Put Yourself in the Frame

In all my years in the field of communication which includes a lengthy spell as an Army media officer and PR trainer, some of the best photographers I’ve come across have come from the Armed Forces.

Of course most were RLC or RN and RAF photographers, or ‘phots’, as they like to call themselves, who were specifically trained at the Joint Service School of Photography at RAF Cosford. Many others were simply amateur enthusiasts. Perhaps military training in constant observation and awareness gives you a good eye for what’s around you.

Unless you’re coming out of the services with that particular trade training photography would seem an unlikely career choice for the service leaver. Not so according to Tracey York of UK Trades Training. The company is a preferred supplier to the Careers Transition partnership and ELC (Early Learning Credits). Better known for providing careers in the building and construction, the company now offers two BTEC level 3 Courses in photography.

Both courses, one in general photography and the other in Photoshop editing, an essential skill for today’s photographer, are fast track and of two days duration each. The photography course is highly inclusive covering everything from social photography, food, and fashion to press, TV and portrait to model portfolios. It also covers cameras and photographic equipment, lighting and all the technical skills you will ever need.

The Photoshop course is all about image manipulation. It covers everything that we used to do in the darkroom in the good old days and much more. You will learn all about the Adobe Photoshop program and take your images to the next level like a true professional. You will need to have completed the previous course or have existing photography experience. However prior Photoshop experience is not a requirement.

This BTEC level 3 course is for anyone interested in running a business and making money from taking pictures and selling the edited versions.

UK Trades Training attracts many service leavers who are interested in turning their hobby into a business and possibly start a career as a self employed photographer either full time or part time on a weekend. It is a career that offers flexibility of lifestyle as you can choose the hours you want to work. The company will show you how to get the best from your camera settings and take fantastic pictures then use the latest software editing programs to enhance your work to a professional level.

Earning potential can be great from a job that you love doing and find interesting and relaxing, The course is suitable for all experiences from people with little or no knowledge right up to people with a good grounding in photography.

Tracey York said: “We can help you explore all this in our photography studio with live models to photograph. We also take you out to shoot on location almost every day with various wildlife and landscape pictures and included in your course is a night safari around Newcastle.

We are located ten miles from Newcastle upon Tyne, on the coast in South Shields only five minutes from all the beaches and parks so there are numerous places to go out during your course for location photo shoots.”

If this sounds like something you would like to do then check out all the course details on www.uktradestraining.com to see what’s covered on these fast track professional photography course. Alternatively you can Tel: 0191 454 7733 (free) or Email: net.training@yahoo.com.

You a can go along with your own DSLR camera and explore its manual settings to get the best out of it, or you can use one of the professional cameras available to the course students.