These non-mandatory unit summaries have been taken from the City & Guilds Guidance publication.

Note: Links to the mandatory unit assignments are given below. Links to the non-mandatory unit assignments are given along side their summary. All assignments require a password available to registered students only.

BLOCK A - mandatory units
Unit 1 - Photographic Image Creation

Either
Unit 2 - Image Management; contemporary

Or
Unit 3 - Image Management; new technology

Unit 4 - Visual Studies and Photographic Techniques

Unit 5 - Business Planning for Photo Imaging (double unit)

Unit 6 - Photographic Design and Reproduction

BLOCK B - two units from the following
Unit 7 - Scientific and Photographic Technical Imaging

Unit 8 - Photographic Studio Imaging

Unit 9 - Photographic Location Imaging

BLOCK C - four units from the following
Unit 15 - Photographic Fine Art Imaging

Unit 16 - Photography for Advertising

Unit 17 - Fashion Photography

Unit 18 - Editorial, Press and Public Relations Photography

Unit 19 - Portraiture and Social Photography

Unit 20 - Corporate (Industrial and Commercial) Photography

Unit 22 - Specialist Darkroom Practices

Unit 23 - Contextual Studies in Photo Imaging

Unit 24 - Assessment and Training in Photography Businesses

Unit 26 - Personal and Professional Development
 
Back to Frequently Asked Questions
 

This unit is an introduction to the basic skills and techniques used in the recording of scientific, medical and technical processes and procedures. As a scientific photographer, the candidate may be asked to record images to assist the analysis of these and to extract data to provide information about the subject rather than the process. To facilitate this, the candidate must be able to communicate with scientists and subject experts and understand their specialist vocabularies. They must also be able to design image recording situations to the best advantage for subsequent data extraction and evaluation.
 
During the study of this unit, candidates will explore the limits of human perception and the recording role of photographic and digital systems. Candidates will apply scientific methods in the design of experiments and use spectral recording in the visible, infra-red ultraviolet bands together with close-up photography and photomacrography. There will be an opportunity for candidates to demonstrate photography through the microscope and other scientific applications such as precision copying and lens testing procedures. Candidates will also explore optical systems for wide-angle, panoramic and telephoto recording and the methodology relating to motion and change using high-speed photography, time-lapse techniques and Photogrammetry.

This unit is about developing skills and understanding of the techniques needed to work effectively in a controlled studio environment.
 
The candidate will be called upon to demonstrate skills in the studio to senior practitioner /manager level in order to raise the standards of studio work in the organisation in which they work. The candidates will work to the client brief and demonstrate interpersonal skills in dealing with clients and colleagues.
 
In this unit there is an opportunity to consider healthy and safe working practices, as well as how moral, ethical, social and environmental issues affect people working at senior/manager level in the photographic, or imaging and relating industries.

This unit is about developing skills and understanding of the techniques of working in the uncontrolled location environment. The candidate will be called upon to demonstrate skills at senior practitioner the /manager level in order to raise the standards of location work in the organisation in which they work. The candidates will work to the client brief and demonstrate interpersonal skills in dealing with clients and colleagues.
 
In this unit they will have the opportunity to consider healthy and safe working practices, as well as how moral, ethical, social and environmental issues affect people working at senior/manager level in the photographic and related industries.

This unit is an opportunity to use and develop skills for the development of self-expression and personal statement through the production of photographic works by traditional and digital methods.
 
The unit aims to enable the candidate to:
 
• Research and develop research methodology to underpin the creative process
• Develop concepts that explore issues of self, society, environment and/or cultural issues
• Investigate a range of creative approaches in the realisation of ideas and concepts
• Produce a body of creative individual work
• Develop and combine two and three-dimensional presentation formats.

This unit is about developing skills and understanding of the techniques in photography for advertising.
 
The candidate will be called upon to demonstrate skills in the studio and on location to senior practitioner/manager level in order to raise the standards of photography for advertising in the organisation in which they work. The candidates will work to the client brief and demonstrate interpersonal skills in dealing with clients and colleagues in the world of advertising and publicity.
 
In this unit, candidates will have the opportunity to consider healthy and safe working practices as well as how moral, ethical, social and environmental issues affect people working at senior/ manager level in the photographic and related industries.

