Digital Photography: Discover your Genre and Develop your Style Course - The Open University

Take the next steps in your photography journey by exploring different genres and finding your photographic style.

Explore different photographic genres, styles, and approaches

Created in collaboration with the UK’s leading photography organisation, the Royal Photographic Society, this microcredential will give you a broad overview of a number of photographic genres and the knowledge, skills, and techniques to create better photographic narratives.

Build your photography skills and learn how to work to a brief

This course will encourage you to explore different areas of photography to help you identify where you want to develop your creative photography skills, confidence, and knowledge. Some of the subjects covered in this course include:

• ‘Things’ – including product and food photography
• ‘People and events’ – exploring portraiture, sports, and photojournalism
• ‘Environment’ - looking at wildlife, buildings, architecture, and landscapes

You will learn how to work to a brief and how to prepare and take images to create a body of work within these subjects that tell a visually cohesive story. You will discover how your approach to taking or displaying an image can affect how it is understood and explore the conventions related to particular genres.

Develop a photography project that realises its intent

Building on your basic photography skills, you’ll start to understand what it means to be an intentional photographer as well as how to think about and write a Statement of Intent that explains the purpose and objective of your portfolio.

This course is delivered on the FutureLearn platform and you will also access a third-party image sharing site, at no extra cost. This site is used to share your images with fellow learners and develop your photographic eye by learning and practising how to give feedback on each other’s images.

Learn from experts, with The Open University and the Royal Photographic Society

Created by The Open University in collaboration with the Royal Photographic Society, you’ll learn from current thinkers and experimenters who specialise in particular genres and approaches to photography.

You will share ideas and experiences with fellow learners, building skills, confidence and knowledge from peer to peer feedback and weekly challenges to experiment and explore your new creative approaches, techniques and practices, and the concept behind your intent.

The FutureLearn social learning experience is designed to encourage learners to interact and benefit from a stimulating learning community. On-course mentors encourage collaboration between learners and offer guidance. Feedback on images throughout the course will come from your fellow learners. At the end of the course you’ll receive detailed, personal feedback on your assessment from academic and subject matter experts.

This course replaces Digital Photography: Creating a Professional Portfolio (OU course code: TZFM200.) It is a completely new course, however, the assessment is similar in shape and level. If you have any questions please contact us prior to enrolling.

When would you like to start?

We aim to run our microcredentials every few months. Join on the date that suits you or register to hear from an enrolment advisor about future runs and updates.

• 28 March 2022
• 4 July 2022

What you will receive

10 UK credits at the Undergraduate level from The Open University.

You’ll receive an Open University certificate confirming that you have received 10 academic credits. Credits are awarded on passing the final assessment.

The assessment requires you to submit a set of 12 images and a statement of intent. You will also be required to show how you have worked with others in the group, evidencing feedback on other students’ work.

A Certificate in Photography from the Royal Photographic Society

The certificate is free to members of the Society or available for an additional £12 for non-members.

Career-focused learning by

The Open University

The Open University (OU) is the largest academic institution in the UK and a world leader in flexible distance learning, with a mission to be open to people, places, methods and ideas.

This microcredential is in collaboration with the Royal Photographic Society

The RPS is the United Kingdom’s leading photography organisation.

What is a microcredential?

Microcredentials are designed to upskill you for work in rapidly-growing industries, without the time and cost commitment of a full degree. Your microcredential can stand alone as an independent credential, and some also offer academic credit to use towards a degree.