New Zealand Diploma in Photography (Level 6)
With a focus on self-initiated projects, entrepreneurship and live briefs from real clients, this programme is a mentored beginning to work. Build technical photography and videography skills alongside business capabilities to work with clients. You will graduate with a professional, industry-ready portfolio to help showcase your talent.
Domestic
About the programme
Take your photographic practice to a professional level in this commercially-focused programme.
Whatever kind of career you want to have across photography, video, or film – we’ll support you to become industry-ready; developing a portfolio full of your best practice, experience, and digital content so you can hit the ground running when you graduate.
With a focus on self-initiated projects, entrepreneurship, and live briefs from real clients, this is basically a mentored beginning to work.
As well as technical photographic skills, we’ll teach you the essential professional and business skills you’ll need to get your practice up and running commercially.
Plus, you’ll learn from experienced tutors who work part-time in the industry and enjoy access to our industry-standard studios and editing software and equipment.
International
About the programme
Take your photographic practice to a professional level in this commercially-focused programme.
Whatever kind of career you want to have across photography, video, or film – we’ll support you to become industry-ready; developing a portfolio full of your best practice, experience, and digital content so you can hit the ground running when you graduate.
With a focus on self-initiated projects, entrepreneurship, and live briefs from real clients, this is basically a mentored beginning to work.
As well as technical photographic skills, we’ll teach you the essential professional and business skills you’ll need to get your practice up and running commercially.
Plus, you’ll learn from experienced tutors who work part-time in the industry and enjoy access to our industry-standard studios and editing software and equipment.
What You Study
Overview
You will learn a range of technical, professional and business skills during this hands-on diploma where you can specialise in your chosen area of photographics:
- advanced camera expertise, lighting, post-production and editing
- iterative design processes, image analysis and criticism
- client projects, responding to and adapting live briefs
- professional workflow and tools
- professional contexts – including working in the industry, developing your own business, and small business practices
- business skills including invoicing, charging, accounting and budgeting.
The programme consists of four project courses.
1. Professional Workflow
This course will enable you to apply professional workflow to lens-based content creation.
- Apply professional workflow to meet a client brief, incorporating relevant sustainable and cultural principles.
2. Client Project
This course will allow you to collaborate successfully on a brief that responds to client needs and produce industry-standard lens-based content.
- Collaborate as a team on the development and production of a client-driven project, incorporating relevant sustainable and cultural principles.
- Apply professional workflow to create industry-standard, lens-based content.
3. Independent Specialisation
Learn how to work independently to construct a workflow that will fulfil a complex brief.
- Respond to external opportunities by designing and implementing a workflow to fulfil a complex brief.
4. Professional Contexts
Learn how to design, produce and present a commercial body of work in a professional context.
- Apply specialised skills using appropriate technologies to create professional content.
- Develop your own professional workflow in a chosen context.
- Effectively present a body of work to an identified audience, incorporating relevant sustainable and cultural principles.
Career opportunities
At the end of this programme, you'll be ready for a broad range of freelance, in-house and independent opportunities within creative and commercial industries.
With a focus on digital content creation in photography, video and sound, areas can include:
- advertising
- food
- fashion and editorial
- news media, photojournalism and documentary
- sports and events
- weddings and portraiture
- post-production editing
- travel and vlogging
- corporate and commercial
- stills and video in the film industry.
You may wish to undertake further tertiary study at diploma or degree level in the field of creative arts or business if pursuing self-employment.
Further study options
This programme provides a pathway into the second year of the Bachelor of Visual Arts or Bachelor of Design (Communication).
Workload
Your workload
This is a full-time programme with approximately 15-hours of contact time and 20-hours of self-directed study per week.
Entry
Entry requirements
Academic requirements
Those under 20
- You must have completed a Level 5 qualification in a related field OR demonstrate equivalent knowledge and skills.
- In exceptional circumstances, an applicant under the age of 20 who doesn't meet the academic requirements may be granted entry to the programme where they supply evidence of their ability to succeed in the programme.
- You need to submit a portfolio (see Portfolio section below for more info).
Those 20 and over
- No minimum academic requirements.
- You need to submit a portfolio (see Portfolio section below for more info).
English Language requirements
- If English is not your first language, you must provide:
- New Zealand University Entrance OR
- Overall Academic IELTS 6.0 with no individual band score lower than 5.5 (achieved in one test completed in the last two years), OR
- Acceptable alternative evidence of the required IELTS (see here for NZQA proficiency table and here for list of recognised proficiency tests).
If you need to improve your English Language skills, we offer a wide range of English programmes.
Selection criteria
Where there are more eligible applicants than places available, applicants will be selected based on the strength of the submitted portfolio and the above entry criteria.
Your portfolio
Portfolio
We require examples of your photographic work (still and/or moving images) and the ways that you develop your ideas. Your examples need to show us your interests and your ability to use a range of techniques.
- Please send us twelve (12) examples of your photographic work (still and/or moving images).
- Please submit your portfolio digitally as a PDF uploaded to the OP website. Combine your images into a single digital document and save as a PDF.
- Please upload any moving image work to a website (e.g. YouTube or similar) and include links as a page of your portfolio PDF.
Thank you. We are looking forward to seeing your photographic work.
Covering letter
- Please write a short covering letter to accompany your application. A double-spaced letter of not more than one page (300 words) explaining why you want to come to study on the program and what your relevant experiences have been to date.
Don't meet the entry requirements?
No problem, our New Zealand Diploma in Digital Media and Design (Level 5) is the perfect first step!
Want your existing skills recognised?
If you have extensive knowledge and skills due to practical experience in this area, please ask us about our recognition of prior learning process. You may have already gained credits towards this qualification and could achieve it in a shorter timeframe. Please email info@op.ac.nz or call 0800 762 786.
Fees
Domestic fees
International fees
Additional costs
You need to have:
- a camera for still and moving images
- an external hard drive for keeping their digital files (eg. 1TB USB hard drive)
- a pair of monitoring headphones
- a good quality SD card (e.g. Sandisk), minimum 32GB.
Tuition fees
The tuition fees shown above are approximate only. There may be a slight fee increase per year once Tertiary Education Commission (TEC) rules and guidelines are applied. These fees also don’t include additional costs or living costs.
Studylink
Domestic full-time students can apply for a student loan through Studylink.
Some support may be available for domestic part-time students.
Apply at the same time as you apply for your course (you can withdraw your application anytime).
Student Services Fee
For most students, your tuition fee shown above includes a Student Services Fee – also known as the Student Levy. This compulsory fee covers your access to the student services we offer. This cost is tailored depending on how you're studying.
The international tuition fee does not include your Student Levy. This will be calculated when you enrol with us.
Click below to find out more about the Student Levy costs and services provided.
Fees Free
The Government has announced that Fees Free for the first year of study or training will finish at the end of 2024. A final-year Fees Free policy will replace it, starting from 1 January 2025.
If you are a first-time tertiary learner in 2025, you may be able to get Fees Free for your final year of study or training. If you are eligible, you will need to apply for your entitlement through IRD from 2026 onwards.
For more information about the transition from first-year Fees Free or the final-year Fees Free policy, visit FeesFree.govt.nz.
Application
A change for 2023 enrolments
When you apply to study with Otago Polytechnic in 2023, you will be enrolled with Te Pūkenga, the new national network of vocational and applied education in Aotearoa New Zealand. You will learn in the same way, in the same place, and with the same people, and you will graduate with a Te Pūkenga qualification.
