A 33-year-old Stevenson College Edinburgh graduate has credited his BA Professional Photography course with helping him become an established photographer by the time he finished his studies.

Armands Sprogi quit his full-time job to begin an NQ in photography at Stevenson College Edinburgh four years ago. The father-to-be decided to stay on and complete the Bachelor’s Course as it allowed him to develop a business plan.

Armands, who lives with his fiancée in Prestonfield, said: “I decided not to wait until I finished studying to set up my business but to let it grow organically as I was doing the course.

“Stevenson leant itself well to this as the department is equipped with excellent facilities. The studio space is fantastic and the equipment second to none. I came to the course with no gear of my own, so it meant I could try different pieces out before buying. The lecturers are also fantastic - they really helped me develop my skills.”

Armands focussed on developing new areas for the business and while on the BA course started photographing new born babies as well as expectant mothers.

He said: “After completing the HND at Stevenson I could have left and concentrated on my business full-time, but I decided to come back for the BA course as it offered the chance to develop a business plan.

“The course really makes you think about business and what you are going to do once you’ve finished the course.

“During my BA year I started researching new born photography in the UK and I realised I could develop a niche. People come to me because they want something very different - I am very creative and use this to come up with unusual compositions.”

Concentrating on portraiture Armands photographs everything from engagement shots to wedding pictures and family portraits. All have his signature quirky outlook, with images featuring floating couples and even one tongue-in-cheek image of a man bound up and gagged by his new fiancée.

He added: “When I set up the website I could have taken the decision to display traditional images and keep the more crazy portraits out of sight, but I decided against that. You either love or hate my work - there’s no middle ground. People come to me because they want something edgy.”

IN DETAIL

Stevenson College Edinburgh celebrates first graduation of degree students