A PHOTOGRAPHY student from Sedgley has been quick to snap up a career with Cousins Furniture.

James Phillips recently completed a Bachelor of Arts Photography course at University of Wolverhampton and is now working full time as a studio/in-house photographer for the Birmingham and Black Country based furniture company, which has a store in Dudley.

The 21-year-old, who is due to graduate in September with a first class honours degree, developed a portfolio of work whilst studying which focused on food photography and still life.

He secured commissions with the Birmingham and Midland Institute in Birmingham as well as the Bamboo Wine Bar and Bistro in Bridgnorth and the Luscious Dessert Lounge in Wolverhampton.

He credits his experience at the university with helping him to secure employment so soon: "The course helped me massively, not only to help build my confidence but also for my career path; particularly within the final year where the input from lecturers in the creative industries module helped me to research and outline a path of what I needed to do in order to make my career a reality."

Sukhi Kainth, head of design and marketing at Cousins Furniture, said: “Graduates offer home-grown talent with the skills we need to boost our local economy which is why Cousins Furniture is so pleased to have appointed James to work along side the marketing department for all photography requirements.

"This is an exciting time as Cousins are investing in state of the art equipment for a dedicated photography studio at one of our stores.”