MA Creative Direction for Fashion and Beauty
The term creative director originated in advertising agencies, but in the last few years has also become prevalent in the fashion and beauty industries. The role of creative...
BA (Hons)Fashion Photography
Apply on UCAS- 2023
- 2024
- 3 years
- 4 years with foundation year
UCAS code: FPH1
Institution code: S30
UCAS points: 104-120Flexible entry options available
Campus: Southampton City CentreView on Google Maps
Why study a fashion photography degree at Solent University
Bring your unique style and photographic vision to the world of editorial fashion to push the boundaries of fashion image-making.
- 0rdmost affordable city in the UK for students (Student Living Index 2022, NatWest)
- 0thin the sector for graduate start-ups (HESA 2022)
- Study a highly unusual course. We are one of the few universities in the UK that combines the disciplines of fashion, photography, fashion film and multi-media production into a full degree qualification.
- Our course team maintain close links with industry which enables you to benefit from guest lectures, live briefs, and placement opportunities.
- Recent students have enjoyed work placements Graduate Fashion Week, Fat Face, and Hungry Tiger Studios, as well as freelance assistant opportunities with leading photographers.
- Graduates have gone on to work for renowned fashion companies such as Bottega Veneta, Mulberry, and Jimmy Choo, and secured full-time roles as photographers, studio managers, video editors, production managers and shoot producers.
- Facilities include 11 professional photography studios, a fully equipped infinity cove, and a range of make-up and hair design spaces.
This video 'Why study BA (Hons) Fashion Photography' is available as a text transcript, with a description of visuals.
Course overview
On this creative and forward-thinking degree, you will be supported by experienced tutors and technical instructors, dedicated to giving you the skills you need to become the fashion photographer you dream of being.
You will have the opportunity to collaborate with students from a range of other fashion courses, giving you invaluable networking experience. As part of your degree, you will hone your own personal creative style by undertaking industry placements, giving you essential hands-on experience.
Throughout your studies you will have access to a range of professional photography facilities to broaden your skills, including photography studios (including a specialist infinity cove), make-up studios, Mac suites, and digital reprographics rooms for high quality professional prints. All of which will help you to build a professional and extensive portfolio.
The course places a strong emphasis on equipping you with the skills and knowledge required by employers for a wide range of roles within the fashion industry. Many of our alumni have successful careers as freelance creatives, working internationally in a range of image-making roles.
Any questions?
Contact international admissions
Call: +44 (0)23 8201 5066Email: admissions.international@solent.ac.ukMember of:
Course features
Foundation year available
If you're not quite ready for a full undergraduate degree, there's alternative entry through one of our foundation years
Specialist facilities
This course has access to specialist facilities
Further studies
After successfully completing your studies, there's an opportunity to continue your studies at Solent
Top-up option
If you have an appropriate Level 5 qualification, you can top it up to a degree in just a year
Who is this course for?
Solent’s Fashion Photography programme focuses on giving you a specialist skillset and thorough understanding of the industry, while allowing you to explore and develop your creative practice.
Applicants will be required to supply a variety of work in a digital portfolio, including sketchbook or supporting material, photography tests and examples, through to written work (essays).
What does this course lead to?
Through the industry-focused skills and knowledge gained on this course, you could find yourself working in an exciting and varied range of creative roles, including fashion, editorial, advertising, production and post-production, digital imaging, video editing, art direction, and picture editing.
Meet the team
The University cannot guarantee any particular members of staff will teach specific aspects of the course in the future, but will endeavour to ensure the teaching team maintains their balance of experience and qualifications.
Facilities
Course facilities include an extensive media loans programme, providing access to high-end DSLR cameras, an extensive range of lenses (including many ‘L’ series and Prime lenses), 35mm cameras, medium format cameras (645, 6x7 and 6x9), large format 5x4 cameras and lenses, and a full stock of accessories – light meters, tripods, flash guns, remote-controlled boom-mounted flash systems and more.
You’ll also have access to our digital reprographics lab, featuring commercial-standard and large-format printers, flatbed scanners, three Hasselblad drum scanners scanning up to 5x4 size and a colour-calibrated ProMac-based reprographic suite. Our recently rebuilt colour and black-and-white darkrooms are of the highest industry standards and students can also freely use our in-house colour film processing machine. Additionally, we have finishing and film processing rooms, a modern multimedia lab featuring 24 iMacs with Adobe Creative Suite and Final Cut Pro, plus large professional photographic studios and associated make-up and styling rooms.
Core modules
Crafting the Image
On this module you will be introduced to the practicalities of working as part of a team, and shooting in a studio environment. Discovering the relationship between lighting, model choice and direction, along with post-production, make-up/hair/fashion styling.
