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Photography A Level- Alton

A Level

closeup of a camera lense

Availability & Details

Photography - A Level AF1-PHOTAL/C01

Venue
Alton Campus

Type of study
A Levels

Dates
Academic Year 2024-25 (2 years)

Examination board
Oxford Cambridge & RSA Examinations

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How to apply

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Overview

If you want to discover the thrill of expressing yourself through still images, exploring traditional skills and being creative with digital technology, come and be inspired by our enthusiastic staff. Lessons take place in our specialist photographic department with its superb darkroom, three fully professional-standard studios and computer suite with Adobe Creative Cloud software.You’ll be encouraged to explore and engage in different ideas and practices, developing the person behind the camera and producing work that reflects you and the changing world we live in. Visits to galleries and exhibitions are encouraged on this course and each year there is the opportunity to travel overseas to experience a different culture to enhance your studies.

Five GCSEs at grade 4 or above including a creative or technical subject. If a creative subject was not taken at GCSE then we need to review a portfolio of material showing enthusiasm and good practice.

You will study: Traditional darkroom techniques, which will enable you to fully appreciate how photography has evolved into the 21st century. It will be a hands-on practical history lesson! How to think about visual communication and how imagery is used to communicate an idea or viewpoint of an individual. Research into a variety of worldwide photographic artists, to help and influence your own creative image-making. Digital workflow & editing as an extension of the darkroom using Adobe Creative Cloud. A personal investigation in Year 2 of this course, exploring artists, photographers and technique to gain an in-depth practical understanding of the process you apply within your photographic practice, supported by a related written study. Independently and be encouraged to take responsibility for directing much of your own practical projects and research work.

Lesson activities are wide-ranging and stimulating from theory-based to practical exploration. You will develop your own ideas by researching other artists and be encouraged to examine the world around you visually. You will work through a variety of techniques and learn to work with appropriate media, materials and processes. Photography students are expected to annotate work, to express personal and creative ideas and produce final outcomes using a range of approaches and methods from the darkroom to digital. NOTE: Some of the coursework projects are up to 6 weeks long and keeping these on track require independant work, including completing work off campus and/or using College facilities outside of lesson time.

60% personal investigation, 40% externally set task.Externally set task includes a 15-hour controlled element.

Students will need to purchase a £30 Photography starter pack which includes an SD card for digital work and other materials needed to complete the film photography project. Some students may need to supplement this with personal purchases, however this will depend on their chosen project. Photographic consumables: £20 per project (approximately).Optional trips from £20 each.


I’m very, very happy, I didn’t expect to do so well. The College has been helpful and supportive. I loved my courses, and the teachers were really good – every single one of them. The facilities are great, but it’s the staff that really make this place.

Matthew Randell, A Level student

My courses were all especially interesting, I thoroughly enjoyed all of them. All of my lecturers were extremely knowledgeable and I have learnt a lot from them.

Lottie Warren, A Level student

The teaching and support was absolutely brilliant, they couldn’t have done anything more or anything better, if I had any questions my lecturers would always stay behind to help me if I needed it and their emails were always open, it was second to none. This college is the best by far.

Amber Searle, BTEC student