I started joining different websites and platforms for creatives and seeing what was out there which was when I stumbled on TPF. It really stuck out to me as it seemed to really focus on starting people’s careers in the creative field who haven’t had much experience and may need some support and direction to be able to kickstart their careers. The fact that it is free was really important to me, coming from a low income background, it meant that I wouldn’t have to worry about my biggest trouble whilst being on the course.
The key takeaway from the programme for me was lighting. I learnt the essentials of how to work and shape lighting to create intricate images which led me to being more skilled when looking for assisting jobs. I now freelance as a Gaffer for both stills and motion. Also, mentorship was key in that transition for my career, from learning how to assist on location jobs, to connecting me with my first studio job.
Completing the course in November 2021 has opened up so many opportunities for me and I am now half way through an intense creative advertising course with The BBC. I have even got some job interviews coming up for apprenticeships with the BBC following the course.
Carlton is an all-round creative who is interested in fashion, curation, as well as advertising and marketing. Carlton is keen to develop a career in the marketing and advertising sector. He has an awareness of the importance of commercial photography in this context and is inspired by “how every part of it can be intentionally produced to look a certain way or appeal to a particular audience.”
Phoebe is a freelance photographer who started out photographing events and more formal portraits. Phoebe has combined her passion for theatre with her photography, and has started to specialise in capturing live performance and related imagery, such as actors' headshots. Through her photography, she explores movement and storytelling, resulting in photographs that add depth and space for viewers to create their own stories.
Alan specialises in event photography for corporate and community organisations. He has experience across the spectrum of events from bustling award ceremonies to intimate workshops. Capturing diverse stories and forging connections with the people, organisations and communities he works alongside is really important to him, and fuels his profound passion for photography.
Sese has a lifelong passion for photography. Early on in her journey, she attended every event she could to photograph “the people, the culture, the food, and the memories.” She has shot a range of outdoor music events including Grenada Heritage Day and CMA Park Live, as well as local gigs. Sese is keen to learn more about commercial photography as she believes it will help her to develop new skills, as well as becoming more intentional about how she approaches the work she makes.
Erefua is a photographer from South London. She has experience in various areas of commercial photography, such as fashion and event photography. Her background is in graphic design, which has helped her to develop technical skills as well as giving her an insight into how commercial storytelling should incorporate an awareness of the brand’s vision and consideration of the consumer’s response.
Elfreda is an East Londoner who focuses on taking dynamic close up portraits. She went to college to do creative media where she was later introduced to TPF. Elfreda’s interest in photography has led her to work on small shoots with a magazine called Blessed Mag, where some of her portraits were published. She has varying interests, including fashion, film, and event and music photography.
Mark is a British Chinese photographer currently based in London. His work is deeply influenced by social documentary photographers such as Mark Neville and Martin Parr, whose exploration of British culture has shaped his own approach to photography. Through his work, he delves into the nuances of culture, identity, and place. His projects are intensely personal, and are a reflection of his experiences in this country.
Koice is a strategist and mixed media visual creative. Focusing on all things culture, she loves to capture everything from music, sports, fashion & more importantly, the people within that space. Within her own practice, she particularly finds joy in being experimental, mixing and matching various mediums such as graphics, animation and film hand in hand with her own photography.
William is a graphic design graduate, who has been keen to venture into photography as a career. During the programme, William was keen to start exploring an editorial or advertising route to produce work that conveys his thoughts in a visual way. During the programme, he developed his skills to become a freelancer as well as his technical skills such as lighting and working to live briefs.
Kenny is an emerging photographer and filmmaker. Since studying film and TV at college, she has been focusing her attention on freelancing and personal projects. During the programme, she improved her knowledge on what it takes running a photography business and where to find and how to keep clients. She also learned more about lighting and studio set ups which supported her in installing her own home studio.
Nick is an emerging photographer and studio assistant, based in the East of London. Nick also currently works part-time at The Photographers Gallery. During the Programme he was able to learn more about assisting as he enjoys being behind the scenes, helping out and setting up lights. Through the programme, has developed his experience assisting on shoots and is now keen to develop his skills and experience working with a team, communicating on set and honing his technical skills.
Kevin is an emerging photographer and joined our programme in 2022. Having shot an Autumn/Winter 21 campaign on 35mm film, he became determined to pursue a career in editorial/fashion photography, as well as combining photojournalism with commercial photography. During the programme, he developed his confidence as a photographer as well as his technical photography skills to become more comfortable with photography processes and the studio environment.
Koto is an emerging photographer, who has been interested in pursuing photography as a career path for the past 5 years. Having decided that university is not the right route for her, Koto joined the programme to develop the skills needed to carve out a commercial photography career. During the Programme, Koto developed her professional skills such as working in a team and to a creative brief, as well as how to communicate professionally to secure opportunities.
Paolo’s focus is subcultures and alternative fashion. He is always looking for collaborations and different subjects to work with to build his confidence and networks. Since completing the programme, Paolo has assisted and interned for a variety of photographers, completed a film training programme and has been very involved with our events – capturing content, assisting facilitators and even introducing one of our talks.
