Introducing: PHOTOGRAD
Melissa Belton, along with Lauren Carter, two photography graduates are the founders of Photograd, an online platform showcasing work from photography graduates around the UK.
Photograd was designed as a platform from two graduates who have been through a photography degree, and the period after it, to allow graduates to display their work to a wider audience. With features and spotlights the platform gives the opportunity for graduates to be seen by photography enthusiasts to professional photographers and gain advice and experience.
We chat to Melissa and Lauren about their role in designing and bringing this platform to life.
Hi Melissa and Lauren
Could you tell us a bit about yourselves and your backgrounds in photography?
Melissa: My route into photography evolved slowly; from studying art at college to a six year voluntary position in an art gallery, a degree in photography sat perfectly. Living in a small seaside town stimulates my creative mind-set almost daily. My photographic work continues to sculpt itself around my home, familiar spaces, and it employs elements of my everyday. Being extremely motivated to work for myself, Photograd has allowed me to mould my career into exactly what I want since I graduated university in 2014.
Lauren: I’m 23 and live in the seaside town of Clacton-On-Sea. From a young age, I've always been attracted to the arts and have wanted to work in this area. During school, photography piqued my interest and from there, the natural step was a photography degree. I applied for the BA (Hons) Photography programme at University Campus Suffolk (now the University of Suffolk) and I never looked back. This course opened up my eyes to just how important photography is to our understanding of the world around us. My family has been a constant source of inspiration for new work. Larry Sultan has probably been the most influential to my practice, I even wrote my dissertation based around his project, Pictures From Home.
Could you explain a little bit more about what ‘Photograd’ is, and what made you decide to start a platform for graduates?
Photograd is an online platform showcasing the journeys of photography graduates from UK based courses. Our aim is to showcase, support, and encourage both older and more recent graduates to continue making work, and provide those featured with a support network which we feel can become lost post university. We are already seeing the formation of a unique support system between ourselves, those featured and the professional photographic industry. Through our process of utilising links within the industry, we have gained some exceptional feedback, especially towards both 'Selected' Spotlights we've produced to date.
Being graduates yourself did this encourage you to create such a platform?
Most definitely. We recognised the number of platforms, competitions, and awards that graduates can submit work to for a fee, and this is hugely overwhelming when fresh out of university; we've been there ourselves. Therefore a free to use online facility with a high standard of work was our ultimate goal. As photography graduates, we can lend much more specialised and unique advice, and the content we produce can be current and relevant to graduates and our readers alike.
With so many photography graduates around the country, how do you go about finding work by them? Does it consist of a mixture of you looking for new and fresh work and them submitting to you?
When Photograd launched we had already organised 25 Features for the platform. These provided examples for others to understand what we could offer, and informed readers of what Photograd is about and what we are looking to achieve. Launching with this content meant we were already a step ahead and this encouraged other graduates to send their work. We've slowly seen a rise in incoming requests to be a part of the platform. Social media channels are vital for us when it comes to contacting graduates we want to feature. Also Free Range was definitely the place where we began to make a name for ourselves. We'll soon be working towards Free Range 2017.
Is it refreshing for you to see so many different genres by so many different graduates? Do you have a favourite genre you like seeing submitted?
It’s inspiring, motivating, rewarding, and a joy to be overloaded with such a variety of work from so many different genres and working styles. Reading through new Features gives so much motivation to our personal work, and of course allows the platform itself to thrive. Every new genre that's created for the platform is exciting, and of course we both have genres of work that we prefer, but there's no particular ones we can narrow it down to that we always love to receive.
As a photographer yourself, do you enjoy giving the freedom to the graduates to select their own genre as opposed to fitting into a box?
The Photograd Directory categorises featured photographers by their own, and often unique ideas of which genre their work falls into. The Directory gives a new way of finding talent that's featured on the platform; select a genre and name that stands out, and users will hopefully find exactly what they're looking for. The ultimate goal for the Photograd Directory is for it to be utilised by agencies or buyers to satisfy their requirements. Giving this freedom allows graduates to completely express their work as they please. We feel that within each Feature it's obligatory to ask for an explanation as to why a particular genre has been chosen.
What advice would you give to new graduates who perhaps are overwhelmed with this new sense of freedom?
Freedom is valuable but the incentive from university quickly disappears and the purpose for making new work can sometimes dissolve. Submitting to Photograd can
bring that purpose back, and give motivation to enjoy making new work which can be publicised without the need to invest as the platform is completely free to use. Cherish your university experience but also look ahead. Make work in the same way you did at university, and gain feedback where you can. Don't rush, there's no time limit or schedule you have to stick to. Make work when it feels right.
Do you believe that connecting with others is one of the most important and helpful things in this industry?
Making connections is vital as they can offer support, provide feedback, and encourage, but can also lead to new opportunities. Join a photographic collective or volunteer your time to meet new people. These can be the most inspiring years of your life so far. We've created some really important and valuable connections and even friendships through the creation of Photograd who we know we can always rely on. Acknowledging that three of our launch graduates are now good friends is rewarding, but that is what a platform like Photograd should be; a place to connect, engage, create, and support. We're slowly reaching our goals.
What’s next for you alongside ‘Photograd’? Have you got your own projects in the works at the moment?
Melissa: I'm just at the beginning of my photographic journey but I'm working with the idea of constructing a zine of the images I've made since graduating. I've been really fortunate and gifted a number of self-published zines and postcards by those I've supported and featured on the platform. I'd really enjoy being able to send something of my own back.
Lauren: I'm still developing my long term project Pictures For a Family Album that I began at university. It's challenging working on the same project for so long but it doesn't feel complete to me yet, and perhaps it never will. One day I'd love to make this into a book so that's definitely one of my long term goals. As an extension to this project, I've been playing with the idea of focusing on the sibling bond and how it's constantly changing, especially for siblings close in age like myself and my brother. I am still plucking up the courage to ask my brother to be a part of this though, so wish me luck!
Thanks!
Look out for a PHOTOGRAD feature in our next issue coming out later this year
www.photograd.co.uk @_photograd
Written by Lisa Gillies @hashtagphotomag @lisagillies
