rochester

BA (HONS) PHOTOGRAPHY CONTEMPORARY PRACTICE

Fashion Photography
First year showcase
2013 ISSUE ONE
http://www.ucaphoto.co.uk
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Fashion photography has earned itself
a varied and misunderstood reputation.
At it's most commercially intense, narratives are reduced to a relentless and ubiquitous mass-marketing mirror held up to the consumer. lt may (without apologyj be a shallow but beautiful pursuit, justifed by it's
own sublime end. Equally at its most entertaining and inspiring fashion photography may be pure inspirational narrative and fantastical story telling. Its theatre is writ large upon the pages of venerable fashion
journals such as Vogue, Harpers Bazaar and more recently the culturally challenging Tank, Dazed and Confused and Visionaire. The genre can blur the boundaries of art and sculpture. It envelopes portraiture,
mimicking and satirizing the secular canons of celebrity. lt can speak of the mundane and domestic whilst engaging with the epic and fantastic: regardless, the narrative is a wholly invented artifce placing and staging
the fgures into fabricated contexts and environments. Elaborate sets, cohesive styling, sympathetic casting and evocative lighting designs all help to heighten our emotional responses to the predetermined narratives.
Fashion shoots are collaborative ofers generated with a range of interrelated art directors, creative artists, set builders, hair & makeup and fashion stylists. The project therefore asks our First Year students to
demonstrate an efective and refective approach to project management: independently, collaboratively and as a member of a wider team of sourced talent. The successful fashion photographer needs to have the
ability to move comfortably between all of these creative disciplines. Working in teams, students are asked to create a series of constructed fashion images, carefully considering how the sequencing can render
a particular narrative. All this is undertaken in the studios at UCA Rochester, using industry standard equipment from Broncolor and Arri. The main aim of the project is to encourage our First Year to analyse the
nature of photography and to increase their understanding of the way in which they and others create and construct meaning using the photographic medium. The project also aims to develop a appreciation of
the importance of research, testing, pre-production and conceptual development prior to a photographic shoot.
Cover, this page and following pages
(Group 7) Photography: Jareth Fletcher-Miller,
Jade Perry, Annie-Rose Peddie,
Hazel Thompson Model: Lily Brothers
Styling: Rebecca Slater, Kieran Oshea
Hair & Make-up: Emily Long
hen a photographic
image associates itself with fashion it is subjected to a particular
reading: this is independent from a direct association to clothes
and accessories or a wider integration into a lifestyle industry.
The 'fashion image' is almost exclusively assessed by its
contemporariness: how up-to-date is it, does it cite a previous
style or trend, what is the connection between the novelty of the
pictorial content and an innovative visual language, etc.? The
reception of the fashion image is obviously dependent on the
forum in which it is viewed but the viewer will judge the impact
of the image according to a combination of general aesthetic
considerations and very contemporary ideas about style. This
combination of eternal and transitory values constructs fashion
as such: beauty lies both in the established harmony and formal
accomplishment of the image or object as well as its currency for
the present. For fashion photography it is paramount to debate
such combination between traditional ideas of how to construct a
beautiful image and the contemporary character of the work, being
fully aware how feeting the latter is and playing on the relatively
short lifespan of the photo.
Fashion photography both in the narrow sense of an editorial in
a magazine or online platformand in the wider sense of representing
general trends is concerned with objects; more precisely, with the
consumption of objects. Consequently, the way in which an object
is shown and howit relates to the subject, either shown in the image
or as intended beholder, becomes crucial.
The forum in which the fashion image is reproduced is crucial.
Today, the long-felt impact of fashion magazines becomes less
and less pronounced vis--vis the profusion of fashion imagery
across digital media, from virtual journals and viral adverts, via
electronic art, to style blogs and the casual images within social
media. The fashion image can now range from an extensively
produced advert in a glossy magazine, via pictures shown in a
contemporary art gallery and videos on the web to the seemingly
accidental snapshots that appear in electronic diaries by
trendspotters. Ideally, the fashion photographer is able to negotiate
and play with this selection of forums and adapt contents, form
and production techniques to the media in which the fashion
image appears. Signifcantly, the dissemination of an image across
platforms (e.g. the video documentation of a fashion shoot together
with the editorial, or the sound recording of a performance in
combination with visualsj ofers new ways of representing fashion.
