I found College hugely sociable and took advantage of the many clubs. As one of the Activity Ambassadors I enjoyed trying out all sorts of different clubs such as gymnastics, trampolining, spinning and basketball plus using – and helping out – in the gym.

College also gave me the opportunity to be a volunteer student photographer as part of the Students’ Union. This helped me gain lots of experience photographing different events like the Freshers’ Party and other community events. During my degree I then carried on doing occasional paid freelance work for the College and after graduating, successfully applied to be the College’s part-time videographer while continuing other freelance work.

In 2023, I decided to run my own business full-time. While I specialise in weddings, I’m also commissioned to do portraits as well as event, product and corporate photography and I enjoy this variety. I love my job and couldn’t imagine doing anything else. It’s given me so many opportunities to meet so many incredible people: from photographing the Duke of Kent and covering parliamentary events through to travelling abroad to capture weddings in countries like Morocco, Spain, Madeira and Italy.

Networking is a critical aspect of the job. Taking time to meet people who will either use my services or recommend me to other potential clients is important: about 85% of my work comes via word-of-mouth.

Building up a social media following to promote your own business is also important but can be challenging. It’s very easy to feel disappointed if a reel or post doesn’t perform well, but one thing I have learned is that it’s not always about the ‘likes’: it’s just as important to be on key platforms consistently to remind people of who you are and what you do.

I know it’s controversial, but I wish I’d done more research about my options when I left College. University can be a great option for photographers who want their work in museums and galleries, but for the type of work that I’m interested in, I think doing regular workshops and assisting other photographers to develop my skills would have been a better route for me.

For any would-be photographers out there, I’d say spend time researching the path you want to take and ask others working in the industry what they did to help you decide the best route for your future.

Raluca Gayler

Reigate College: 2013-2015

Higher Education: BA Photography, London South Bank University

Currently: Owner, White Silk Studio