A-LEVEL PHOTOGRAPHY 2025
SOPHIE DUNNE | SAM DUTTON | GRACE EVANS | LEONA GURUNG | CARA JONES | ERIN McCABE | MYLEE ROUND | GRACE SKETT | LIBBY STEVENS | EMMA WATSON
A-Level Photography allows learners the opportunity to express themselves creatively while exploring ideas and concepts that are personal and meaningful. This is clearly demonstrated across the wonderful work created by this years A-Level cohort. I could not be prouder of the work and achievements made by each member of the Photography group.
Learners often choose issues within society as a means to connect their Photography to an audience. The course consistently challenges them to problem solve and improve both quality and concept as they progress. This ultimately prepares them for both industry and Higher Education.
Industry-standard software and equipment are embedded throughout the course to again support progression, exploring the Creative Cloud Adobe Suite with programs such as Photoshop and Lightroom for image editing, along with InDesign to create their stunning portfolios and project work. To allow for a deeper understanding of photography, learners are encouraged to work with both modern and traditional techniques such as darkroom and Cyanotypes. This 2-year programme builds theoretical and practical knowledge to allow our learners the creative means to express themselves through Photography.
I hope you enjoy exploring the work from this year’s Photography learners.
Simon Morris, A-Level Photography Tutor, Dudley Sixth
Sophie Dunne
The concept of my project (component 2) was to convey images that expressed the weather and light. While taking these images I tried a different number of locations as well as objects – like trees and ponds and boats as well as geese and ducks.
I really enjoyed both black and white photography and colour and when it came to picking my final images it was sometimes hard picking between the two. When editing my work, I didn’t really change much, just exposure of the images.
I am currently working at a photography studio and hope to continue my work there and to develop more skills as a working photographer.
Sam Dutton
These images mainly served as final images for a project which revolved around self-portraiture as a means to explore the deeper workings of the human psyche. These images all use a variety of editing methods, with the main ones being the use of digital editing to create Spiral effects, blending as well as enabling two subjects to be present in the frame at once.
Other edits that I employed for these series of edits include physical editing methods such as the act of tearing and overlaying two images. All of these were carefully chosen since I felt that they captured the deeper portrayals of the human psyche in a captivating and creepy manner.
I plan to study History and War Studies as a joint honour at The University of Wolverhampton.
Grace Evans
These final images are from my component 2 project where I explored the topic Active or Relaxed. I decided to focus on a documentary style approach for this project, focusing on one person per photoshoot.
I wanted to capture people doing their favourite things that keeps them active and/or relaxed. For example, I captured my dad playing golf which both keeps him active but also helps him relax as it is a sport he thoroughly enjoys. I kept the images in black and white, as it gave them a more personal feel to them, as well as emphasising documentary style.
After A-Levels I plan to continue working with photography and hopefully pursuing photography as a job.
Leona Gurung
Throughout my works, I chose to follow a cinematic route by capturing scenes that surround me on a day-to-day basis using candid imagery. Cinematography often controls what the audiences can and can’t see, so I was able to use this to my advantage by capturing the beauty that is pre-existing within people, places and things; to help me change people’s perceptions of certain aspects of life that may be overlooked.
I believe that I have successfully demonstrated this concept through the images that have been showcased here.
I plan to continue pursuing photography at the University of the Arts London (UAL) and obtain a degree in it.
Cara Jones
I have thoroughly enjoyed photography A-Level, and my final 2 components have been orientated around my interests, such as street and natural photography. These interests I stretched to my extent, firstly beginning Component 1 based on Fantasy and Fiction. Hopefully, these images look ethereal and perfect to project this theme.
However, for component 2, I have totally switched this on its head and experimented with the idea of Fear enforced by the Urban Environment. These contrast my first images, being dark and isolated and scary.
Thank you to everyone who has helped me through these 2 years including Simon and my family, and I want to wish a well done to everyone else in my class who have done a fab job : )
I plan to study a degree in Archaeology and History at Exeter University, keeping up photography as a keen hobby.
Erin McCabe
Mylee Round
For both my Component 1 and 2, I worked around the central theme of fashion. My component 1 I worked on glamour and fashion photography as it aligns with my interests and is common in everyday media. I investigated magazines such as Vogue and Elle which inspired me and guided me to understand modern beauty standards.
For my second project I worked with different fashion in different locations, I tested a range of different models and places to create a range of moods and aesthetics. I am currently working towards going to Worcester University to study Dance and Performance, and intend to carry on with photography in the future.
Grace Skett
For this project I explored the concept of individuality by forming characters to showcase the distinct separateness between people and how each person has their own identity. My initial starting point of this project was table, and it is through a table that I have presented the different personality types of an individual by giving them their own personality trait.
For the layout of the images, I wanted to capture all of the models together in an arrangement to further accentuate the uniqueness of each of the characters. Overall, my images are successful as they extenuate the difference between each person through the simplicity of a table and incorporate a variety of skills such as cinematography which is the art of photography and visual storytelling in a motion picture. I used this to build a narrative for each of the characters to help further underline the individuality of a person.
In the future I am to go to the University Of Birmingham to study sociology and education.
Libby Stevens
Within my first project I explored the connections between human and natural form. Through doing this I hoped to portray our connection to nature and emphasize our natural beauty as I feel this is something which has been lost within the Morden age, because of the harsh beauty standards rooted within society.
For this project I followed the brief ‘focus’ and chose to photograph natural forms under colored lighting conditions to emphasise the level of detail their surfaces contain, and to make the outcomes more interesting.
I am planning to take a gap year and work on my photography portfolio and hope to continue into photography as a career.
Emma Watson
This work is from my component 2 project. I focussed on blurring the lines between the arts and culture of my closest city -Birmingham- and the architecture and work culture by combining work of the graffiti and street art of Digbeth and the inner-city buildings and workplaces by creating collages and overlapping images of the two.
I chose to show this due to the erasure of art in a city’s culture despite its immense impact especially on its youth, I wanted to focus in particularly on the windows of the buildings to showcase the architectural aspect, this is compared to the fleeting line work and bold colours of the street art.
My photography work has helped me obtain more knowledge of the arts and helped solidify my passion in this field. After my A levels I am going to study Art History at Aberystwyth university.
