By Lorna Hill A Kingston College student has had the exciting opportunity of working with a prestigious record label.

Lily Lavin, a second year National Diploma Media student in the Faculty of Design Studies, has been working with Island Records for the last year on a number of photographic projects in a period of extended work experience.

She has been heavily involved in photographing the 50th anniversary celebrations of Island Records, whose current artists include Amy Winehouse, Pulp and Rihanna. Lily has worked closely with Dave Gilmore, lead singer in the rock band Pink Floyd, on the selection of her images taken at the recent anniversary event.

Lily has been very proactive in securing work experience during her time on the National Diploma course and has previously produced a photo-journalism article for Dazed and Confused, the agenda-setting British style magazine, which was published earlier this year.

Tim Rogers, Head of School for Media, has been very pleased with Lily’s determination and commitment to securing this type of industry experience. He said: “Students on our media courses are actively encouraged to obtain as much work experience as they can to allow them to understand and experience the rigours of working in the often tough and challenging media industries.”

Lily has been offered a place on the Foundation Degree in Photography at Brighton University.

She said: “My time with Island Records has given me the chance to put into practice much of what I have learnt on the National Diploma Media course. I now know I definitely want to work in photography once I complete my courses.”