15/09/2026
NEW FOR HOMEED TEENS IN HAMPSHIRE: SILVER & GOLD ARTS AWARD THROUGH PHOTOGRAPHY
I’m launching something I’ve wanted to do for a while, and I think it’s a genuinely unusual opportunity for young people who already enjoy taking photos and want to do something more purposeful with them.
Starting 25 September, I’ll be running a small monthly photography-based Arts Award group around Southampton/Hampshire, with places available at both Silver and Gold level.
This is not a technical photography course. I won’t be teaching camera settings, Photoshop or how to become a professional editor. Young people can use a phone or digital camera, whichever they are most comfortable with.
Instead, we’ll concentrate on developing as a photographer.
How do you notice things other people walk past?
How do you tell a story through a group of images?
How do you photograph a person rather than just their face?
How do you develop your own style?
How do you choose which image deserves to be seen?
How do you put together a collection that actually feels like your work?
Each month we’ll meet for a two-hour photoshoot in a different Hampshire location, with a different idea or theme.
We’ll explore things such as:
landscape and nature
architecture and photographing places
visual storytelling
objects and still life
fashion/editorial photography
portrait photography
colour, pattern, texture and detail
working to creative briefs
building cohesive photographic collections
preparing work for exhibition
There will also be monthly independent assignments to complete between sessions. Arts Award is a portfolio qualification, so learners will be expected to keep an online portfolio, carry out their own research, develop ideas, take photographs outside our meetings and respond to feedback.
They will get plenty of structure and guidance from me, but they will also need to take responsibility for their own work. That independence is a really important part of both Silver and Gold.
SILVER ARTS AWARD — £35 per month
Silver is Level 2 and gives young people the chance to develop their photography while beginning to take more responsibility for their creative work.
Alongside the monthly shoots, Silver learners will:
• set themselves a photography challenge
• develop their own photographic skills and ideas
• research opportunities within the arts
• review arts experiences
• work with other young people
• share skills/collaborate as part of their leadership work
• help prepare work for our final exhibition
• build a proper creative portfolio
GOLD ARTS AWARD — £55 per month
Gold is a Level 3 qualification, the same qualification level as A-level study, and carries 16 UCAS points.
Gold is much more independent and is particularly suited to young people who are ready to take ownership of a substantial creative project.
Alongside the monthly photography programme, Gold learners will:
• develop their own photographic practice
• explore a new area or approach within photography
• work with practitioners and look at professional practice
• research photographers and arts experiences
• investigate and form an opinion on a real issue within the arts
• take part in arts training/volunteering opportunities that I will provide or help arrange
• develop leadership skills
• take genuine responsibility for planning and producing the final exhibition
• work on curation, display, publicity, visitor experience and other real exhibition roles
• build a substantial digital Gold portfolio
GALLERY EXHIBITION
The programme will finish with the young people exhibiting their photography in a professional gallery/exhibition space.
This will be an invitation-only event for friends, family and invited guests, rather than an unrestricted public exhibition, so it can still feel exciting and professional while remaining a comfortable environment for the group.
Gold learners will take a particularly active role in putting the exhibition together, while Silver learners will also have the opportunity to exhibit and contribute.
If your young person already wanders around taking photos of skies, outfits, buildings, their friends, tiny details, random objects or things nobody else seems to notice, this could be a really lovely way to turn that interest into something much bigger.
Silver: £35 per month
Gold: £55 per month
📅 Starts 25 September
Please express your interest by filling out the registration form:
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdVV6GZBU_KnXiyFg7H3jVpsOPR3FBZUiUD_hWWe-4SvbnVkA/viewform?usp=publish-editor
