diversify your core skillset by engaging in either collaborative or independent investigation within the broader Creative Industries. You will be offered the opportunity to choose from a selection of topics for practical exploration that intersect with your own specialist discipline. In this sense the teaching, learning and investigation is geared towards the production of an interdisciplinary practical output, either independently or as a collaborative endeavour, dependant on the nature of the topic being explored.

Year 3

• Pilot Major Project
  This module develops your individual practice within your specialist area. Research into historic and contemporary theory and practice will enable you to develop a critical framework in which to consider your final year project. The emphasis will be on developing working methods to curate and complete a self-directed project within a specialist area of practice, and to communicate this through a fully formed proposal.
• Major Project
  This module will provide you with the platform to showcase your abilities and skills through a sustained, self-directed body of work in your chosen discipline. The first part of the module focuses on the development of research and practical skills as a foundation for your final major project. You will then manage your own learning under the guidance of your supervisor. The module is designed to allow you to immerse yourself into a particular area of interest, allowing you the chance to shape your future career through a major piece of authentic work.
• Research Project
  The final year Research Project module gives you the opportunity to conduct original research in an area of particular interest. It allows you to engage more critically with theories, topics and methods encountered on your course. You will manage your own learning under the guidance of an academic supervisor. The module is organized around lectures, seminars, and one-to-one supervisions. The Research Project form and structure is developed in consultation with your supervisor, who you will meet regularly for 1:1 tutorials.
• Professional Practice and Portfolio
  The module has been designed to assist you with the transition from university to employment. The focus will be on identifying current opportunities in your sector, through a combination of research, guest lecturers and visits to production facilities. By the end of this module, you are expected to have completed a portfolio of work that you can show to potential employers.

Employability Service

At LSBU, we want to set you up for a successful career. During your studies – and for two years after you graduate – you’ll have access to our Employability Service, which includes:

• An online board where you can see a wide range of placements: part-time, full-time or voluntary. You can also drop in to see our Job Shop advisers, who are always available to help you take the next step in your search.
• Our Careers Gym offering group workshops on CVs, interview techniques and finding work experience, as well as regular presentations from employers across a range of sectors.

Our Student Enterprise team can also help you start your own business and develop valuable entrepreneurial skills.

• A Level BCC or;
• BTEC National Diploma DMM or;
• Access to HE qualifications with 9 Distinctions 36 Merits or;
• Equivalent Level 3 qualifications worth 106 UCAS points
• Applicants must hold 5 GCSEs A-C including Maths and English or equivalent (reformed GCSEs grade 4 or above)
• We welcome qualifications from around the world. English language qualifications for international students: IELTS score of 6.0 or Cambridge Proficiency or Advanced Grade C.

Portfolio

Offers for this course will be made on the basis of your UCAS application and a portfolio of work (15- 25 images). You'll be notified by email with advice about how to upload your online portfolio, once we have received your UCAS application. 

When putting together your portfolio think carefully about how best to represent your work and your interests in photography. If possible ask your current tutors for advice when putting your portfolio together. Generally it is best to show work from projects, rather than lots of unconnected images. These could be projects you have completed as part of your education, or personal work that you have done.

We also consider applications from those who have gained relevant skills through a wide range of vocational qualifications or responsible experience.

For more information, including how and when to pay, see our fees and funding section for undergraduate students.

Please check your fee status and whether you are considered a Home, EU or International student for fee-paying purposes and for our regulatory returns, by reading the UKCISA regulations.

See our Tuition Fees Regulations (PDF File 226 KB) and Refund Policy (PDF File 775 KB).

Possible fee changes

The University reserves the right to increase its fees in line with changes to legislation, regulation and any government guidance or decisions.

The fees for international students are reviewed annually and the University reserves the right to increase the tuition fees in line with the RPIX measure of inflation up to 4 per cent.

Scholarships

We offer several types of fee reduction through our scholarships and bursaries. Find the full list and other useful information on our scholarships page.

The individual fee for this course is shown above. For more information, including how and when to pay, see our fees and funding section for postgraduate students.

See our Tuition Fees Regulations (PDF File 226 KB) and Refund Policy (PDF File 775 KB).

We have a range of PhD Scholarships available in partnership with businesses and organisations; read notices of PhD studentships.