This unit is about developing the creative skills and knowledge of fashion photography. As a senior member of staff, you are likely to be called upon to advise customers on the most eye-catching solution to a fashion photography project and to deliver it solution to the highest possible quality. In the process you will develop and implement innovative techniques designed to raise the overall standards of the business in which you work.
 
In this unit you will have the opportunity to consider the importance of health and safety issues as it affects the comfort and security of models of all ages, as well as the impact of location choice, weather conditions and planning on the success a fashion photography project.

This unit is about developing the creative skills and knowledge of PR and press photography. As a senior member of staff, the candidate is likely to be called upon to manage a wide variety of PR and press photographic assignments and to deliver them to the highest possible quality. In the process the candidate will develop and implement innovative techniques and approaches designed to raise the overall standards of the business in which they work.
 
In this unit the candidate will have the opportunity to consider the importance of health and safety issues in various locations, legislation affecting the photography of minors, the need for accurate information about people photographed for subsequent caption writing, as well as the impact of location, weather conditions and planning on the success of PR and press photography projects.

This unit will be useful in candidates' personal development within this specialist field of photographic practice.
 
The candidate will be expected to demonstrate a high level of professional photographic practice skills and make specific judgmental decisions in a range of circumstances, both business promotion, management and operational skills.
 
On completion of the unit, it is expected that the candidate will have gained experience in a broad range of skills and will be able to apply such skills supported by the underpinning knowledge required for successful management of the social photography business.

This unit is about developing skills and understanding of the techniques of working in the uncontrolled industrial and commercial environment, both in the studio and on location.
 
The candidate will be called upon to demonstrate skills in industrial commercial photography to senior practitioner/manager level in order to raise the standards of industrial and commercial photography in the organisation in which they work.
 
The candidate will work to the client brief and demonstrate interpersonal skills in dealing with clients and colleagues.
 
In this unit, there is the opportunity to consider healthy and safe working practices, as well as how moral, ethical, social and environmental issues affect people working at senior practitioner/ manager level in the photographic and related industries.

This unit is about developing and practising creative skills and knowledge in a specialist darkroom. As a senior member of staff, the candidate is likely to be called upon to advise customers on the best darkroom practice to use and to deliver to solution to the highest possible quality. In the process, the candidate will develop and implement innovative techniques designed to raise the overall standards and scope of the business.
 
In this unit the candidate will have the opportunity to consider the importance of health and safety issues as it affects darkroom practices, as well as the benefit of good communication and planning on the success of darkroom projects.

This unit enables candidates to examine in depth the history of photographic research, invention and application in the context of history of social change. The study can be seen as a marketing tool enabling the candidate to identify potential routes of visual innovation within his or her selected application.

This unit will serve as an awareness raiser to the practice and procedures of modern business, by encouraging the candidate to research and adopt systems and outside the photographic industry.
 
The requirements for successful unit completion will include a demonstration and appreciation of the normal requirements of business planning, employment law (contracts and job descriptions), interview, staff selection, staff training, assessing skills and e-commerce. The unit should direct the candidate towards research and the evaluation of acquired information, in order to make policy decisions to achieve business success and general projected aims.
 
Training and assessment should be a major feature in the unit and should demonstrate the practical ability of the candidate to interview and, by initial assessment methods, select staff. In addition, the candidate should carry out training in specific skills and finally make an objective assessment of the trainee, giving feedback on the trainees' success.

This unit is aimed at the development of the visual skills required by an illustrative photographer. It is expected that the candidate will demonstrate a high level of technical skills to support the visual recording process. The candidate will show an aptitude for developing an innovative approach to silver-based as well as digital image making through the unit.
 
The work of the illustrative photographer has grown to include a broad range of applications, and this range should be explored using a considerable range of skills including conceptualisation, camera, darkroom and lighting, and other areas related to professional practice.
 
In this unit the candidate will consider the application of the photographic images in the current market and show extensive research and application for their images. Where possible they should develop and demonstrate a stylised approach to the final images, using both silver and digital or a combination of both, and with the combination of creative and design elements, where experimentation should be encouraged.

Index