Photography

Photography is defined as ‘the one who writes with the light’. Photography informs, communicates, represents, reflects and influences us. Visual images are everywhere in contemporary culture – as artworks, adverts, and social media posts to name a few.

Photographers are visual artists, and can also work for newspapers and magazines, in fashion, advertising or specialise in portraiture or wedding photography. A career in photography also offers a lot of creative and professional freedom.

Education

Griffith College Dublin has a three-year BA (Ordinary, Level 7) in photography. Dun Laoghaire IADT and DIT both offer  four-year BAs (Honours, Level 8).

Students of photography will learn practical skills. These include darkroom processing, photographic techniques, and processing digital images. Many courses also offer business and management skills.

Budding photographers will also learn about the historical and cultural context of photography as well as theory.

Colleges of Further Education offer one year (Level 5) certificate courses for budding photographers. These courses are more vocationally oriented. They focus on practical skills such as film and digital photography, image downloading, Photoshop and image manipulation, and post-production. Some further education programmes combine these skills with media production or journalism.

Applicants to photography courses may need to submit a portfolio as part of their application. Check with the course provider for further details.

The Work

A photographer requires a number of skills to be a professional photographer. These include good eyesight, excellent attention to detail, a creative streak, patience, and good technical/IT skills. People skills are also important. Ideally you should also have a good head for business and financial budgeting.

Did you know?

Photographers used to hand colour their images before the advent of colour film. This was both a time- and attention-consuming procedure. Colours were applied with a fine brush. The colours were then fixed into place by breathing upon the plate.