GCSE Photography Results

Sidney

Sidney

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Sidney
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Hello All,

Just wanted to thank all of you that provided feedback on my Photography GCSE work I have posted on here. All of your feedback led to improvements which ultimately led to more marks; I don't think I would have gained the grades/marks without your input.

I am happy to report that I achieved an A* and received 200 marks (not sure how many marks were on offer, but will edit this post when I find out).

In previous posts I have questioned the correlation between good photographic skills and GCSE Photography grades, and am still unsure to this date (only 25% of the GCSE marks are for photographic skills), but one thing I will not question is the fact that I have improved immensely through the duration of the course. This is down to brilliant teaching and a course designed for students to create photographic projects, not just snapshots.

I would again like to thank all that contributed and urge anyone considering doing the GCSE to do so.

Cheers,

Sid.
 
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Congratulations :)
 
Well done Sidney :thumbs:

What's next for you?
 
Well done Sid, I wish photography had been a GCSE when I was at school!
 
Well done! I’m about to return to School for my final year and I’m aiming for the A* in Photography too, I can only hope I do as well as you did.

Any tips would be fantastic, thanks :)
 
Niall97 said:
Well done! I’m about to return to School for my final year and I’m aiming for the A* in Photography too, I can only hope I do as well as you did.

Any tips would be fantastic, thanks :)
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The main tip I can give is to do all of your bookwork electronically (on PowerPoint ect) and then stick it your book at the end of the project. This means that you can always go beck and improve things like vocabulary or more paragraphs here and there. It also means you can have a constant PowerPoint theme/template throughout your work to make it feel coherent.

I would also strongly recommend www.thephotographyteacher.com as all the content they have up there. They recommend doing things like recreating a Photographers' work which really boosts marks, and they also have a very in-depth guide to critiquing your own and other photographers' work.

Also trust what your tutors say. When my teacher recommended that I spend my time tweaking a few of the pages in my book to make use of the space more effectively, I didn't see the point and felt she was just recommending I do things to keep me busy during the lessons! However now looking back on things, I can see just how important that could be. For instance, if one of your projects receives full marks, but when the examiner looks at it they comment of the presentation, your marks could go down and you could slip into Grade A (I'm sure you know just how tight the grade boundaries are). In short, the teachers know the course far better than you, so have trust in what they say.

Above all though, I would say stick to things you're interested in and comfortable doing (don't decide to do a project of Black and White street portraits only to find out mid-shoot you have no confidence approaching strangers). Stick to what you enjoy and your work will be better for it, and don't let anyone persuade you do take on a project that you don't feel you can execute appropriately (however I see how this does contradict the previous paragraph!)

Hope I helped, and good luck with yours.

Cheers,

Sid.
 
Thanks a lot to all for your lovely comments! :)
 
Sidney said:
The main tip I can give is to do all of your bookwork electronically (on PowerPoint ect) and then stick it your book at the end of the project. This means that you can always go beck and improve things like vocabulary or more paragraphs here and there. It also means you can have a constant PowerPoint theme/template throughout your work to make it feel coherent.

I would also strongly recommend www.thephotographyteacher.com as all the content they have up there. They recommend doing things like recreating a Photographers' work which really boosts marks, and they also have a very in-depth guide to critiquing your own and other photographers' work.

Also trust what your tutors say. When my teacher recommended that I spend my time tweaking a few of the pages in my book to make use of the space more effectively, I didn't see the point and felt she was just recommending I do things to keep me busy during the lessons! However now looking back on things, I can see just how important that could be. For instance, if one of your projects receives full marks, but when the examiner looks at it they comment of the presentation, your marks could go down and you could slip into Grade A (I'm sure you know just how tight the grade boundaries are). In short, the teachers know the course far better than you, so have trust in what they say.

Above all though, I would say stick to things you're interested in and comfortable doing (don't decide to do a project of Black and White street portraits only to find out mid-shoot you have no confidence approaching strangers). Stick to what you enjoy and your work will be better for it, and don't let anyone persuade you do take on a project that you don't feel you can execute appropriately (however I see how this does contradict the previous paragraph!)

Hope I helped, and good luck with yours.

Cheers,

Sid.
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Thanks Sid :) I’m looking to really put the effort in this year because I’d be disappointed with anything but an A* in Photography seeing as it’s such a major part of my life outside of school. I’m fairly confident that I can get it should I put the effort in, there’s no room for complacency that might lead to disappointment, it’s crucial that I nail it. I’m going to find a few past mark schemes on the internet to have a quick scan over too, that should give me a good idea of what to add to my existing coursework should it need it.
 
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Well done Mate, the sky the limit now
dave
 
Congratulations on your GCSE results and good luck for the future...the world is your oyster
 
Hey Sidney,

I'm starting GCSE photography in september.
Could you give me some advice on it?
Also what equipment have you got? So that I know to what extens I need to go

Also did you do PURE photography or did you mix some painting or something into it?
I'm assuming you did it as an art gcse, as there is no photography gcse theres only Art (Photography) GCSE.
 
Good stuff young man. Just had a look at your Flickr as well. Keep at it and you'll do fine.
 
sparkzweb said:
Hey Sidney,

I'm starting GCSE photography in september.
Could you give me some advice on it?
Also what equipment have you got? So that I know to what extens I need to go

Also did you do PURE photography or did you mix some painting or something into it?
I'm assuming you did it as an art gcse, as there is no photography gcse theres only Art (Photography) GCSE.
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I used 'pure' photography, and yes the course is called 'Art & Design: Photography'. I have given some advice on a previous post, but if you have any specific questions please ask.

