Your opinion on college course?

mastertrinity

mastertrinity

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Hey everybody,

Let me just explain the story from the start.

In September I started a BTEC photography diploma, I carried it on until December and then I realised it was just torture and not worth it at all. I asked another college if they would transfer me onto a media course but they were unable to due to the late date.

They told me however that there was a course starting in January and it's a progression course which teaches you how to learn and get a job, teach you essential job and college skills etc and it's a six month course which I've started right away.

Now I'm on this course and looking at courses I could do in September because I thought instead of rushing into media, while I have the chance and options what other courses to consider?

So far I've seen;

BTEC media Diploma - easy to get to the college but apparently media is a very common thing nowadays and so it may not stand out on a CV.

A level Film Studies - This is at a college that is sort of a pain to get to on a bus however I'd be willing to do it, I love the idea of learning about the context of films however as per media, it may not stand out and be useful in the real world.

BTEC business studies - I love business because it runs in the family as businessmen. I did a GCSE and got a C however I would love to improve and get the diploma, it's at the same college I go to now and is easy to get to. It stands out on the CV and any companies I work for would appreciate it and it would help me if I get into professional photography.

So while it seems Business Studies is the obvious choice are the other two needed to be considered or should I just opt for the business diploma?
 
Business studies, it's the only one of the three that might come in useful in the real world...
 
What do you actually want to do? Reading this it sounds like you're unsure but want your cv to look good?

Do you want to be in the film industry or do you want to be a photographer? Doing some random courses is a waste of your time.

Personally I don't care for photography qualifications. There's plenty of snobbery about them though.
If I was hiring a photograhper for a shoot I am not interested in qualifications-I am interested in portfolio and references. These are independent of any qualification.

Business studies sounds good to me. Very transferable. Whether you're running a photography business or an operational manager for an organisation.
 
Dr_O said:
What do you actually want to do? Reading this it sounds like you're unsure but want your cv to look good?

Do you want to be in the film industry or do you want to be a photographer? Doing some random courses is a waste of your time.

Personally I don't care for photography qualifications. There's plenty of snobbery about them though.
If I was hiring a photograhper for a shoot I am not interested in qualifications-I am interested in portfolio and references. These are independent of any qualification.

Business studies sounds good to me. Very transferable. Whether you're running a photography business or an operational manager for an organisation.
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I've always been a film buff and I was actually going to go into the film industry but then started up photography and enjoyed the idea of Film Studies course because I have a very cinematic approach in my photography and thought it would be great but only on a personal level.

Yes I do want my CV to look good because I want to be able to get a job and thought business is a transferable skill as you say you can use it in the photography industry or working in currys as a salesman.

Media was my immediate plan because I wanted to do a creative course related to photography and film but not like a photography course where it was full of snobby arses.

I'm deciding on business because it's just the logical choice and it would stand out on a CV and help if I get into pro photography :)
 
mastertrinity said:
I've always been a film buff and I was actually going to go into the film industry but then started up photography and enjoyed the idea of Film Studies course because I have a very cinematic approach in my photography and thought it would be great but only on a personal level.

Yes I do want my CV to look good because I want to be able to get a job and thought business is a transferable skill as you say you can use it in the photography industry or working in currys as a salesman.

Media was my immediate plan because I wanted to do a creative course related to photography and film but not like a photography course where it was full of snobby arses.

I'm deciding on business because it's just the logical choice and it would stand out on a CV and help if I get into pro photography :)
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It's always nice to have a knowledgeable salesman:)

I wouldn't do a course of this nature (ie full time) for personal interest but the course should excite you. Perhaps a slight contradiction but say you want to be a pro photographer- I would be wanting to learn about business to increase my chance of success:
How do I market myself?
How do I sell?
How do I interact with people?
Do I know about balance sheets?
How do I create a strategy?
How to I prioritise or manage my time?
etc etc.
I'd be looking at it as a way to help you realise your ambition but if it doesn't quite work out there are plenty of roles out there for someone who has a grasp of these concepts.

Best of luck:thumbs:
 
Dr_O said:
It's always nice to have a knowledgeable salesman:)

I wouldn't do a course of this nature (ie full time) for personal interest but the course should excite you. Perhaps a slight contradiction but say you want to be a pro photographer- I would be wanting to learn about business to increase my chance of success:
How do I market myself?
How do I sell?
How do I interact with people?
Do I know about balance sheets?
How do I create a strategy?
How to I prioritise or manage my time?
etc etc.
I'd be looking at it as a way to help you realise your ambition but if it doesn't quite work out there are plenty of roles out there for someone who has a grasp of these concepts.

Best of luck:thumbs:
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That's exactly it!

