This is the final blog post I will make for my Professional Practice although I hope I will continue using this blog for personal use. Much of this unit has been helpful including the lectures given by guest speakers who I always find to be very insightful. I have liked the guest speakers because they offer real world advice and insight to not only the world of photography but also the art world and the business aspects of both the art and the photography world.
The whole course including this unit has taught me a lot about myself and my interests and has helped me come to the conclusion that although photography will always be a part of my life I do not want to play a large role in the photography world straight out of university. The research aspects and the essay aspects of the course have been the parts I have most enjoyed and I hope to continue doing this as well as taking photographs. Although, when I finish university, earning enough money to survive will be my main priority I also hope to find the time to volunteer in art galleries and eventually get paid for doing that type of work as a full time job, I enjoy experiencing art and working with mature photographers and artists, hearing about their experiences and why they do they work they do.
I have had many useful lectures as part of this unit and part of the School of Professional Skills unit I did with Purple Door. I have learnt a lot about the business world and how it works that has informed my decisions and I have also learnt also a lot about the art world. One of the main lecturers that inspired my decision to try and get work in a gallery was Laura Noble, founder and sole director of the L A Noble Gallery in London. She spoke incredibly passionately about her job and the chances she has to work with other artists, this inspired me enough to consider gallery work as a career option. Another lecture I had this year which really inspired me was given my Alan Donegan from ‘Enjoy Presenting’. I was given this lecture as part of the School of Professional Skills unit I did with Purple Door, one of the things I always thought I could never do was talking in front of a crowd and he made it seem less intimidating. The whole School of Professional skills course gave me a lot of confidence and helped me come to realise that even if I didn’t want to be a photographer I could make something of myself in the business world.
As part of the Professional Practice unit I had to keep a blog. This is the second time I have kept a blog for university and both times I had the same issue of being unable to find things relevant to the unit to blog about apart from my lectures. Unfortunately I do not generally keep up with the blogs I follow unless I am trying to find something to distract myself from work, it usually inspires me to go out and take some photographs however the photographs I take are not usually relevant or helpful to the project I’m doing at the time. I am sure I will keep a far more productive blog when I have more freedom to take the photographs I want and do the research I want independently of each other and time limits. I have already started looking through my university notes and finding artists who have been talked about in lectures and I have found interesting but haven’t been able to research because they were irrelevant to the project I was doing at the time.
I also had to create a portfolio as part of this unit. I chose creative photographs that I find interesting and enjoy looking at and that I think others will also look at and find interesting. My hope for this portfolio is that it represents me as a fine art photographer because if I chose to do anything photography based in the future it will be fine art photography because that is the type of photography I enjoy.
Even though I do not want to work as a photographer I feel I have utilised my degree and time at university. I feel I have enjoyed and made the most of researching opportunities and the wonderful facilities the university has to offer. I have gained a great deal from being at university aside from the education; I have independence and have realised what I am truly looking for out of life is too be happy with my decisions and choices in life. I think I will be well equipped to find work after university because I feel this course and the School of Professional Skills course have prepared me for the working world.
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