10 featured Billy Blue alumni photography portfolios

All of our graduates have taken different paths on their journey into a photography career. Here are just a few of our talented photography graduates and their award-winning images.

Billy Blue College of Design photography alumni

Dive into this wonderful photographic and imaging work and learn more about the awards and career paths of these talented students.

Samantha Jones

Diploma of Photography and Photo Imaging (Online)

Samantha was highly commended in the 2022 Foodelia International Food Photography Awards. Samantha was also Highly Commended in The Philip Harben Award for Food in Action 2022 for this shot titled ‘Tasmanian Autumn Nights’. Based in Tasmania, she completed a Diploma of Photography and Photo Imaging as an online student and then carried on as a Torrens University student mentor.

“I am a food, beverage and product lifestyle photographer based in Hobart. I particularly love photographing hard light glassware, noodle bowls, and food and other products that promote a healthy lifestyle.”

Edward Tran

Diploma of Photography and Photo Imaging

Edward has worked with some of the biggest brands in the fashion industry, including recently becoming a photographer for Zimmermann. He won the PI Student of the Year award in our 2019 INTRO Exhibition for his incredible body of work.

Edward was also recently featured in Vogue Australia, sharing his experiences as a photographer of colour and how nostalgia has helped him forge his career.

Milly Mead

Diploma of Photography and Photo Imaging

Milly is a professional photographer who graduated from Billy Blue College of Design. She is also an award winner – taking out Capture magazine’s Top Emerging Photographers after photographing humpback whales in Tonga for two weeks.

Milly’s top tip to succeed in the photography industry

“To have the connection with people who were working in the industry and have the experience was really important.” Explore more lessons from Milly Mead on how to succeed in the photography industry.

Asif Hussein

Diploma of Photography and Photo Imaging (Online)

Asif has won several photography awards, including the Australian Photography Awards (Student category) in 2019 and the Australian Institute of Professional Photography (Documentary category) in the same year. His images are shot with audio lights and edited to give them a painterly effect.

Asif's photography awards

• AIPP Epson State Award 2019: Silver - Dark Side of the Moon
• APPA 2019: Silver - The Love Triangle
• APA 2019: Winner (Student) - The Love Triangle
• AIPP Silver Lining Awards 2020: 4th Student - Face Me Dear
• RISE International Photography Awards 2020: Bronze - Dark Angel, Covid is Served, Stop and The Love Triangle - Silver - Face Me Dear
• Australia's Top Emerging Photographers (Capture Mag) 2020: 3rd Documentary - The Love Triangle
• AIPP Silver Lining Awards 2021: Finalist (Student) - Country Girl
• Photographer of the Year 2022: Creative Top 10 (8th Nationally) - Identity

Some of his most recent work was featured in Capture magazine. His piece Face Me Dear was printed in Nikon magazine in Europe and appeared on the cover of the Italian novel La Maledizione Della Vedova. He was also one of six photographers to have their work displayed in the exhibition Develop at the Monash Gallery of Art.

Asif’s advice on how to make a portfolio

“Photography is a mode by which one can share how they see the world. It is also a creative outlet to express oneself. My studies at Billy Blue had only fueled my passion for photography.”

Bhanu Uttam

Diploma of Photography and Photo Imaging

Prior to commencing her studies at Billy Blue, Bhanu worked in the family business in India, manufacturing sarees and textiles for more than 22 years. Fast forward and you’ll see Bhanu's portfolio being awarded Highly Commended for her beautiful black and white landscape photography in the Mono Awards, Australia and New Zealand’s largest monochrome competition.

She was also acknowledged as one of Capture magazine’s Top 30 Emerging Photographers in the Documentary category in 2021.

“The Fallen Empire is a photograph I took on my last visit to Delhi’s Humayun’s Tomb. Beyond the poverty and chaos of Delhi, there are stories that lie buried in time. It is the little parts of Delhi, where I grew up, that I carry back to Sydney, a place I now call home.”

Bhanu's top tip on how to create a photography portfolio

“Shoot as often as you can, keep experimenting with different genres and try different techniques. Create your own style. And do not shy away from critique, that's what makes you better.”

Note: Sam Barker was also acknowledged in Capture’s Top 30 Emerging Photographers in the Documentary category 2020 for her shots featuring the South African band Vulvodynia.

Mathieu Guinand

Diploma of Photography and Photo Imaging

Originally from France, Mathieu was working in IT for nine years before enrolling at Billy Blue College of Design. Post-study, his passion is landscape photography, although he also dabbles in sports photography and has a keen interest in 360° photography and virtual tours.

“I captured this image after sunrise while the ocean was quite agitated and the strong waves had created a wall of eroded sand on the beach, against which they would crash again and again. That day, I was covering a beach volleyball tournament at Manly Beach. In between games, after noticing how strong the waves were, I tried to capture the small bumps of foam created on top of the wall after they crashed.”

Honey Skinner 

Diploma of Photography & Photo Imaging

Honey truly loves baby portraiture, creating photographs that tell a story, injecting humour wherever she can and unleashing her creativity. Her portfolio is simply a showcase of love.

On learning she’d received an Honorable Mention in the International Photography Awards, Honey said, “IPA is one of the world’s most prestigious photography awards. This has really fueled my fire – and just in time for getting out of lockdown and back out shooting.”

Rusty Crawshaw

Diploma of Photography and Photo Imaging

Rusty’s image The Dengs was a finalist in the Olive Cotton Award for excellence in photographic portraiture.

The image captured a family that has been living in Australia for the past five years under the UNHCR refugee program, after spending 17 years living in the Kakuma Refugee Camp in northern Kenya.

Jarrod Vero

Diploma of Photography and Photo Imaging

Jarrod was a finalist in the 2021 Living Memory National Photographic Portrait Prize for Task at Hand. His piece was selected from more than 3000 entries and is currently hanging in the National Gallery of Australia.

Jarrod’s love of photography started when he was a teenager, but it wasn’t until 2020, when he was in his thirties, that the desire to move to a full-time photography career inspired him to undertake his studies at Billy Blue.

When asked how he felt about winning the Living Memory Award Jarrod said, “As a photographer, you’re always your harshest critic so to have that recognition means I’m doing something right.”

Tips from Jarrod on how to create a photography portfolio

“The more you shoot the better you’re going to get. Look for something that is a little bit different. You have also got to know your equipment, know what it's capable of and push it to its limits.

2021 Jarrod was also acknowledged as one of Australasia’s Top 10 Emerging Photographers in the Black and White category. And some of his most recent work was featured in Capture magazine.

Luke Ellicott

Diploma of Photography and Photo Imaging, Sydney

Luke was announced as a finalist in the North Sydney Art Prize 2022, and featured in the Award exhibition in May. The event showcased some of the best contemporary art with works by emerging, mid-career and established artists from across Australia.

How to make a photography portfolio

At Billy Blue, we’re all about preparing you for the industry. That’s why, alongside learning the fundamentals of camera management, lighting and photo imaging, you will learn about the professional practice of photography – including setting up and running your freelance photography business, and how to create and market yourself using a professional portfolio. Experts like Sally Brownbill attend on-campus and online sessions providing advice and mentoring on how to structure and curate portfolios and websites.

Find out more about the awards Torrens University students have won by checking out our Student awards page and see more of our students’ work at Billy Blue Intro. You can also hear first-hand from Sammy about her study experience with Billy Blue.