Btec National Diploma in Photography

ElectricOceans

Does anyone take a Btec National Diploma course in photography? And if so what does the course involve and do you enjoy it?

And a few other questions:

Is it worth it?
Does your college hold exhibitions?
and what sort of work will you have to do in your sketchbooks and show in your portfolio folders?

:smile:

I finished the BTEC ND in photography this year and honestly.....I hated it.
Thats mostly due to the fact that our teachers were morons though I think and because I decided pretty early on that it wasnt for me, yet I had to stick it out for the 2 years.

Regarding the course, you do a bit of everything. What I found with my course is that you would have 2 projects going on at the same time & sometimes an essay on top of that, one studio based and one on location. You would cover most areas of photography such as photographing objects, portraiture, landscape etc. Whilst you get a certain amount of freedom with how you photograph things, it tends to be fairly limited with regard to subject matter. Theres also alot of written work which people dont realise and you still have to do essays on a regular basis, alot of analysis of other atrists work and alot of history of art work.

What I also found is that its such an expensive course, so if you dont get EMA, or have a job, id really think about it. I was having to pay about £6+ a week for professional films- even more towards the end of the year due to final major projects and about £30 every 2/3 weeks for darkroom paper. Thats without all of the normal college costs like books, stationary, lunch and transport. My final majour project at the end of year 2 must have cost close to £200 if not more & my camera about the same. Thats £400 before youve even started.

In terms of is it worth it, what do you mean?
If you want to go onto photography at uni or something, then yeah- if you want to be a photograher, maybe but they dont teach you anything that you couldnt learn from the internet or messing around with your camera on your own. Although its always good to have a recognsed qualification if you are going into the industry.

Does my college hold exhibitions- yeah at the end of the year. At the end of your second year we had a big exhibit open to the public and lots of art dealers and stuff came around to have a look and see if there was any work they were interested in. We were also given the option of hiring gallery space in london if we wanted.

Regarding sketchbooks, its mostly written work and analysis. You have to study in depth other artists work, what you like or dont like about it, discuss technical info, composition etc. You have to discuss your own ideas and how they relate to the brief that you have been given. To get the top grades (distinctions) you also have to show progression of your ideas and explain how you got there. Writing down techncal info such as the type of film you used and why is how you get the top grades too. You also have to analyse your own work, do you think you achieved what you set out to, what would you do differently next time. Its all pretty straightforward.

If you are really passionate about photography id say go for it, but if like me you are considering taking it on a whim because you arnt really sure what else to do, really think about it. I did and had 2 awful, boring years.

Reply 2

OP

I've been thinking things through recently about what it is I really want to do and I keep having doubts about doing an nd in photography. I really like photography but im not sure a 2 year course in photography will keep me interested. I think if i was to go ahead and take the course i'd be making a mistake because I tend to lose interest easily and at the moment it seems like something I really want to do.. but now that i've thought about it more I don't think I can see myself enjoying it in the end. Also what you have just gone and said has put me off completely because it seems like a course which doesn't allow enough freedom with your own style of work and there's an expensive price to pay aswell.

I don't think im entitled to an EMA, so I would have to rely on a job to pay for any items I need. There's an open day happening at one of the local colleges soon so I might go along and see what I think of the photography department. I think what I might do instead is take a levels so I have a combination of different subjects I like rather than gain a national diploma in something I may loose interest in. I already have a decent camera so I wouldn't have to worry about buying a new one. I have a Canon EOS 350D so I think that would be good enough for the course.. but I think for me photography is going to become more of a hobby than anything serious.

Thanks for letting me know though.
Its been helpful.

I see your doing psychology now?
I wouldn't mind doing that as an A Level..
along with English Literature and possibly art.

Reply 3

ElectricOceans

I've been thinking things through recently about what it is I really want to do and I keep having doubts about doing an nd in photography. I really like photography but im not sure a 2 year course in photography will keep me interested. I think if i was to go ahead and take the course i'd be making a mistake because I tend to lose interest easily and at the moment it seems like something I really want to do.. but now that i've thought about it more I don't think I can see myself enjoying it in the end. Also what you have just gone and said has put me off completely because it seems like a course which doesn't allow enough freedom with your own style of work and there's an expensive price to pay aswell.

I don't think im entitled to an EMA, so I would have to rely on a job to pay for any items I need. There's an open day happening at one of the local colleges soon so I might go along and see what I think of the photography department. I think what I might do instead is take a levels so I have a combination of different subjects I like rather than gain a national diploma in something I may loose interest in. I already have a decent camera so I wouldn't have to worry about buying a new one. I have a Canon EOS 350D so I think that would be good enough for the course.. but I think for me photography is going to become more of a hobby than anything serious.

Thanks for letting me know though.
Its been helpful.

I see your doing psychology now?
I wouldn't mind doing that as an A Level..
along with English Literature and possibly art.

What you said is pretty much spot on. You dont (in my opinion atleast) get enough artistic freedom. In a way its understandable, as they have to teach you every aspect of the subject and make sure you are properly equipped to go into the industry. This just means you end up frustrated alot of the time though.