Style Cultures
It is important to look at cultural and socio-economic phenomena with a critical eye, and this module will teach you how to do just that. You will practice how to analyse and discuss contemporary culture and its historical foundations, and understand how art can interpret and reflect the worries and desires of a particular society.
The Style File
Through related technical sessions you will build a foundation of skills to aid the production of photoshoots and design-focused layouts. This will allow you to gain vital understanding of processes important to the publishing industry, and thinking how an image will be used, to give you a deeper understanding of design contexts.
Capturing Beauty
You will learn the central skills required when capturing beauty image and moving media, the processes explored in seminar and through lectures will look at historical understanding of beauty and the contemporary industry imagery that informs trend led ideas and outcomes. This will introduce you to fundamental knowledge of how to link your technical photography and fashion research when creating beauty focused imagery for editorial and advertising purposes.
Editorial Fashion
This module will provide you with an in-depth understanding of editorial fashion, target audiences and aesthetic principles. Understanding a broad range of aspects when it comes to magazine production and publishing, will equip you with the necessary knowledge needed to make well-informed creative decisions when creating work for any publication in industry.
Reading Pictures
This module will change the way you look at images. It will allow you to better understand the meaning of images and their place in the world. You’ll learn to read the content of images, going beyond the surface to the underlying message. You’ll also learn to look at images from a theoretical point of view and use this deeper understanding of images in the creation of your own written and practical work.
How you will learn and be assessed
You will learn by:
You may be assessed by a combination of:
- Creative design projects
- Visual reports
- Portfolios
- Essays
Solent’s curriculum framework builds on our unique, creative and applied approach to teaching. The transformation of students’ lives is at the heart of our mission as a university, and our curriculum – informed by the latest theory – reflects this shared educational vision.
Find out moreStudy support
The student achievement team are on hand to help you succeed during your studies at Solent. They aim to contact you at key times during your time here with personalised information, advice and guidance, by email or phone.
Access Solent provides information, advice and guidance for disabled students.
All students can access Succeed@Solent, Solent's online guide to getting better grades. It offers extensive, practical information and advice on topics such as academic writing, research and presentations.
Why choose the industry?
In 2017, the UK fashion industry contributed £32.3 billion to GDP, a 5.4% increase on 2016. The growth is higher than the figure for the UK economy as a whole. And fashion remains a major UK employer with 890,000 jobs supported across the industry. (Source – British Fashion Council).
There are also opportunities for talented photographers outside of fashion. From retail and photojournalism to sport and live performance, businesses in a wide variety of industries depend on professional photography to properly market their products. These positions can range from freelance contract work to full-time, in-house employment.
Tuition fees
The tuition fees for the 2023/24 academic year are:
- UK, EU (settled status) and Channel Island full-time fees: £9,250 per year
- International full-time fees: £15,000 per year
For further information, please visit our tuition fees page.
Extra course costs
While most course costs are covered by your tuition fees, some essential resources and optional extras may need to be paid for separately. These additional costs are listed below. For advice on budgeting and managing your money, please contact student.funding@solent.ac.uk.
The 2023/24 other costs are not yet available. For guidance, previous other costs have been:
Year one
Compulsory memory sticks and printing, workbooks, study trips and printing: £300
Optional international study trip: £250 - £300
Year two
Compulsory photographic materials (film paper), digital printing, mounting, workbooks, study trips, memory sticks and printing: £300 - £500
Optional international study trip: £250 - £500
Year three
Compulsory photographic materials (film paper), stationery, digital printing, mounting, degree show, study trips, memory sticks and printing: £300 - £600
Optional international study trip: £500 - £800
Bursaries, scholarships and financial support
Solent University offers a range of bursaries and scholarships that provide financial assistance or waive fees for tuition or accommodation. Each bursary or scholarship has specific eligibility criteria. Check out our bursaries and scholarships pages to find out more.
Graduation costs
There is no charge to attend graduation, but you will be required to pay for the rental of your academic gown (approximately £45 per graduate, depending on your award). You may also wish to purchase official photography packages, which range in price from £15 to £200+. Graduation is not compulsory, so if you prefer to have your award sent to you, there is no cost. Extra guest tickets will go on sale after results publication and will be sold on a first-come-first-served basis. The cost per ticket is currently £15. Please note, we do not guarantee there will be any extra tickets available to purchase.
Financial information videos
Student finance - bitesize This video 'Student finance - bitesize' is available as a text transcript, with a description of visuals.
Student funding - the essentials This video 'Student funding essentials - Student Funding for 2023' is available as a text transcript, with a description of visuals.
