This document provides guidance for students beginning their A2 Photography course. It outlines the structure and requirements of the two units: Unit 1 Personal Investigation and Unit 2 Externally Set Task. For Unit 1, students must create a digital portfolio presenting their practical work and a related study on their chosen theme. They are advised on developing their project independently and demonstrating a deep understanding. Grade boundaries and assessment criteria are also presented to help students understand expectations.

1. WELCOME TO A2
PHOTOGRAPHY

2. POSITIVE WORKING CULTURE
IN PHOTOGRAPHY

3. You will be on time, ready for the start of the lesson to begin.
You will be free from distractions,
enabling you fully immerse yourself in your work
- Phones handed in at the start of lesson. AirPods away.
- No watching or listening to videos, unless they are relevant to your studies
- Music will be on as normal, or not, depending on the type of lesson
- Be organised for your lessons, especially for practical photography. Plan and
prepare resources, media and materials.
POSITIVE WORKING CULTURE
IN PHOTOGRAPHY

4. POSITIVE WORKING CULTURE
IN PHOTOGRAPHY
Quality, independent time must be spent on your Photography projects
outside your lesson. Last year, two able students failed to get a C due to lack
of investment of quality time on their projects. There is no mystery to a
successful photography project, an interest in the subject and hard work.
HOMEWORK
Photoshoots
- being out with your camera making incredible, interesting photographs
Research
- Getting inspired: gallery visits, looking in book and watching documentaries
My observations teaching Photography A Level for 10+ years: no student will ever achieve
more than an C if they do not spend quality time outside the classroom on their projects.
Fact.

5. Organising Your Photographs
It is imperative that you import your
photographs into Lightroom properly.
Failing to do so will result in loss of
work and lots of time wasted.
This is your responsibility.
You must always
navigate to your
Lightroom folder
which is in your
OneDrive folder.
You may have to
fi
nd this folder
each time you
login
LIGHTOOM

6. You can create a new folder for each
new photoshoot here
Note: If you don’t change this then you will
continue you save work to a folder with this name
Here my folder
system. Simple
and organised
You can create
additional sub
folders by right
clicking.
LIGHTOOM

7. Your Wordpress website is an incredible assist which you have to
record organise and present your work. You can creating dynamic
images galleries, link to websites, embed YouTube videos or
upload behind the scene videos. This is an incredible way to
achieve well in AO3 RECORD
The school Photography site is
fi
lled with resources, use it. The site
works well on your phone, so you can always have it in your pocket
for shoots or why researching. Bookmark
farringtonsphotography.edublogs.org on your browser NOW!
The website works on all computers, and mobile devices. You
should not just access this in the classroom. You must regularly
update your pages during study periods and at home
Your Lightroom catalogue is setup in your OneDrive, you can
access all your photographs by logging on on any computer.
WEBSITE
AO3 - RECORD
Record ideas, observations and insights,
re
fl
ecting critically on work and progress on
your pages

8. OCR A2 Photography

9. A2 Photography
UNIT 1 - PERSONAL INVESTIGATION
(60%) 120 Marks
UNIT 2 - EXAM
(40%) 80 Marks
Paper given on 1st February.
A number of 7 theme to choose from (you select one)
15hr exam
Two parts:
PART 1. portfolio of practical work
showing their personal response to either a starting point, brief, scenario or
stimulus, devised and provided by the learner or centre
PART 2. related study:
developing a deeper understanding
(min1000 max 3000 words)
TOTAL 200 MARKS

10. YR12 work does not
count towards your
fi
nal grade
It was a stand alone unit of work, designed to
develop your photography skills and for you to
fi
nd
a focus for your personal investigation
Fresh start
Everything you did well
(photographs, research, planning)
can be used here
A2 Photography

11. YR12
End of YR12
YR12
You have learnt all the Photography Skills & Knowledge ready to apply them in A2
Process
Developing & Exploring
You have little Photography skills

12. YR13
End of YR13
Start of YR13
Recording & Presenting
Product
You have all the Photography Skills & Knowledge from AS
You will PRESENT a personal, informed and meaningful response demonstrating critical
understanding, realising intentions and, where appropriate, making connections between visual,
written, oral or other elements.

13. UNIT 1 PERSONAL INVESTIGATION
Grading and
assessment
Click here to navigate to
the website and
fi
nd out
more about how your work
is graded

14. Assessment Objectives shouldn’t be seen as separate stages but should relate to
each other and are not necessarily linear; research could lead into development of
ideas, testing and then back to further research or more focused investigation
ASSESSMEMT OBJECTIVES
DEVLOP
EXPLORE
RECORD
PRESENT

15. / 24
/ 24
/ 24
/ 24
RELATED
STUDY
/ 24
Unit 1: Personal Investigation
MAX MARK = /120

