Assessment in Vocational Education and Training (VET) is complex and contentious. Assessment policies and practices in VET have been the subject of much debate over the last twenty years. A number of registered training organisations supplemented the traditional competency-based assessment model with graded assessment in the early 2000s, only to reverse their assessment policy in recent years. Debate about assessment practices within VET is often focussed on the technical or policy implications, rather than the lived experiences of students. Research about assessment in Arts courses within the VET sector offers a sound focal point for investigation. The focus of the research reported here is a VET creative arts capstone unit of work, where students were asked to produce assessment submissions that evidence the full extent of their skills and knowledge acquired throughout the course. This research examines how two different assessment models – competency-based assessment and graded assessment – are experienced by a specific cohort of students undertaking a final capstone unit in an Advanced Diploma of Visual Arts (Focus on Photography) course offered at a TAFE Institute in Queensland. Using a phenomenological lens this research explores the lived experiences of six students whose photographic work was evaluated through both assessment processes. The findings show each student’s assessment experience to be different, though all research participants found graded assessment to be a more worthwhile experience. The graded assessment approach also had a positive impact on participants’ confidence and identity as emerging professional photographers. The findings of this research could be used to inform VET educators how they might approach assessment to create a better overall experience for students, and add to evidence on the student experience of different assessment models, which could be considered for assessment policy review.