INTRODUCTION Preparing for my future and ensuring I have a stable career set up is extremely important, especially in a photography or videography business. This research and work I partake in over this unit should enable me to be prepared and ready for the future ahead as I will get an insight into the possibilities of job roles and progression routes within the creative media industries.
MY PERSONAL STATEMENT
A personal statement is a really important part of your application when you are at the stage in your life when you decide to apply for a university, or any higher form of education in that matter. As the whole point in a personal statement is to have the chance to show why you would like to study the course that you wish to take on as well as to just show who you are as a person helping the university get a much better understanding of who you are and your main career goals for the future.
My name is Dylan Cox and I aspire to work my way up in the world of freelance photography, expanding my skillset over the years and networking to get the best jobs possible for me to grow. I have always been interested in the media and entertainment industry since a young age which may have been what sparked my love for photography and creating video, as growing up I had attempted little projects like creating a YouTube channel when I was 13 where I recorded and edited videos of myself playing video games online as well as more recently at 16 owning an instagram account where I would regularly post news about my favourite football team, creating interesting graphics and video edits to present different news in my own original forms for my 2k+ followers while also getting used to learning algorithms on big social media platforms and using it to benefit my reach to grow my following to the max . To now, presentday, working my way up the ranks to become a free lance photographer.
Looking forward, For my first year out of college I aim to not be tied down to one specific theme of photography as I would like to experiment across all forms weather it be fashion, sports or live music so that I have a larger skillset for future clients ensuring I am versatile across multiple forms of media.
As of now my plan once I finish college would be to go into a full-time job while I build up my photography experience on the side, this is so that I have a stable income coming in so I am able to afford equipment and just basic day to day funds as just jumping straight into freelancing could potentially end up in me being without money which could effect my chances of making it within this line of work. Then hopefully one or two years down the line I will have built up my connections, contacts and experience enough so that I can leave my job to focus on photography full time and begin focusing on ways on which I can materilise this career aspiration.
As of writing this I am coming to the end of my second year of creative media (Lvl 3) and photography at southport college and will soon be obtaining both Diplomas for the two years of studying here. I have really enjoyed my time at southport college, making new friends over the two years that have the same interests
meaning we all helped each other with work. plus another positive of this course was the experience and technical skills I have learnt on this course that I can set as the foundations and build up over the next few years. As part of the course we have been on a few trips to help us decide our potential career paths, one being a trip to UCLAN down in Preston where we were introduced to some of the tutors and the facilities in which they offer to there students. we also had the chance to test out some of their studio rooms where we took part in a mock news broadcast where we all had roles in technical parts of the show such as operating the cameras and switching the scenes. Things like this have helped me get first hand experience of what certain careers may feel like while also getting to understand what it takes to be apart of careers in this industry as well as other similar industrys.
I have already started on building up my portfolio from as little as just taking a camera out to places and doing some street photography of the world around me to traveling to football stadiums on match days to capture the players and the wild scenes that go on as well as turning up to local music gigs and taking pictures of the acts, all of which I post on both my instagram and website to advertise my ability to potential clients who may be interested In hiring me.
It is my firm aspiration to become a full-time photographer. I believe that by growing my skill set and increasing my connections I can gain a broad and deep understanding of photography as an art form, a profession and an industry. My current thought process of photography is the desire to capture atmospheres at the best possible moments and at the best possible angles through paying attention to the dimensions and details of my shots to have a powerful visual impact on my viewers and clients. And I hope that over the years I will gain the skills tat will allow me to fully see my career path and in turn equip me for the demands of a career as a professional photographer.
CAREER ACTION PLAN
UPDATED CV
BASIC BUSINESS PLANNING
Searching for properties
As part of my research I decided to look into the market and see what are he prices of one studios to get a better idea of the price ranges if I was to potentially look at prices in the future.
Marble place shopping centre, Southport (£2500 pcm)
Heritage House, Southport (£275 pcm)
Anchor Street, Southport (£175 pcm)
Comparing Competitors
(Studio 1) - Venture Photography
What do you like/dislike about their website?
From checking out this website my first impressions were how professional and sleek the site looked as a whole. As soon as the site is opened you are immediately greeted with a variety of examples of portraits to advertise the different types of styles that they provide.
What do you think about the quality of the work they are producing?
This company are a well known business and you could argue that they are one of the most successful ones within this list of competitors. From this we can only assume that they are producing material at quite a high standard. Another thing about the quality of their work would also be how they have set rules with their styles of images to ensure they keep to their own style and stay original in comparison to other competitors, they achieve this through making sure the each of their photos are unique and natural and they would refuse to have them pose as that is not their set style so they would make them take part in activities in the studio and capture them so the outcome is s natural as possible.
Are they upfront about all their prices and do you think they offer value for money?
On their website they do have a section which is designed to showing their package plans which consist of three main deals, Silver being £45, Gold being £95 and the most expensive being their platinum package which comes to a grand total of £249 . So straight away its clear what the prices are while also showing a range from "Budget friendly" to a much larger payment scale, having the deal become more rewarding the more that you are willing to spend as a client. which I would assume is what they use as a way of getting more out of there customers as they will be tempted to go up a package deal with the temptation of the few extra add on benefits included.
How are they aiming their style of photography and price range to their clients?