To be a pro photographer you need excellent business skills such as the questions you mention and it does seem to be a perfect way for me to learn about the business of photography but also business as a whole. My aim is to become semi professional because I believe that if I get a simple day job to pay for bills and then do my photography for a bit of cash on the side then it would be great and heck if I made enough I would quit the day job but that probably wouldn't happen lol. As a day job I'd love to work somewhere in the industry with cameras even if it was a salesman for currys, I've had a few people ask for my opinion when I've been looking around at the cameras and then I help them out and give them exactly what they need, I'm going to go to currys actually next week and hand in a CV there :D
 
I did my qauls up in Middleborough. I was excepted in Westminster, Barking and Bournemouth & Poole. all with good rep. Reason I took the less known College was that their entire course was business related. I.e: you had to shoot 3 of all formats. So you had to shoot 3x Digital, 3x 35mm, 3xLarge format. From a whole range of photographic jobs. Fashion throught Architechture..... etc

you had to plan and cost the job as if it were a real client. Brill.

Unlike half the students that have come to us with HND and they show a portfolio of a sink in a Romanian S*** hole or 3 poloroids stuck to some wall paper. I tell you tought by Tree hugging Wombat lovers who teach because they can not make it in the real world.

Which leads to my rant on BJP back pages. Students that say they like to travel and photograph holes in pavements or a Gypsy washing line!!!! Bloody clue less students!!!!

I blame Hippy John Lennon loving teachers!!!!
 
Daryl said:
Unlike half the students that have come to us with HND and they show a portfolio of a sink in a Romanian S*** hole or 3 poloroids stuck to some wall paper. I tell you tought by Tree hugging Wombat lovers who teach because they can not make it in the real world.

Which leads to my rant on BJP back pages. Students that say they like to travel and photograph holes in pavements or a Gypsy washing line!!!! Bloody clue less students!!!!

I blame Hippy John Lennon loving teachers!!!!
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:lol: This made me laugh, probably because I was one of those students. I dont agree with anything you said regarding the style that is being taught but I agree that they should be teaching a bit more business skills (or even common sense!) I mean if they want they are passionate about photojournalism or documentary then why are they coming to someone in your line of work with a completely unsuitable portfolio?:cuckoo:
 
Vcky, a student attitude will get you no where...

Commercial is how you must think! Commercial is how you must put artistic flare into.

where does anyone make a living out of shooting wasteland poorpeople in the far east of Turkey???

It does not.

And when you were in college did you spend over a month making a single exhibition print??

WRONG you need to make that top exhibition print standard in a few hours and mass produce them all at top quality.

Very few rich artists. If you want to travel to every poor third world Country and take snaps then fine.. But you wont make a living at it and it is NEVER ART!

What would business skills teach you Vicky??? Tree hugger college work does not pay anything. Its all ok for college but not in the REAL commercial world. thats my point.

Very few artists make money whilst they are alive....... When they croak their work goes for millions!!!!! then by people who do not have a clue about art. Just part of the clique set!


You ask why do they come Vicky? Because they want to work in photography. But the colleges seem to forget that the real photography world has tight deadlines. you do not have the luxery of time. You must produce a thousand Renoirs in under 2 days. and get the cheque in the bank.

You can not mope about like Dillion the rabbit from Magic Roundabout saying peaceman chill! The suns shining, the birds are tweeting... have a toke on this doobie?

From my college only 3 of us out of 50 are togs or in the photography industry.
 
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Daryl said:
Vcky, a student attitude will get you no where...

Commercial is how you must think! Commercial is how you must put artistic flare into.

where does anyone make a living out of shooting wasteland poorpeople in the far east of Turkey???

It does not.

And when you were in college did you spend over a month making a single exhibition print??

WRONG you need to make that top exhibition print standard in a few hours and mass produce them all at top quality.

Very few rich artists. If you want to travel to every poor third world Country and take snaps then fine.. But you wont make a living at it and it is NEVER ART!

What would business skills teach you Vicky??? Tree hugger college work does not pay anything. Its all ok for college but not in the REAL commercial world. thats my point.

Very few artists make money whilst they are alive....... When they croak their work goes for millions!!!!! then by people who do not have a clue about art. Just part of the clique set!


You ask why do they come Vicky? Because they want to work in photography. But the colleges seem to forget that the real photography world has tight deadlines. you do not have the luxery of time. You must produce a thousand Renoirs in under 2 days. and get the cheque in the bank.

You can not mope about like Dillion the rabbit from Magic Roundabout saying peaceman chill! The suns shining, the birds are tweeting... have a toke on this doobie?

From my college only 3 of us out of 50 are togs or in the photography industry.
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Exact reason I quit my photography course, it was too hippy. They were more concerned about learning old styles of photojournalism in contextual studies lessons and then we had textiles where we had to put pictures on t-shirts! I hated it and every minute being there I knew it wouldn't help in the real commercial world as you say.