Four Five Six is a photographer based in London, his primary medium is analogue photography. With a vast archive of photos spanning all areas of life, from the fast-paced action of live music, to using his camera to tell stories through social documentary work. Four Five Six has continued to work with musicians, creating images for album artworks as well as exhibiting his socio-documentary work at collaborative exhibitions in London.
Krislen’s work focuses on nature and environmental themes. He is keen to continue broadening his commercial portfolio and assisting experience. During the programme, he developed his lighting and technical experience through utilising the studio space and gaining insight with experienced people in the Foundation such as his mentor, Chantel King. In September 2022, Krislen secured a full time job assisting still life photographer Marius Hansen.
As a black female photographer, Fikayo is passionate about using visual mediums to represent people of colour, especially black women, through a three-dimensional lens. During the programme, she developed her studio assisting skills, helping her to build a career in fashion and editorial photography while continuing to break down binary representations of marginalised communities.
Ebony is a fashion photographer, creative director and filmmaker from South London. As a black mixed-race, pansexual woman Ebony’s influences are drawn from the stories of her peers as well as her own personal experiences. During the programme, Ebony developed her technical knowledge as she always felt her strength was in the creative side of photography. She also developed team-building and event production skills, hosting her first ever event with TPF in June 2022.
Myles is a North Londoner who loves exploring the creative world of fashion, photography, and creative directing. At the beginning of the course, he was unsure about his style but is now much more confident in front of, and behind, the camera. Since completing the Programme in November 2021, Myles started working as an assistant at ASOS and is continuing to develop his freelance and professional skills, assisting other alumni at a variety of shoots and events.
Before the traineeship, Martha considered herself to be ‘cursed with an artistic temperament with little of the talent.’ Being a part of TPF was ‘the catalyst for a lot of change in her professional and personal life.’ For Martha, the programme demystified the creative sphere by creating a nurturing and fun safe space, and an ever-growing list of incredible facilitators, mentors, and peers. Martha is still involved with supporting our events and in September 2022, began a BA in Visual Anthropology to support her photography and working with her family archive.
Emily is an art director and designer from south-east London. Having had an interest in photography (particularly film photography) and fashion since the start of the programme, she took it as a chance to delve into her creative mind and engage in different aspects of the creative field. This led her to explore art direction and styling. Since completing the Programme in November 2021, Emily now works for Livity as their marketing and social media assistant. She often assists her fellow alumni on shoots – utilising her styling and art direction skills.
Daniel’s focus is fashion and documentary photography. His work is often shaped by his own lived experience and explores ideas of identity, sexuality and culture. During the programme, he gained access to a variety of resources and workshops which enabled him to develop his skills under the guidance of professionals in the industry. Since completing the programme, Daniel has become a full-time studio coordinator at Spring Studios and has had his work featured in publications such as GAY Times, Vogue Italia and Schön Magazine.
Amara has ‘always been that kid given the camcorder at family events, which started her love affair with photography.’ Coming from an area, culture, and educational background where creativity isn’t championed, she never considered photography as a real path for herself. This traineeship allowed her to gain access to the industry in ways that she could never have imagined whilst enabling her to discover her true strengths and weaknesses.
Sophie is a photographer from Hertfordshire. Before she joined TPF, she ‘felt clueless, all she knew is that she wanted to get into the photography industry.’ Since completing the programme in November 2021, Sophie is continuing to develop her portfolio by working on her own projects and freelance work, including family photoshoots & wedding photography. In September 2022, Sophie began an internship with the BBC.
Abiola is a London based visual artist specialising in photography and videography. He loves to visualise ideas and make them a reality through visual mediums. His work is guided by curiosity and discovery. The opportunity to highlight mood and style inspires his creative process. Since completing the Programme in 2020, Abiola has developed his studio photography skills and continues to build his photography and videography portfolio from working with a variety of clients and creatives.
Shea-Anne's interest in photography began during her time at university and she is still exploring different career pathways in the creative industries, especially production and events. Since completing the programme in 2020, Shea-Anne has been actively involved in the Foundation. She was commissioned to create videos of the 2021 and 2022 cohorts – speaking about their experiences on the programme. Shea-Anne has also completed an Events & Engagement Assistant role here at TPF and continues to freelance in photography and videography on the side.
Sergio is a London-based and Brixton-raised photographer born to migrants. He loves photographing people as it allows him to personally grow and connect with individuals. His work revolves around highlighting the Latin community in the UK, bringing light to their overlooked, often under-valued, and always stereotyped community. Since completing the programme in 2020, Sergio has gone on to work with a range of clients and assists a variety of photographers, whilst completing his own personal projects which spotlights culture and community.
George is a photographer from South London. His work consists mostly of portraiture shot on analogue film; he draws inspiration from the sport, music and fashion sub-cultures he engages with during his everyday life. The aim of his work is to add to and enhance the running social commentary on the city he’s from, and to celebrate the people and culture that make the city what it is. Since completing the programme in 2020, George has developed his freelance career working with a range of clients.
Shilonite is a London-based photographer and creative with a passion for documentary and portrait photography. After completing a degree in Media Communications, she pursued her love of photography and joined the first training programme here in 2020. Since completing the programme, Shilonite has begun to work on an ongoing documentary photography project while continuously finding her voice in photography and visual arts. Shilonite also supports us as Digital Content Creator after joining us as an intern in 2021.
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