How you build a life after disability
From basic course to journeyman exam - the path through a training of approximately five years
When you want to be a photographer through vocational education you don't just go to school for a number of years and be done. You constantly alternate between sitting in the school bench and standing out in a real photo business with real tasks. That's called an alternating education and it's the very backbone of how you learn the trade.
The total qualification spans around five years if you count basic and main program together. That sounds like a lot, but remember that most of the time takes place in a workplace where you both learn and earn money.
§The basic course: your first steps
If you come more or less directly from primary school, you start on basic course 1. It is a broad, introductory course that typically lasts about half a year and where you work with media, design and technology in a broad sense. Here you find out if the direction suits you.
Then basic course 2 follows which also lasts about half a year. Now it points toward the photographer trade and you work more concretely with images equipment and the skills you need to start at a company. If you left primary school more than a year ago you can often start directly on basic course 2.
§The main course: four school periods and plenty of practical work
The main course is the long part, and this is where you truly become a photographer. It is structured with four school periods with company training in between. The school periods gradually become shorter because you increasingly move learning to the real working life.
| School period | Approximate duration | Main content |
|---|---|---|
| First school period | approx. 15 weeks | Equipment recording technology lighting image processing and the classic genres. |
| Another school period | approx. 10 weeks | More independent tasks, communication and basic business understanding |
| Third school period | approx. 10 weeks | Specialization, graphic work, video, and building your portfolio |
| Fourth school period | approx. 5 weeks | Final journeyman test with presentation of your work |
§How to get in
To start the basic course you normally must have passed primary school's leaving exam with a sufficient average in Danish and mathematics. The entry requirements follow the general rules for vocational educations so it is a good idea to check the current requirements before you apply.
If you are 25 years or older, you instead follow the adult route — a vocational education for adults. You learn the same as the younger students, but the course can be arranged to take into account the experience you already have.