The overall client experience comes across as quite a family targeted audience, this is suggested from the images on their website consisting of vivid colours and chaotic family stills both incorporating each other well, pulling away from that traditional staged type of family photography which modern families may try to avoid in todays age. Looking at the price range in the context of their family type audience I think it is quite affordable as well as reasonable as most families who will be going to these shoots clearly have that kind of money to spend or if you are an elderly family member paying for these bundles chances are at an older age they haven't go much else to be spending their money on so perhaps would not mind spending that bit extra to have pictures of there family in their home.
What other additional information can you find out from their website? For example, are they friendly, professional, expert, customer focused?
In comparison to other studios that I have looked into during this research these guys definitely stand out to me in terms of their originality in there shots. From what I have witnessed not one shot is the same from the last and the expressions of the customers in the photos are genuine and raw, showing the families in there greatest forms and not in staged, fixed positions to which may m=be seen in more traditional family photos. This is a feature I find refreshing to see and much more interesting from a business and customer point of view.
(Studio 2)- Yaffe Photography
What do you like/dislike about their website?
First impressions of this website is that it has been professionally made and shows me, as a client, what type of photos to expect off of them immediately as I am met with a large slideshow of there work on their homepage. This was a detail liked as it felt very straight to the point in showing me what I am potentially after as a client visiting this page. Another detail I liked was easily titled buttons at the top of the homepage as they all presented me with answers to my questions if I was going to purchase something from this company, like for example they had a button that would take me to their portfolio, allowing me to see what to expect if I was to take anything further. A "what we do" button which would show me quite literally what types of media they have to offer and sell, and most importantly a prices button which would then take me to a page explaining what prices they are charging. So to sum it all up I feel this layout is very straight to the point which I like as it allows me to instantly find what I want without getting lost looking for answers to my questions.
What do you think about the quality of the work they are producing?
Although Jaffe may be seen as a smaller company compared to others, being locally situated in Southport, this doesn't change anything in terms of producing high quality pieces of work for customers. They also offer a virtual tour of their shop on their website, allowing people to see the type of equipment they have that produces their work to there infamous high standards.
Are they upfront about all their prices and do you think they offer value for money?
Jaffe have a whole section of their website dedicated to showing the prices of their products to customers. Having there products priced in comparison to size, ranging from 7x5" up to 14x11" for shelf images that have a starting price of £150 (For the smallest) to a much larger for £500.
But if that still isn't big enough for their clients then they also offer a range of wall portrait, but these are quite the increase in price with the small costing around £750 and the largest being a whopping £1750 which may be a very demanding price for some people. In terms of value for money I defiantly believe there are better places out there that are more value for your money and perhaps more affordable for customers.
Who do you think is their clientele – How are they aiming their style of photography and price range to their clients?
I believe that there main target audience is, like most photography studios, aimed at families. Giving people the opportunity to own sentimental pieces to friends or family or even for themselves to have around the house. But unlike others they do also advertise other shoots such as Boudoir shoots, Location shoots & Modelling shoots for promotional purposes. But again I still don't believe that there prices are affordable to their target audience.
What other additional information can you find out from their website? For example, are they friendly, professional, expert, customer focused?
There is a sense of pride with in this company and its certainly shown within the fabric of this website. This is a company who thrives of the community, being a well known, local business and are around to show their many positive views for viewers to see.
(Studio 3)- Essensi Studios
What do you like/dislike about their website?
First impressions of this studio is nothing too special or unique when faced against its competitors as it showcases a very similar layout which consists of a main centre image followed by numerous different buttons ready to tale you to the offers they have on the site
What do you think about the quality of the work they are producing?
I believe that there is high quality work being produced at this studio as there are plenty of reviews from real customers praising the studios work and pricing.
Are they upfront about all their prices and do you think they offer value for money?
Unlike the other studios openly and easily showing prices it is much harder to find any costs or rates on this website. But this could be down to how versatile this studio is, having many different type of shoots from Child photography to Corporate photography.
Who do you think is their clientele – How are they aiming their style of photography and price range to their clients?
Like previously stated this studio covers a large variety of different genres meaning there isn't really a specifically aimed clientele for this studio. But each of their genres chosen by them are ones of which are popular in the industry meaning there will always be an active market for such jobs.
MEDIA ASSOCIATIONS & AGENCIES
BIPP is an organisation with over 100 years of experience in supporting and networking professional photographers giving people in communities a chance to further grow and enhance their contacts within the industry. They offer photographers a Qualification Structure, Regional Networking, Events & Workshops, National & Regional Awards and a number of membership benefits.
This is a useful organisation as they has a section dedicated to showing the most recent dates of upcoming events for photographers, as well as the information needed for newcomers to get started. And to ensure they can reach out to as many genres as possible each year they have a large list of different competitions for people to enter. Such are show in the image below.
EVALUATION From this unit I have learnt valuable information, The majority of which can be used in my life after college, As I have used this unit to look ahead at both further education and freelance work possibilities. It has given me a better understanding of what can be next for me and where I can take my work after college.
Another important piece of research I conducted on this unit was when I looked into both big and small photography business and did some in depth research on how they are both run and how they present themselves, This helps me incase I decide to take my freelancing to a higher level and start a business that's based in a shop.
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