PERSONAL PHOTOSHOOT

Introduction

For my personal shoot I thought I’d try and implement the different techniques and ideas we had learnt over the course at Media City in Salford – I hadn’t been to Salford quays since my childhood and remember “playing” there on the old disused dockside before its redevelopment was started, I was interested to see how the site had changed and if it had kept any of its old heritage.

I decided to go in the evening and see if I could put what I had learned about the exposure triangle to the test by taking some low light photography, all my pictures were taken using manual settings and a standard 18-55 kit lens with a Nikon D5600 and tripod.

Review & most pleasing images

When I had initially finished the shoot, I felt a little disappointed with the results, the auto function on the camera had produced some really “flat” images, however when I took a closer look the pictures I had taken when I switched to manual and adjusted the settings myself had turned out much better. The different aspects to photography I have learnt on this course really helped me produce far better images. The auto setting in low light exposed the image far more than I liked and the pictures tended to lose any feeling. Using a tripod meant I could really slow down the shutter, using that with a wider aperture meant I could keep the ISO low and keep the image quality sharp and noise free. As for the location, Media City is a VAST complex and has completely transformed the landscape whilst keeping some of the original features from its past. I think it’s a lively vibrant hub that has helped regenerate Salford and helped turn Manchester and Salford into one of the leading cities in the country.

The images above are the ones I’m most pleased with from the shoot, for me they highlight how fast the area continues to grow, and how its changed and developed whilst still maintaining its industrial roots, whether it’s the view out over Trafford park, or the old Detroit swing bridge that has become a feature linking Media City with the Lowry, and the view across the water is just special!