'The amount of times I’ve had to use a camera since graduating have been endless'

“Photography can be used in so many different ways. If you’re interested in a creative career there are so many points at which you will need to use a camera…….whether its graphic design, textiles or marketing you’re interested in, it can be of use in so many creative careers and its  helped me such a lot in every job I’ve have had!

When working as a freelance illustrator, I used photography on a range of jobs.  I had to produce 7 large scale drawings for a cruise liner and to create the drawings I initially started off with a camera and then, when building installations for various other projects,  the only way to record this for my portfolio was by photography.  When I worked in a gallery and an arts centre, one of my jobs was to photograph work that was to be included in the gallery guide along with photographing other events and private views to use for publicity. Now I work in marketing and I have to use my camera to photograph events on a weekly basis. The amount of times I’ve had to use a camera since graduating from a degree in Graphic Communication have been endless. Although it was never my intention to be a Photographer, having photography as a skill has assisted me in every job I have had in the creative industry.

Advice I would give to students who are interested in a career in the creative industry is to always consider the range of skills you will need in whatever path you choose. You may be interested in textiles, but exploring a range of creative processes and techniques will always put you at an advantage in your career and make you more employable. For example if you became a surface pattern designer, you may start your original designs with some initial drawings, these then may get scanned into the computer edited and finished using various programs. You then may wish to silk screen these designs onto fabric and your last step may be getting a model to wear your designs in a studio for you to photograph for your portfolio. By creating a beautifully designed pattern from start to finish you have used a variety of different processes and skills. That’s why I think when I left school at 16 choosing to study a Btec in Art and Design in an Art College was so useful. Although I was able to specialise in Graphic Design which was the area I was most interested in, I was able to explore a range of different processes and learnt a variety of different skills that I’m still using 7 years later” Ex Extended Diploma Student at Hereford College of Arts who left in 2005