Entry requirements
Please select an option below:
Key entry requirements
104-120 UCAS tariff points
- A minimum of two completed A-levels, a BTEC Extended Diploma at DMM or BTEC Diploma at D*D, or T-level Merit, or equivalent qualification, or a combination of qualifications which comply with the minimum entry requirement of 104 UCAS points.
- All applicants are required to submit an electronic portfolio for consideration.
- Direct entry into the second or third year may be considered for this course.
- Applicants over the age of 21 may be considered on relevant experience, without having the required tariff points.
- For further information about UK qualifications, please contact admissions.
Key entry requirements
As a general guide, we look for qualifications that are equivalent to the British high school A-levels.
Applicants from outside the UK will be required to submit an electronic portfolio for consideration.
If you are applying from outside the UK, find information about entry requirements, visas and agents for your country here.
For further information about EU qualifications, please contact admissions.
Key entry requirements
As a general guide, we look for qualifications that are equivalent to the British high school A-levels.
Applicants from outside the UK will be required to submit an electronic portfolio for consideration.
If you are applying from outside the UK, find information about entry requirements, visas and agents for your country here.
For further information about UK, EU and international qualifications, please contact admissions.
Note to all international students requiring a visa:
All international applicants need to be aware that the English language requirements to attend Solent University, and the English language requirements to obtain a visa from the Home Office, may be different. This means that if you meet the Solent University language requirement to gain a place on the course, you may still have to meet additional requirements to be granted with a visa by the Home Office.
We strongly advise all applicants to visit the Home Office website which outlines all the requirements for a successful visa application and to take a look at this PDF document which outlines both Solent University and Home Office requirements for a number of language tests.
104-120UCAS points
Any questions?
Contact international admissions
Call: +44 (0)23 8201 5066Email: admissions.international@solent.ac.ukHow to apply
Full-time
Any student applying for the first year of a full-time/sandwich undergraduate course must apply through UCAS (University and Colleges Admissions Service). This includes mature, overseas and EU students.
Nearly all schools and colleges offer their students the facility of applying electronically through the UCAS website using 'Apply'; it may also be used by those applying independently in the UK and overseas. This facility and all course information can be found on the UCAS website: www.ucas.com.
Your application should reach UCAS by 25 January if you hope to enter a course the following autumn. Early application is advised for the most popular subject areas. Late applications may be made until the end of June. The UCAS Code for the University is S30, code name SOLNT.
Find out what happens after you apply
Contextual offers
Solent endeavours to offer learning opportunities to students from all backgrounds. When we receive and review an application, we take into consideration the context and personal circumstances of applicants when making a decision, which means our advertised entry tariff could be reduced.
Alternative entry options
Top-up route:
We welcome applications from students currently studying a Foundation Degree, DipHE, HNC, HND or modules of an undergraduate degree course at another university, who wish to enter directly into Years 2 or 3 of one of our undergraduate degree courses. Please contact our admissions team for more information: contact us
Language requirements
Applicants who do not have English as their first language will be required to demonstrate an approved level of proficiency in the use of the English language. The agreed minimum requirements for this course are:
- IELTS minimum 6.0 overall with a minimum of 5.5 in each individual component
- TOEFL IBT minimum 80 with a minimum of 20 in each individual component
- Duolingo English Language Test - 115 overall with minimum of 95 in each component or equivalent.
Qualifications are checked before enrolment, and international students must bring their original certificates or certified copies when coming to study at the University.
Pre-Sessional English programme
The University also offers a pre-sessional English programme for international students who wish to improve their level of English before starting a degree course.
We will prepare you for your future
Suitable roles for graduates include:
- Fashion photography
- Art direction
- Advertising consultancy
- Reportage photography
- Styling for advertising
- Editorial
- Catwalk photography
- Post-production photo-editing
- Freelance photography
- Post-production
- Digital imaging
- Video editing
- Production
- Picture editing
We will help you start your career
The Solent Futures team is committed to getting students into great careers.
While you are studying, the team can help you with finding work experience or placements, link you with a mentor, check your CV, or offer one-to-one guidance.
If you're in your final year, we also have graduate job opportunities just for Solent graduates.
Find out moreSupport at Solent
All students at Solent University have access to a range of specialist support services. Whether you are having financial difficulty, need additional help with academic skills or want advice on setting up your own business you'll find that help is always on hand.
Most of our specialist support services are based around the Student Hub, a central space where you can access all the information and support you may need during your time at University. The Student Hub is the first point of contact if you have any queries relating to your course, including questions about your timetable, options, and assessments and extenuating circumstances.
We work in partnership with the University to build a sense of pride and confidence in your Union, University and student experience.
Find out moreFurther study
Thinking about studying further than an undergraduate degree? Alumni can get 20% off their postgraduate study.
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