22-year-old Niamh Peters, from Manchester, joined Leeds Trinity in September 2018 as part of the first-ever cohort to study Photography. She was drawn to the University due to the introduction of the new degree programme, which met her career aspirations to become a photographer. 

During her time at Leeds Trinity, she has showcased her final year work as part of the Re:Vision exhibition which was viewed by 500,000 people across digital screens in Leeds Train Station and Millennium Square. Niamh’s final year project, ‘The Devil wears Fast-Fashion’, explored fast-fashion and consumerism. 

In her second year, Niamh also exhibited her work as part of the pop-up exhibition Collaborate, which featured works produced in collaboration with commercial and socially-engaged community projects in Leeds and West Yorkshire. Niamh worked with Leeds bar Craft Asylum to produce high-end product photography. 

Niamh said: “ A pivotal moment that I will remember is curating our first-ever exhibitions, the first being Collaborate and then leading onto our final graduate exhibition Re:Vision, which was showcased online and at significant public locations in Leeds. It was a very proud moment and was amazing to see my work exhibited in these spaces, while gaining the practical experience of curation.” 

Since joining the University, Niamh has sought out networking opportunities with industry contacts and has had her photographic works featured in industry publications including Original Magazine, Redeye, and the Photography Network. After completing her professional work placement at Leeds Art Gallery and seeking careers advice from the University’s in-house employability team myFuture, Niamh is now preparing to launch her own business as a freelance photographer and videographer. 

Niamh added: “Through my professional work placements, I have gained a lot of experience, confidence and insight into future work opportunities. The myFuture team has helped me enormously with understanding the requirements for setting up a business and my lecturers have encouraged me to push myself and step out of my comfort zone, trusting my creative process and decisions.” 

Verity Adriana, Photography Programme Coordinator at Leeds Trinity University, said: “Niamh has been an exemplary student this past year and has worked through challenging times to produce outstanding work. She has actively sought out how to connect with industry contacts and as a result has had work shown with several photography organisations. Her dedication made her a leading figure in the build up to the final show and I am confident she will succeed in Photography. Niamh is part of the first-ever Photography cohort to graduate at Leeds Trinity and I could not be prouder of their achievements.”

To find out more about studying Photography at Leeds Trinity University, visit the website.