Image from BA (Hons) Fashion Photography Orsolya Luca
The BA14 Media Exhibition opens today featuring work from across our School of Media and Communication. As part of our Class of 2014 series we are showcasing the work of graduating students whose work will be featured in the exhibition. Today BA (Hons) Fashion Photography student Orsolya Luca talks to us about her final project and the importance of research.
LCF: What have you enjoyed most about studying at LCF?
Orsolya Luca: It is very hard to say what I have enjoyed the most over my studies. Over the three years, I was able to learn a variety of skills from technical competence to deepen my knowledge on cultural historical studies and be able to crystalise the very core of my interest and the aesthetic form of my photography. With the whole experience I learned so much and it has helped me to find myself as a photographer and make my work more complex, but more clean. This experience is one of the most important one in my life so far.
LCF: Have you won any prizes / been in the media / undertaken work experience?
OL: I made it to the final of i-D Diversity Now, regardless of the outcome I won the experience. I have also worked on several print, online magazines and clients over the years.
LCF: What inspires you?
OL: Reality and the street. The fashion industry is always about making something special, something outstanding, something beyond reality and attention grabbing. For me the most precious thing is the average. I try to show the beauty in reality by deconstructing it in a way what expresses my understanding of a particular situation.
LCF: What is most important to you about fashion?
OL: Fashion is constantly changing. For me, fashion becomes interesting and important when we are questioning it in the right way and try to make it more meaningful by incorporating reality.
LCF: How would you sum up your final project?
OL: My final major project is a conceptual and visual acknowledgment of working class men and their social status. I examined and photographed the streets of my hometown Budapest, and my adopted city London to create a deconstructed, subjective reality out of street photography. My aim was creating a series of urban street moments that is a personal and critical reflection on society based on the cultural capital.
LCF: What are your plans for the future? And how do you feel your course will help you?
OL: I will stay in London and continue working as a photographer. I’m planning to set up more personal projects beside my commissioned work and approach new people in the industry who are inspired my work. I also plan to continue my studies, at MA level later on. My tutors are very supportive and they always help me to take the next wise step in my carrier. I know, even after graduation I’ll have their professional support. LCF offered great support over my studies and I am very keen to use the library with my alumni card in the future, after graduation. I don’t know what I would do without the university library, because research has become a part of my weekly routine over the last three years.
LCF: What advice would you give someone wanting to study for a BA at LCF?
Be wise with your time, and use this precious period of time to deepen your knowledge and develop your own taste and aesthetics. Use the facilities, build your contact list and never miss a lecture. Discuss your thoughts with your tutors, make valuable debates with your mates on your subjects and go to the library as often you can. Self directed study is one of the most brilliant methods of learning.