16. / 20
/ 20
/ 20
/ 20
Unit 2: Eternally Set Task
MAX MARK = /80

17. ETERNALLY SET TASK MARK SHEET

18. Level Key words
Level 1 Simplistic; minimal; unfocused; superficial
Level 2 Basic; limited; some ability; some refinement
Level 3 Relevant; effective; appropriate;
Level 4 Well-developed; focused; detailed; informed;
purposeful
Level 5 Fully developed; in-depth; focused; insightful; well-
considered
Level 6 Sophisticated; mature; sustained
LEVEL KEY WORDS

19. 16
16
14
12
12
GUESS THE GRADE…

20. 16
16
14
12
12
71/120 = D
GUESS THE GRADE…

21. GRADE BOUNDRIES 2023
Unit 1 Personal Investigation
MAX MARK: 120
A* - 114
A - 107
B - 92
C - 77
D - 62
E - 47
GRADE BOUNDRIES 2023
Unit 2 Externally Set Task
MAX MARK: 80
A* - 76
A - 72
B - 62
C - 52
D - 43
E - 34
GRADE BOUNDRIES 2019
Unit 1 Personal Investigation
MAX MARK: 120
A* - 112
A - 106
B - 91
C - 77
D - 63
E - 48
GRADE BOUNDRIES 2019
Unit 2 Externally Set Task
MAX MARK: 80
A* - 75
A - 71
B - 61
C - 51
D - 41
E - 32
Grade boundaries have moved up
This year a student
missed out on an A*
by one mark :(
GRADE
BOUNDRIES

22. WHAT THEY WANT TO SEE
‘Go beyond, we want to see
a mind at work’
How are you showing this?
‘The work is meaningful and
has substance’
How are you showing this?
Ask yourself, is this the best
you can do?
Select relevant work
then re
fi
ne it
Master a technique
Create a strong
fi
nal image
Does your Related Study
extended your
understanding of the the
themes of your portfolio?
What impact is your
analytical work having on
your practical work?
MODERATION FEEDBACK

23. UNIT 1 PERSONAL INVESTIGATION
Part 1
Portfolio

24. PI
PORTFOLIO
a portfolio of practical work showing a personal
response to a theme.
(either a starting point, brief, scenario or stimulus)
Personal Investigation
What is a Personal Investigation portfolio?

25. PI
PORTFOLIO
• This portfolio will consist of a sustained project, theme or course of study
- pages will include photoshoots where you will explore techniques/processes
- investigative work on photographers, artist and other sources relevant to your
area of study (gallery trips,
fi
lm, books…)
• Presented as a Digital Portfolio
You must carefully select, organise and present your work to ensure that you
provide evidence of meeting all four assessment objectives.
• What will be marked?
1. Digital Portfolio (recording of your research and experimentation)
2. Related Study
3. Final Outcome
4. Evaluation
Personal Investigation
What does it look like?

26. PI
PORTFOLIO
Personal Investigation
What you need to do...
• independently developed ideas through sustained and focused
investigations in response to a given starting point
• produce photographs informed by contextual and other sources that informs the
development of practical work
• explore ideas, techniques or processes
• record observations from sources relevant to intentions
• critically review and re
fi
ne work as it progresses
• Produce a personal and meaningful outcome, informed by area of study .

27. UNIT 1 PERSONAL INVESTIGATION
Part 2 - Related
Study

28. PI
RELATED STUDY
Personal Investigation
What is it?
A focused study showing deeper
understanding of knowledge of personal
investigation themes

29. PI
RELATED STUDY
Personal Investigation
What does it look like?
THE RELATED STUDY IS PRESENTED
SEPARATELY ALONG SIDED YOUR PORTFOLIO
Formats might include
Illustrated essay (handwritten or word)
PowerPoint
Mini website / Sway
Magazine
Book or journal
Information panels
Video
Timeline or sequence
The presentation of your
related study could employ a
magazine style format where
the use of specialist language
and visuals are combined to
produce a succinct and
relevant outcome.
1000
WORDS
!!!

30. PI
RELATED STUDY
Personal Investigation
What could it be about?
This is entirely down to your personal investigation.
•Historical and Art Movement
In order to establish the broader context of the theme the students could identify key historical
events and art movements relevant to their intention.
- Historical Context
Time and place, (pre/post war fashion)
- Art Movements + other photographers
Surrealism, modernism, Pictorialist, Constructivism, Bauhaus, Dada, Performance Art
•Photographic Genres
Still life, fashion (Haute couture, street fashion, fashion portrait), documentary (reportage/
photojournalism, street photography,
•Links to Wider Issues
Social and cultural, current affairs, local/global issues, mental health, race, environment
feminism, race, LGBT…

31. FLYING START
• Upload summer work for Facade to your website
• Ensure your computer, Lightroom and Website is all up an
running, sort out technical issues ASAP
• In your own time take time to look at past students portfolios.
- All accessible via the photography website
- Which level are you aiming for?
- Which level did they get?
• Begin work on ‘Your Photographic Practice’ (one week project)
- This will form the basis of your Personal Investigation