To infinity and beyond! Photography at Barking & Dagenham College and East London Institute of Technology

Photography students at Barking & Dagenham College (@BarkingCollege) will be using brand news labs and technology this term including an ‘infinity cove’.

An infinity cove is an all-white space with no corners, designed to give the impression that the background of an object extends to infinity. The principle of design is that everything behind the object is curved so that no edges can be seen.

The College’s Cove Studio will allow its students to take professional photos, as they would in an industry-leading photographic studio.

Photography technician Peter Evans explains,

“The infinity cove allows our students to take a wide range of different stunning images; for example, backgrounds can easily be edited out; it’s a very high-ceilinged room, enabling photographers to get up on platforms/ ladders to take shots from above, a technique often used when photographing large objects such as cars and also groups of people; there’s room for high lighting sets which enable students to get exactly the right lighting required for their shots.

“Around 70% of our alumni go into freelancing in the photography industry and being able to use and experience this kind of professional equipment is a fantastic basis for their careers.”

The labs are housed in the new East London Institute of Technology (ELIoT) which is situated on the College’s Rush Green campus. Other specialist rooms include dark rooms and high specification equipment such as professional photographic printers.

David Bennett Programme Leader for Photography at the College adds:

“The double height photography studio with a corner infinity cove was built by the leading cove builders in the world. Our department is the best equipped college photography department in the South East and prepares students for a bright future in professional photography.”