Professor Ulrich Lehmann
Today the long-felt impact of fashion magazines is becoming less and less pronounced vis--vis the profusion of fashion imagery across digital media.
w
Photography: Dexter Bailey-Maison, Rajesh Bhusal, Hannah
Broad, David Bromley, Thomas Meadows Model: Natalia Latsi
Styling: Hannah Broad, Charlotte Dobson Hair & make-up:
Thomas Meadows Dress by COS. Shoes, dress, coat & jumpsuit
by Zara. Jacket by H&M.
http://www.ucaphoto.co.uk
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Photography at UCA is located in Rochester, Medway, a centre
for the arts and regeneration, just forty minutes from London
by train. We ofer excellent facilities and technical resources
that are recognised internationally as among the best in the UK.
The course houses the cutting edge analogue and digital
facilities that puts us at the forefront of contemporary practice
and provides you with access to industry standard practices.
Students come from around the world to study photography at
UCA Rochester and we have a global and local reputation. You will
fnd a rich and diverse student body supported by a friendly but
professional culture. Your own creative, technical, and intellectual
evolution is supported and developed by a team of photographers,
academics, guest lecturers, technicians and curators with national
and international reputations.
This degree provides you with essential skills and knowledge for
your own professional and artistic photographic practice. We focus
upon embedding core technical skills with creative innovation.
We frmly believe in the entwined relation between theory and
practice. Your technical, creative, research, conceptual and
analytical skills are all developed in order to enhance your ability to
work in your chosen area of photography.
We support and encourage the growth of your own distinctive
photographic voice. ln the frst year you develop technical,
conceptual, and analytical skills through a range of projects
investigating, space, time, memory, and narrative (story telling), you
also work on the exciting fashion photography unit. ln the second
year you increasingly develop and defne your practice. Project work
is guided by staf but increasingly enables you to decide upon the
subject matter and approach to your work. There are also work
experience options that enable you to gain professional experience
in the photographic industry. In the third year, you are treated
as working professionals. Supported by staf and internationally
recognised guest lecturers you have the creative freedom to drive
your own photography and research projects.
Overall, we want you to engage with photography to produce
individual, innovative, creative responses that will form your
professional portfolio and launch your careers. We hope that you
will take the opportunity to fnd out more about what our degree has
to ofer and we look forward to hearing from you.
Course Philosophy
This & following pages Photography; Agne Bekeraityte,
Daniel Paul, Claire Smith, Robert Young Model: Melissa Rogers
Styling: Barbara Rosol-Mojduszka Hair & Make-up:
Designer: Barbara Rosol-Mojduszka. Coat designer: Sally Li.
Shoes by Jones Bootmaker
Previous pages Photography: Leva Gelezinyte, Kamil Raczynski,
Robert Roach, Franceska Shirka Model: Olivia Ancell Styling:
Franceska Shirka Hair & Make-up: Nikita Fuller
rochester
http://www.ucaphoto.co.uk
Photography and Styling:
Eleanor Ansell, Stepahanie Breeze,
Louise Collins, Lily Santer
Model: Lucia Caluori
Hair and Make-up: Kat Papas
Nightie: Primark. Tights: New Life.
Underwear: Models Own.
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THE COURSE
Students come from around the world to study photography
at UCA Rochester, and we have a global and local reputation.
You will fnd a rich and diverse student body supported by a
friendly but professional culture. Your own creative, technical,
and intellectual evolution is supported and developed by a team
of photographers, academics, guest lecturers, technicians and
curators with national and international reputations. The course
develops a professional environment that supports independent
learning and thinking, preparing students to engage confdently
with complex projects. lt aims to equip students with a sound
academic foundation upon which they can develop their
strengths, realise their potential, and engage professionally with
their discipline. These attributes are also developed through
the integration of business and professional practice, including
problem solving, teamwork, time-management, copyright and
intellectual property, communication and self-management,
and opportunities for cross-disciplinary collaboration.
The course takes a broad approach to photography. It aims
to provide creative and academic experiences that prepare
students for professional careers in photographic practice.
We aim for our students to pursue a range of career
destinations, working across the diversity of genres and
territories embraced by contemporary practice.
Overall, students are encouraged to take risks, explore and
develop their interests, exchange, debate and discuss ideas,
form creative alliances and pursue independent practice.
They are encouraged to be curious, observant, responsible
and understand their position in relation to their subject.
They are encouraged to use their cultural and aesthetic
knowledge and their moral, social and political compass to
navigate these relationships.
Graduates from this course will have embarked on a structured
creative academic journey. They will draw upon a reservoir of
cultural knowledge, be critical, curious, with a strong contextual
understanding of contemporary photographic practice. They
will have developed innovative methodologies, be confdent
to pursue independent practice and collaborate and have a
sophisticated visual language aligned to advanced technical skills.
