Student put photography skills to the test to capture the festive magic of Warwick's Christmas tree festival

Students have been putting their photography skills to the test to capture the festive magic of a Christmas tree festival in Warwick.

Royal Leamington Spa College students on the Level 3 Visual Communications course headed to St Mary’s Church earlier this month to photograph all of the 55 trees at its festival.

The festival attracted more than 5,300 visitors over the 10 days and was sponsored by Warwick businesses, charities, community groups and schools.

Eleven students were given a private viewing of the festival and asked to capture the trees from all angles, with focuses on individual decorations or creative shots of other interesting details in the church.

Royal Leamington Spa College, which is part of college group WCG, organised for a prize to be presented for the winning photograph.

Students worked in pairs to capture photos, edited the images at home and then submitted their best photos to a judging panel of tutors Irene Tsiampakou and Jane Murray.

The £75 voucher went to the winning entry from George Gulliver, 17, with the runners up being Andreea Vremea, 18, and Courtney Gratton, 19.

Irene Tsiampakou, course leader for Visual Communication at WCG, said: “The lighting conditions in the church makes it a very challenging environment for photography, and our students have shown great skill to produce a collection of fantastic images.

“We asked students to not only capture images of the trees, but to also use the church environment for inspiration and use their own artistic inspiration too.

“St Mary’s Church plans to use the photos taken by students in their promotional activity for next year’s event.

“We are proud to have partnered with St Mary’s Church on this competition and would like to thank them for giving the students the incredible opportunity to take photos at the Christmas Tree Festival.

“The project fits perfectly into our curriculum and gives students the opportunity to experience first- hand what it is like to deliver a photography project for a client – while also supporting a key local organisation.”

Jane Murray added: “This has been a lovely opportunity to be involved in a community-based project the second year running. The winner George has demonstrated professional skills and creative flair.”