Mine was a BTEC diploma, what was yours? it sounded intense but it's my kind of course lol
 
I can see your very passionate about this point and I respect that but commercial is not the be all and end all of photography (in my opinion). But I agree on the emphasis you put on drive and forward thinking, too many people coast through and expect it to be handed to them. I have a very strong future plan based on a lot of people who have mentored me and it will involve the contemporary market. I dont particularly want to be rich, money doesnt motivate me but it does motivate commercial photographers. I wont even start on your "not art" statement, that would take far too long ;)

In my humble opinion your point of view of what is photography is only your opinion and we are all entitled to one! :)
 
nice one Vic. I like you.

you can be creative and make a living doing great things.

But a photo of a pile of washing next to an old sink with broken floor tiles. is not art. there is no thought no structure. It's too easy a cop out. It's not 'contempory 'either. A word I hate.

It's laziness on the photographers part.

Conseptual is another college term for arty shots that are not 'ARTY'

Art is to use light, to make something real that is not real. Natural light through a bombed out window in Serbia is a cop out and lazy.

Love the hat Vicky. Anna Friel look is great!

Now old shipping containers made into funky offices, thats art.

Art? maybe a new thread.
 
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:thumbs:

Conceptual and contemporary are overused, unfortunately they do the trick though when you are networking ;)

Defining art is definitely a new thread! I've wasted many hours arguing about art in photography. I think photography should be considered in its own medium and be kept seperate from art :thinking:
 
Hwo come you quit the photography BTEC? I'm currently in my 2nd year, and whilst it has its shortcomings (the endless research projects; historial timelines, etc) I've found it to be good. That said, if Uni is much a repeat of this I can see myself jacking that in to stave of the cost.
 
tjs said:
Hwo come you quit the photography BTEC? I'm currently in my 2nd year, and whilst it has its shortcomings (the endless research projects; historial timelines, etc) I've found it to be good. That said, if Uni is much a repeat of this I can see myself jacking that in to stave of the cost.
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It just weren't for me, I wanted to learn the practical side, techniques etc but instead they just dragged it on and everything they were teaching I already knew so really I was just spending my life doing coursework for a diploma that I didn't think was worth it. Don't get me wrong it's great for some but not for others it just depends on your learning style.
 
The trouble with people nowadays is that they have no staying power, for the first 6months of my apprenticeship we did nothing but mark out, saw,drill, file, all the basics day in, day out, but it drove the the basic skills into you, skills that stick with you all your life before you went on to the "more interesting" aspects of engineering. Do you think that you're above being told or shown the basics because you think that you already know all that? I hope you never consider brain surgery as a profession.
 
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diggerz said:
The trouble with people nowadays is that they have no staying power, for the first 6months of my apprenticeship we did nothing but mark out, saw,drill, file, all the basics day in, day out, but it drove the the basic skills into you, skills that stick with you all your life before you went on to the "more interesting" aspects of engineering. Do you think that you're above being told or shown the basics because you think that you already know all that? I hope you never consider brain surgery as a profession.
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I wanted to do a course that would teach me about photography and not about old photos and the context of them, the tutors were useless and I was even teaching the tutors stuff.
 
mastertrinity said:
I wanted to do a course that would teach me about photography and not about old photos and the context of them, the tutors were useless and I was even teaching the tutors stuff.
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Hmmm I can see where your coming from but I hope you are at least learning outside of education about context, theory and the history of photography? It really will broaden your mind and make you realise how diverse photography can be. :)
 
Vic said:
Hmmm I can see where your coming from but I hope you are at least learning outside of education about context, theory and the history of photography? It really will broaden your mind and make you realise how diverse photography can be. :)
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Oh yes of course!

I'm into learning about the context, theory and history because that's a main part of photography it's just when it's the only thing that I was being taught at college and then they pile up the coursework and I thought it was pointless as I can learn it in my spare time :)
 
mastertrinity said:
I wanted to do a course that would teach me about photography and not about old photos and the context of them, the tutors were useless and I was even teaching the tutors stuff.
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When I was 23 I knew everything about engineering, now, at 50 I don't know half that. How does that happen?
 
diggerz said:
When I was 23 I knew everything about engineering, now, at 50 I don't know half that. How does that happen?
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Alzheimer's? :D

On a slightly more serious note, I was talking to a PJ a few days ago who said that if he were starting today he'd do a one year foundation course for the tech side and then either seek work as an assistant or go for a genre specific course (in this case the NCTJ).
 
DemiLion said:
Alzheimer's? :D

On a slightly more serious note, I was talking to a PJ a few days ago who said that if he were starting today he'd do a one year foundation course for the tech side and then either seek work as an assistant or go for a genre specific course (in this case the NCTJ).
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Yeah I think I would have preferred a foundation course for the tech side and then went onto assistant or specific course. I would still do a specific course like portraiture or something but I haven't got the cash at the moment until I get a part time job and even then I'm saving up for driving lessons which is going to be £400-£500 :/
 
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