Photography

Photography is one of the defining visual practices of the modern world, shaping how events are documented, how people present themselves, how places and cultures are represented, and how ideas and arguments are made visible. It is both a technical discipline, concerned with the mastery of camera, light, and post-production, and a creative and critical one, engaged with questions about how images are made, what they mean, and what power they exercise over the viewer.

At York St John University this three-year, full-time programme gives you the freedom to explore your artistic interests within a structured and supportive environment. You will develop professional photography skills across documentary, editorial, and studio photography, working with both film and digital approaches to image creation. The programme encourages you to think critically about contemporary image-making, engaging with the ideas, histories, and debates that give photography its cultural and artistic significance.

A sandwich year, a year abroad, and work placement opportunities are all built in, giving you professional experience in a photographic or visual arts context and the chance to broaden your practice through engagement with different photographic cultures overseas.

Graduates of photography work across a wide range of professional contexts. Many move into editorial and commercial photography, working as photographers, photo editors, picture editors, or art directors for publications, agencies, and brands. Others build careers in documentary and photojournalism, portrait photography, fashion, advertising, or fine art photography.

Some move into related fields such as film, video production, visual communication, or arts management, using the visual skills and critical thinking the degree develops in contexts that go beyond still photography. Further study at postgraduate level in photography or visual art is available for those who want to develop their practice or move into education and research.