Laura Pannack
Burton College has had some great guest lecturers this academic year. The latest was photographer, Laura Pannack.
Laura started her studies at Brighton University with painting, but found when using a camera she had a natural ability for photography. Laura has since gone on to win the Hotshoe International Next Perspective Award, amongst winning and being shortlisted for other awards. Laura has also assisted Simon Roberts.
Laura gave an talked about her work, which can be seen on her website, whilst giving good common sense advice about being a photography student.
Laura encouraged us to make mistakes during our time at university. It’s the only time we will be able to do this without losing reputation. She felt it important to be inspired, watch movies, look at other photography, to absorb everything around us.
Making the most of the university’s facilities was also something Laura encouraged. And to be involved and be prepared for crit sessions. She said to make sure to maintain contact with peers, even after university and social networking sites were a good way to do this. We should make sure we collaborate with our peers, Laura talked about how she and fellow students had set up the Bystander collective. Laura advised contacting older peers for guidance. Laura also said peers made good assistants and models as it made for a more comfortable environment.
Laura talked about the importance of assisting and how to go about it. She advised that we should single out photographers that we admired and to keep asking, it was a good idea to be tenacious in this respect. Laura highlighted that we should not allow ourselves to be taken advantage of. Many photographers will allow assistants to work for free, but we are working still and entitled to some reward.
Laura listed the things she felt made for a good assistant and a good photographer after leaving university:
- Be punctual
- Be equipped
- Be polite
- Do research
- Invoice properly
- Know when to be quiet
- Be alert
- Prepare financially
- Contact photographers for assisting early (at least two to three months beforehand)
- Stay open minded
- Be respectful
- Be positive
- Stay in touch, support and network
- Always keep shooting
- Look back at your previous work (you can see how far you’ve come)
Laura talked about how one of her tutors asked where did she want to be in five years time and then asked her how she got there. Essentially, it was important to plan in detail how to achieve your goals.
Laura finished her talk by stressing that it was important to remember why you are a photographer.