You also work alot in the darkroom, so you need a good 35mm camera. A good digital camera isnt really necessary as 90% of the work you do is on film. My friend from the course made the same mistake, before the course started she 'invested' in an amazing £600 digital camera.... and never used it.
Throughout my entire course had 1 project where we used digital (out of about 20) and the only other times you use digitial other than that is for doing test shots in the studio to make sure the lights are set up correctly etc.

If its something you have an interest in, perhaps do a national certificate along side A-levels? It wont be as intense, costly or in depth, and its only a year long course.
If youre still undecided, go to the open day and see what you think :smile:

Reply 4

OP

louisedotcom

What you said is pretty much spot on. You dont (in my opinion atleast) get enough artistic freedom. In a way its understandable, as they have to teach you every aspect of the subject and make sure you are properly equipped to go into the industry. This just means you end up frustrated alot of the time though.

You also work alot in the darkroom, so you need a good 35mm camera. A good digital camera isnt really necessary as 90% of the work you do is on film. My friend from the course made the same mistake, before the course started she 'invested' in an amazing £600 digital camera.... and never used it.
Throughout my entire course had 1 project where we used digital (out of about 20) and the only other times you use digitial other than that is for doing test shots in the studio to make sure the lights are set up correctly etc.

If its something you have an interest in, perhaps do a national certificate along side A-levels? It wont be as intense, costly or in depth, and its only a year long course.
If youre still undecided, go to the open day and see what you think :smile:

I don't think I would like not having enough freedom with my work. I like to do my own thing rather than be told what to take photos of. I dont mind doing projects based on a certain area but i'd rather develop my own style when doing projects. Do you get a chance to experiment with different styles or do they perfer you to stick with what they want?

I could always find out more about a national certificate.. that might be better than a national diploma. I think I will go along to an open day and see what I think but I have my doubts now.

Im not sure whether my college does national certificates though. :confused:

Reply 5

ElectricOceans

I don't think I would like not having enough freedom with my work. I like to do my own thing rather than be told what to take photos of. I dont mind doing projects based on a certain area but i'd rather develop my own style when doing projects. Do you get a chance to experiment with different styles or do they perfer you to stick with what they want?

I could always find out more about a national certificate.. that might be better than a national diploma. I think I will go along to an open day and see what I think but I have my doubts now.

Im not sure whether my college does national certificates though. :confused:

Well its not necessarily the case that you are told what to take photos of, but the projects, particually in the first year are quite limiting as you have so many units to cover that your options are limited. Studio work is also usually really limited. Even at the end of the second year most people on my course were not confident or skilled enough regarding lighting techniques etc to do an interestng shoot in the studio, by which I mean it would just be portraiture and stuff like that really, you wouldnt have any elaborate sets or props. Ths is also qute expensive as we had to pay for all the materials and things like that ourselves.

You get to experment with different styles in the sense that you can encorperate them into your projects. As long as you do what the project brief specifies, you can do whatever else you want on top of that, you can even get extra credit if you can make it relate to your idea. If they dont do the national certifcate, perhaps look at the btec national first diploma. I think they are more or less the same thing :biggrin:

Reply 6

OP

louisedotcom

Well its not necessarily the case that you are told what to take photos of, but the projects, particually in the first year are quite limiting as you have so many units to cover that your options are limited. Studio work is also usually really limited. Even at the end of the second year most people on my course were not confident or skilled enough regarding lighting techniques etc to do an interestng shoot in the studio, by which I mean it would just be portraiture and stuff like that really, you wouldnt have any elaborate sets or props. Ths is also qute expensive as we had to pay for all the materials and things like that ourselves.

You get to experment with different styles in the sense that you can encorperate them into your projects. As long as you do what the project brief specifies, you can do whatever else you want on top of that, you can even get extra credit if you can make it relate to your idea. If they dont do the national certifcate, perhaps look at the btec national first diploma. I think they are more or less the same thing :biggrin:

Although my college is said to be one of the best colleges for variety of a levels and courses from the website i dont get alot of information about the courses. I'll have to check again and see if theres any courses in a Btec first diploma in photography. Not sure whether i'd be able to do it though because I dont think they run night classes in them. I had a look before and most of the courses are in the mornings.

Do you know much about a fist dilploma?

Reply 7

ElectricOceans

Although my college is said to be one of the best colleges for variety of a levels and courses from the website i dont get alot of information about the courses. I'll have to check again and see if theres any courses in a Btec first diploma in photography. Not sure whether i'd be able to do it though because I dont think they run night classes in them. I had a look before and most of the courses are in the mornings.

Do you know much about a fist dilploma?

Im not 100% but I think they changed the name to btec national Award. As far as I know they are a 1 year course, a distinction is worth 120 points (same as an A at Alevel) a Merit is worth 80 ucas points and a Pass is worth 40 points. So ultimatly it could bag you an extra A-level if you work hard :smile:

The only photography evening classes my college offered, were GCSE and A-level. Have you thought of just doing straight up A-level photography?

Reply 8

OP