Liz Kearsley, 24

“I am a photographer with the Evening Telegraph in Kettering. I was born and brought up in Glasgow. I studied photography and journalism at the University of Central Lancashire. After graduating in 2005 I was an aid worker in Ghana. Then I worked for a press agency in Aberdeen before spending 18 months on a cruise ship as a photographer and giving lectures on the places visited. For my assignment for The Times I submitted an image of a blacksmith in Northampton whose livelihood is threatened by the credit crunch. It was brilliant to be in the final six. To work for The Times would be a dream job.”

Ed Salter, 20

“I had taken photographs of my friends doing sports, but I really got into photography when I started university. I joined the student paper as a photographer and then became picture editor. I have just finished reading computer science at Cardiff University. I went to the Hay-on-Wye Festival and took a photograph of Christopher Hitchens talking about how God is not great. I was absolutely amazed to get into the final six. I could not believe it.”

Paul Watson, 20

“I was given a Praktica SLR camera at the age of 14. I started taking pictures around the house, in the garden, just everywhere. At college they had a photography course, and I thought it looked fun. I was doing maths and physics because I thought I wanted to be an engineer. After work experience at the Echo in Basildon, I worked as a photographic technician and then as a photographer. The image I submitted for my assignment was of a paintballer running and being shot at. I was over the moon to be in the final six.”

Mike Lusmore, 25

“I started taking photographs seriously when I was studying at Cardiff University. Although I was reading mechanical engineering, I used to go out on photography trips. On graduating I was offered a week’s work experience at SWNS, the news and picture agency, in Bristol. I am now a London-based freelance. My assignment was of a woman walking past a vast pile of rubbish on a street in Naples. I went there to photograph riots but they had subsided by the time I arrived.”

Catherine Mead, 23

“I was given a camera by my grandfather when I was at primary school and I used to photograph my friends in the playground. I took a GCSE in photography and the subject was one of my four A levels. I have a degree in photographic arts from Westminster University. Since graduating in 2006, I have been working for SWNS, the news and picture agency, in Bristol. I left a few weeks ago to go freelance. My photograph was of prisoners working in Bristol prison. This is the second time I have been a finalist. Last year I came second.”