Graduate Stories – Alicia Gee

Studying BA Hons Photography at Sheffield Hallam University, Alicia Gee chose this course as she started her photography business as a side-line in 2014 and went on to study photography as she felt it was the right step to develop her career and business. Alicia graduated in 2017 where she had already been running her own business whilst at university, after graduating she was able to push and pursue her business further. Alicia’s photography entails focusing on weddings and portraiture, She set up the business in 2014 and started assisting and second shooting for other photographers.

Alongside her photography business she has another business where she creates metal wire wall art. She also had a part time job in retail for a period after graduating. After university Alicia took part in Sheffield Hallam Entrepreneurship Scheme which is great for people running or aspiring to run their own business. Quoted by Alicia in regard to her advice to people in a creative degree “Trust your vision. Your lecturers and mentors are there to guide you, but if you have passion in what you are creating then you will be able to go much further with your work, than if you are just creating something to please mentors etc.” She also recommends working for yourself if you can as it is the best thing she could have done, she loves being the person to push herself and her career, Alicia is quite a driven person and finds that being the sole person responsible for the success of her business really helps to focus her energy into progression.