Most importantly they will be able to harness the power of
photography to communicate and draw upon their cultural
knowledge and interests. We trust that they will have
something important to say in order to inform, challenge and
captivate their audiences.
CAREER OPPORTUNITIES
Our graduates have photographic practices in editorial,
advertising, fne art, curation, picture editing, digital retouching
and flm production. Graduates also progress to postgraduate
study and teacher training.
HOW TO APPLY
BA (Hons) Photography, Contemporary Practice
Apply via UCAS: W642 R BA/CPP
COURSE WEBSITE
www.ucaphoto.co.uk
www.rochesterpress.com
www.ucreative.ac.uk/ba-photography-rochester
FACILITIES
Photography at UCA is located in Rochester, Medway, a centre
for the arts and regeneration, just forty minutes from London
by train. We ofer excellent facilities and technical resources
that are recognised internationally as among the best in the UK.
The campus ofers a well stocked library with access to books,
flms, magazines and a host of online resources. We have a great
canteen that provides home cooked food. In the summer you
can enjoy your lunch on our terrace providing fantastic views
over Rochester and the Medway river. Student accommodation
is available near the campus.
We engage in collaborations and exchange with a range of
other disciplines based in Rochester and on other campuses of
UCA, for example Fashion Design and CG Arts and Animation
in Rochester, Architecture in Canterbury and the BA (Hons)
Photography in Farnham.
INDUSTRY LINKS AND GUEST LECTURERS
This course benefts from the input of visiting lecturers who
work within editorial, advertising and fne art industries and
our excellent links support our students in gaining work
experience with internationally renowned artists and commercial
photographers, to undertake studio visits and get involved in live
project briefs. Last summer fve of our students spend several
weeks documenting life in London during the Olympics featured
daily on the website of the Discovery Channel; this summer
a group of students will undertake a road trip across several
locations in the UK and France to document and photographically
respond to sites that support the creative industries in their region
as part of a European project.
Guest lecturers & practioners include;
Simon Roberts, photographer
Wassink Lundgren, artist
Rut Blees Luxemburg, artist
Sheyi Bankale - editor & founder of Next Level Magazine
Anne Braybon - commissions manager, National Portrait Gallery
Bruno Ceschel - founder of Self Publish Be Happy
Bridget Coaker - picture editor at The Guardian
Louise Clements - artistic director of Format Festival
Perry Curties - 125 Magazine
Camilla Brown - Photographers Gallery
Simon Bainbridge - British Journal Photography
Charlotte Cotton - creative director, NMeM
Martin Barnes - senior curator, v&A
Daniel Campbell Blight - writer & critic
Carole Evans - Portrait Salon
Jonathan Worth - photographer, educator & NTF (HEAj
Brad Feuerhelm - collector
Harry Hardie - curator and publisher, Panos and Here on the Web
Sue Steward - broadcaster, writer, critic and curator
Christiane Monarchi - photomonitor
Louise Clements, artistic director Format Festival & Quad
Michael Diemar - private photography dealer, curator & consultant
Matthew Shaul - curator / artistic director UH Galleries
Sebastien Montabonel - post-war & contemporary art advisor

WHAT OUR STUDENTS SAY
The Fashion Constructed Image unit really made me aware of
new skills I had never considered at the beginning of the project.
It helped me expand my knowledge of the ins and outs of
running, building and designing a fashion shoot. The unit pushed
me to exo|o|e a gen|e t|at / |ad ||tt|e conhdence |n
but utimately enabled me to reach a successful outcome.
Hazel Thompson
"/ sta|ted t|e co0|se w|t| ||tt|e conhdence and d||ect|on and am
quite amazed at my transformation. The staff were very intelligent
and f0||y s0ooo|t|ve of my o|act|ce, o0||d|ng 0o my conhdence
through encouragement and helping me to progress further
through constant input and constructive criticism.
Marinda Hudson
Working on this fashion unit has really helped give me a new
perspective on the world of fashion photography and of what
really goes into creating and organising a photo shoot to
communicate a narrative. The new skills I have learnt in pre and
post production and the links I have made through collaboration
with other students from the university have been invaluable.
The experience of working with so many creative people was
amazing and something I have a learnt a lot from being part of.
Claire Smith
FINDING OUT MORE
If youd like to visit UCA Rochester for yourself and meet our
staf, then why not come along to one of our open days?
For more information and to book a place, go online at:
www.ucreative.ac.uk/opendays
For further information contact our Enquiries Service by
telephone on 01634 888708 or email: [email protected]
This publication has been produced collaboratively by students
and staf on the course.
association for
photography
in higher
education
aphe
http://www.ucaphoto.co.uk