Thanks again to all for feedback :)

Sid.
 
In your final GCSE piece how many photos did you have?
Did you have to write a short commentary?

The art gcse exam is 10 hours long! Obviously we shoot the photos outside of school so we have 10 hours to edit our photos!
Is it really boring? The editing would be done within like 3 hours?

Thanks.
 
sparkzweb said:
In your final GCSE piece how many photos did you have?
Did you have to write a short commentary?

The art gcse exam is 10 hours long! Obviously we shoot the photos outside of school so we have 10 hours to edit our photos!
Is it really boring? The editing would be done within like 3 hours?

Thanks.
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It took me about 5 hours to edit, then 5 hours completing other tasks to do with project. Not boring at all if you plan your time properly. My exam final piece was one image (but a composite of 3) but of of my final pieces for another project contained 36 images.

I did a lot of writing because I really wanted to show the examiner the thinking behind my work and that I considered lighting principles (inverse square law ect) and other technical aspects like lens compression. I wrote trying to tick as many boxes as possible.

Thephotographyteacher.com has a great writing guide.

Hope I helped, any other questions please ask :)

Sid.
 
Well done, Sidney. Are you continuing on to A level?

I've just finished my final year of 6th and got an A* at A2, beating the B I got in the first year.

If you I don't think you need any advice but I'd really pull out all the stops for you final display piece(s), give something to the moderator that will stop him in his tracks!

Harry.
 
Hazza said:
Well done, Sidney. Are you continuing on to A level?

I've just finished my final year of 6th and got an A* at A2, beating the B I got in the first year.

If you I don't think you need any advice but I'd really pull out all the stops for you final display piece(s), give something to the moderator that will stop him in his tracks!

Harry.
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Cheers, and well done!

After a lot of thinking I have decided that I will not be continuing the subject to A-Level. The logic behind this is that if I am to get onto my desired university course (Philosophy, Politics and Economics) Maths at AS is required by a lot of universities.

Also, if in the future I do want to do photography professionally, a Photography A-Level isn't required at all.

I will continue to take pictures and to keep me going I will enter the 'Photographer of the Month' competitions from January.

Well done with yours, do the B and the A* equalise, or are they two separate grades?

Good luck in the future.

Sid.
 
Niall97 said:
Just to update this now that I have got my GCSE result, I got an A* - full marks. On to A-Level now :)
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Congrats Niall and congrats Sid!

I did my own back in 1992 albeit using film and a dark room! I didn't score as highly as either of you whizz kids but it did spark a long term interest in imagery!
 
Niall97 said:
Just to update this now that I have got my GCSE result, I got an A* - full marks. On to A-Level now :)
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Well done!

Want some advice? Skip A level photography. Go for a BTEC diploma. It will teach you more, and will be regarded higher in industry than an A level.. which are not regarded very highly at all. If you want to go on to a HND or Degree, a BTEC Diploma would be more highly regarded by universities too.

The only problem with further education these days is the sheer amount of non subject crap you'll have to put up with, such as "functional skills - Maths and English" because FE's job is now to mop up the mistakes of a broken school educational system.
 
Congrats OP, seems like you worked hard for your results, well deserved.



Pookeyhead said:
The only problem with further education these days is the sheer amount of non subject crap you'll have to put up with, such as "functional skills - Maths and English" because FE's job is now to mop up the mistakes of a broken school educational system.
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Never has a truer word been spoken.
 
Just to add.... I'm not suggesting you don't take A levels... LOL. Just A level phtography.

Do your academic A levels.... get good grades... THEN do a BTEC in Photography if you're serious about it. Another 18 months won't do you any harm and there's far too much pressure on kids (sorry... didn't mean that patronisingly) to go to Uni at 18/19. It's a fact that people who go to Uni at 21, 22, 23... etc actually do far better. You grow a great deal in those years.
 
Cheers, guys!

I see where you're coming from, I'm not massively bothered about having qualifications in photography because as far as I can see to get anywhere in the industry you get on in it on your own merits rather than qualifications, so I'm doing it to get a good grade relatively easily :)
 
"I'm doing it to get a good grade relatively easily :)"

And that is what is at fault in today's system. Not that I blame you young man.
 
But if you go for a job in a bank, for argument's sake... they're not really going to take a A* in photography very seriously though :)
 
Frankly I'd sooner die than go into a bank job but I understand what you're saying.

As for your above post, it's not that it's easier so I'm doing it, it's more because I have a greater ability for Photography than I do for Maths for example, so it would be utterly stupid not to play to my strengths would it not?
 
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Niall97 said:
Frankly I'd sooner die than go into a bank job but I understand what you're saying.

As for your above post, it's not that it's easier so I'm doing it, it's more because I have a greater ability for Photography than I do for Maths for example, so it would be utterly stupid not to play to my strengths would it not?
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well said ;)
 
Niall97 said:
Frankly I'd sooner die than go into a bank job but I understand what you're saying.

As for your above post, it's not that it's easier so I'm doing it, it's more because I have a greater ability for Photography than I do for Maths for example, so it would be utterly stupid not to play to my strengths would it not?
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It wasn't criticism of you BTW... we all understand why someone would want a qualification in something they enjoy doing... just for the pleasure of doing it.
 
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