Photography Personal Statement Example 6

Whether its a curse or a blessing, I fear that this personal statement will differ greatly from the majority for the reason that unlike many who aspire to study Photography in higher education I unfortunately cannot claim to have been an avid photographer for the entirety of my life. It has only been in recent years that I have discovered the art form of photography. But once discovered it was unlike starting any other hobby, to me it felt closer to reuniting with an old friend, no other activity before or since has felt so natural to me.

I think deep down the desire to become a photographer has been within me for a long time but It wasn't until a particularly bleak period in my life that I finally made the choice to begin my relationship with photography. I was living in cornwall and suffering from fairly intense and constant anxiety. Constantly in a state of disorientating fear I needed a way to ground myself. I was living from pay cheque to pay cheque and didn't really have much money to spare but one day I walked into Argos and bought myself a ‘Fujifilm FinePix S4300 Bridge Camera’. After what felt like a lifetime of bad decisions this was the decision that led to me becoming the person who I am today.

I very quickly fell completely in love with photography. I spent much of my spare time walking around taking photographs, learning all that I could through a combination of both trial and error and a helpful group on flickr comprised of other beginner photographers. Photography allowed me to take control of my life again and gave me a renewed sense of self confidence, my anxiety started to disappear and I knew that this was what I needed to spend my life doing. I made the decision to return home from cornwall with the intention of going back to college to study photography and pursue a career within my newfound passion. In hindsight this is exactly what I should have done, instead however I was convinced to work a full time job whilst keeping photography a hobby as it “made more financial sense”.

My hardworking nature was quickly recognised within my job and I found myself being quickly promoted, having both my hours and responsibilities increased. It wasn't long before I found that I had almost no time for photography and my camera was left to gather dust on a shelf. But life has a funny way of getting you back on track.

I was unhappy in my job and I wanted nothing more than to find a career I was passionate in, this led to me wondering if education would be suitable to my character. I gained a job as a Learning Support Assistant working in a provision for High Functioning Autistic students at the local school I attended when I was younger. I was assigned a student to act as Key Worker to, It was this student who reminded me of my passion for photography. The students within our provision have a reduced timetable, the lessons where they are not within mainstream are ‘lifeskills’ lessons and are a chance for them to unwind or learn other life skills. My student was crazy about photography.

I found myself running photography themed life skills lessons for my student. At last my camera was back off the shelf and getting regular use again, both in the school and in my own time. The happiness and sensation of belonging I once felt returned and even stronger than before, I used the internet to discover the genres of photography that interested me the most and found out about the photographers who define these styles. I was heavily inspired by local Alternative Portrait Photographer Derek Johnston, this led to me discovering Glyn Dewis, Aaron Nace, Adrian Sommeling and Calvin Hollywood. All these photographers have similar styles that are all heavily complemented by photoshop which I have now begun to use in my images.

At the beginning of this year I again made the decision to pursue a career in photography, I knew I needed to come out of my photographic shell and start getting myself noticed and talked about. I enjoy photographing interesting and alternative portraits this has led to me photographing some local cosplayers, airsofters and a string of photos for use in a friends clothing line. I am my harshest critic and know I have a lot to learn but my photos have been well received, getting online features from Cosplay Culture magazine, multiple shares from ‘StarsofCosplay’ instagram account and my friends clothing line has also started very successfully.
I enjoy learning from each shoot, but working full time alongside wanting to pursue photography is very restricting. I know I need time and room to experiment, learn and finesse my photographic technique, I began an Online Photography Diploma with The Photography Institute at the beginning of this year that is due to finish in June, Im confident that this combined with my life experiences will provide me with the basis I will need to begin higher education in photography.

Besides photography I enjoy exercise in most forms, I am incredibly keen on adrenaline raising sports such as martial arts, airsofting, long boarding and snowboarding. Im a huge lover of most things sci-fi and enjoy reading novels and watching films in this genre. Since discovering photoshop I also enjoy photo manipulating and retouching photographs for cosplayers.

I desire a future wherein I spend my time doing what I love and enjoy, this is what I hope to gain through university, It is a shame I didn't discover my passion until after the age one typical attends university, but I think I needed to mature into the person I am now. Im ready for the opportunities and challenges that university will present me and its a journey I cant wait to undertake.