Press photographers pass November NCE
Two candidates sat exams in November’s sitting of the National Certificate Examination for Press Photographers and Photojournalists and both gained senior status.
Two candidates sat exams in November’s sitting of the National Certificate Examination for Press Photographers and Photojournalists and both gained senior status.
Chief examiner, Steve Phillips said: “The overall performance of candidates was good with some very good work submitted.”
There are five components that make up the NCE: practical; portfolio; advance project; logbook; and video.
For the practical, models and props are supplied as required and candidates have to provide pictures from the following journalistic scenarios: action shot; front page picture for supplement/magazine; and three inside pictures plus 100/150 word caption story. Both candidates successfully transmitted their action image and showed imagination and initiative in the feature section.
The portfolio requires ten images, collected over the whole training period, five of which must be from published assignments. Categories are news (2); sport (2), character study; presentation; exterior night; fashion; flash; and weather. Examiners were pleased with the overall quality of portfolio pictures.
For the advance project, candidates have four weeks to prepare a double-page spread or single page broadsheet on a given subject. For this exam the theme was ‘Mighty Museums’.
Candidates must also complete a logbook demonstrating a high level of competence across a full range of skills and video assignments. It must provide evidence of a steady improvement in standards of work during the period the candidate has been employed.
The video assessment takes into account the variation in the style of video packages that occurs on news websites. Candidates are given a storyline to illustrate with video that must include at least one interview recorded to a professional standard. The video package must be between 60 and 90 seconds long and penalties apply for running under or over time limits.
The two candidates who passed the examination are:
James Dadzitis, South West News Agency Ltd
Alicia Field, Reading Chronicle
