You wait to give a talk to students for months then three come along at once! Strange but true, I’ve just given my third talk with students in the past month or so. I totally loved each one, all for different colleges and universities.
First up was City of Glasgow college where my good friend, fine art photographer and lecture Iain Campbell works teaching the NC and HND photography students. I showed a wide range of work from my personal projects to the commercial and went over any advice I had to help the students find their feet in the industry.
That was pretty much the same agenda for my talk with Jon Lee‘s photography students at Edinburgh College. Jon’s great at bringing in outside photographers to share their unique perspective. I feel almost duty bound to do these talks as when I was a student at Salisbury it was the visiting photographers that really inspired me and made me believe I could become a photographer myself. It was harder back then when you had no online window into that world so those talks were a goldmine on information.
Last up was Napier University where I spoke with photographer and lecturer Sophie Gerrard‘s 4th year photography students about portfolio presentation. More of the talk was focussed on how you get through the door in the first place as this is often the harder step, certainly in the commercial world. Lots of good questions and feedback too.
I’d really recommend that folk take their experience and share it freely with the next generation. When I think how much of a difference it made to me back in the day, there’s a real sense of it coming full circle.
