Photography masterclass sees students capture Hull in an urban light

Year 12 students embraced life through a lens to capture “urban Hull” after taking part in photography masterclasses.

The diploma group of 14 students at Ron Dearing UTC completed a practical digital photography unit as part of their coursework and teamed up with local creative lead Luke Thornton, Managing Director of Influence Media, who shared his picture-taking knowledge and skills.

The students had to follow a high-level brief and take a series of professional images of “urban Hull”, showing how the city has changed and developed over the years. They were asked to take pictures to suit a glossy magazine and related online platforms.

As part of the project, they visited tech hub C4DI in Hull’s Fruit Market for a photography workshop with Luke and took part in a research tour of the city, including the Fruit Market, High Street and Hull Minster.

The project included meticulously planning the visit through the pre-production stage of the project over several weeks, including risk assessments and using Google Earth to map out and plan locations.

Luke said: “We went through everything that goes into taking the perfect picture, including pre-production and technical camera skills, right the way through to post-production and using industry-standard software, such as Photoshop.

“I took the students through real-life client briefs received over the years, so they have a true understanding of what goes on in the real world of photography.

“It’s not just about the picture, it’s about your relationship with the client, understanding them and making sure you over-deliver each and every time.

“The students were all very receptive and enthusiastic, they asked good questions and they got the most out of the experience. I was really impressed.”

Kate Blowman, Art and Creative Digital Teacher at Ron Dearing UTC, said the students were also encouraged to look at the smaller details of Hull, such as the cobbles, so they could be as creative as possible with their photography.

She said: “Rain during the afternoon didn’t deter them and the weather made their pictures look even more urban. They had to take about 200 pictures and they chose their favourite 10 to edit.

“C4DI is a thriving environment and it was a great place for the students to work on this project because they were treated like professionals, and they needed to work to deadlines. Luke taught them how to edit and copyright images for print, or online use, getting them ready for publication.

“We wanted to take the learning out of the classroom and help them to realise what it’s like working in a real-life environment.”