Upon reflection, when I started this module I had very minor experience in all areas of photojournalism, particularly the photography element. With that in mind it almost unsurprising that although my attendance was extremely high and I challenged myself by attacking all the workshop tasks head on, when I came down to the final project I had everything set and organised in terms of the event I had targeted for my final project only when took all the images I made 1 very significant error. Whist in a meeting with my module leaders scratching their head at my monumental mistake it dawned on me that all my images, particularly the photos I indented to use were all taken in portrait. This created some debate in terms of how to orchestrate my final story around the images. After assessing my options we came to the conclusion that the best fit would be to go away form my comfort zone yet again and attempt a magazine style piece of work using WordPress. This was initially a challenge, but something I thoroughly enjoyed, fortunately the images that I had taken using the skills I had learned throughout the semester using and adjusting the f-stop, ISO, burst mode and various shutter speeds I was able to capture some good quality images for my final project.

I selected these photos because I love images that have a solitary subject because intensifies the focus of the surrounding background. Moreover, these particular photos offer sufficient editing opportunities, allowing for experimentation with various adjustments in the layers tab to enhance their visual appeal and creative potential.

Before

After

As you can see here I used the layers tab on Ado be Photoshop to intensify specific colours in the original image. I accomplished this by tampering with the vibrance, hue/saturation as well as other elements to allow the image to brighten up slightly enhance the importance of lone subject in the centre of the image.

Before

After

here I used adjustments such as vibrance, hue/saturation and exposure to enhance the warm seasonal feel the background had to offer in the original image. As you can see there is a more intense feel to the edited image and the depth of orange surrounding the subject has heightened and therefore provides a more significance to the lone subject.

Unfortunately our in class session was rescheduled for an online slot so we missed out on the in person interaction that we would normally get. However, on reflection we were still able to conduct a useful session.

This week we were learning how use ISO settings and shutter speeds in our cameras and smartphones, in order to perform the best shots. International Standardisation Organisation (ISO) is used to coordinate the light sensitivity on your camera, the intensity of the light is regulated by the how high the ISO is set. The Setting of the ISO will also depend on the amount of natural light featured outside, set the ISO to 100-200 if there is a degree of heavy sunlight interfering with the shot. We also discovered that although the iPhone doesn’t have an exact ISO setting, it instead utilizes lighting concerns by adjusting the exposure setting.

Shutter speed works in tandem with ISO settings when controlling the levels of light etc. However, shutter speed specifically can effect the movement of an image by tampering with different speeds when taking a photo. For example, a lower shutter speed will enable the image to capture movements within the image like a ball being thrown, a faster shutter speed will usually allow for freezing an exact moment within the movement of the image. Again with an iPhone they don’t necessarily have a shutter speed setting instead they have a bust mode setting by holding done this button the photographer is able to take a cluster of as many photos as they like, equally to that of a fast shutter speed setting. On the other hand a slow shutter speed setting can be replicated in the live photo setting on the iPhone which allows for long exposures.

For this weeks workshop we were joined by another established photojournalist who gave us an insight into her background of fashion based images. We learnt about depth of field aperture and f-stop settings, and how they would apply to different images using both DSLR and iPhone cameras. We also received feedback on our previous task, which I found very useful. We were then given our 2 part week 4 task, where we were instructed to go out and take 3 images of a model subject with a background. The 3 images were to be taken using the minimum f-stop, a medium f-stop and the maximum f-stop settings, in order to establish the significance between the different ways of capturing an image. We were also given an extra credit task where we had to Shoot a scene with three objects on a flat surface. The objects had to be lined up in a way so that we could angle our cameras accordingly. The objects were set up so 1 object was close up 1 in the middle and the other the furthest away.

For the first aspect of the tasks we went off in pairs, I took 3 photos outside the Dry Dock pub in Leeds city centre and straight away I discovered the different ways of using f-stop settings and how I can incorporate this knowledge into my final project. There was a noticeable difference to the focus, sharpness and concentration of the background in each image depending on where the f-stop was set, whilst the model subject retained a constant sharpness. For the extra credit task I went off in my own time and selected 3 objects I wanted to take a photo of and captured 2 shots. 1 where the object closest to the camera was in sharp focus and the second where the image had all three objects in sharp focus. I achieved this by using what I had learned in the first element of the task by adjusting the f-stop setting accordingly.

All pictures were taken outside opposite the Lesley Silver building on Leeds Beckett city campus. The model (Seven Tyler) I used for these photos was positioned on the Anchor outside the Dry Dock pub shown in the background taking the form of a ship. For this image using my iPhone I used the minimum available f-stop of 1.4. As you can see the model is in sharp focus and the ship in the background is blurred, I was also instructed by the phone to move closer to the subject for a more focused shot.

In this candid image I took a few more steps back and adjusted the f-stop to a medium rage of 7.1 and as you can see the ship representing the Dry Dock in the background is in sharper focus than before. However, the model is still the main element of the shot remaining in the sharpest focus.

In this image I set the f-stop to its maximum setting of 16. Its evident in this photo that the background as well as the entire image is very clear and sharp in focus, again I took a further few steps back in order to capture the cleanest shot.

Extra Credit Task.

Using the f-stop setting the same way I learnt in the first part of this task, I lined up 3 brand new identical deodorant cans and took a up close shot whilst laying down attempting to capture all three objects with the camera set at its maximum f-stop stetting of 16.

Similarly to the first shot that I captured, whilst laying down I took another close up shot of the 3 infamous LYNX Africa deodorant cans, only this time honing in on the closest object and attempting to blur the further subjects. I accomplished this by reducing the f-stop setting on my camera to its minimum setting of 1.4.

Cropped to Landscape 1920 Pixels wide

Using perspective crop.

Resized to 1920 pixels.

In week 3 of photojournalism we worked through different types of imagery and image formats, something that I believe most people in the module would have done before on there journalism course. This again was all new to me, so I wanted to try and understand and learn as much as I could.

I learnt that there are three main type of image formats, including GIF meaning Graphics Interchange Format, PNG meaning Portable Network Graphics and the most commonly known is JPEG the Joint Photographic Experts group for photos. We learnt all the advantages and disadvantages of using JPEG whilst also learning about how to use photoshop and how to crop images correctly. For example, all images must be landscape and set to 1920 pixels wide, images should have a caption that moves the story along as well as the name of the photographer responsible and each image should contain ALT text by law. This is used to describe what is happening in the image for the benefit of someone who may be visually impaired.

We were set a series of tasks including, attempting to shape some images on photoshop using tools like perspective crop, as well as tiding up our previous tasks using what we have learnt about imagery. Moreover, we were also instructed to give a brief description of the idea we would like to pitch for our final project. I have been in contact with the club captain at Esher rugby club, and on the 23rd March there is a home game of which ill be attending. The aim is to get access to the changing rooms before the game, the gym and attend a training session in the build up, ill also be looking to photograph some of the players and to have conversations with the director of rugby and England international Petter Winterbottom. Having been relegated in the previous season, the plan is to focus on the hopeful re-promotion of the club to national 1 and the road it has taken to get there. There is of course a drawback given that this is being planned in advance and will depend on how results go in the lead to that particular match.

In week 2 of the photojournalism module we focused more on the different types of photojournalism, of which there are 2 key categories, Photojournalism and illustrative photography. Our Task was to identify which type of photography we would find the most interesting and conduct some research delving into it more deeply resulting in a saved draft in the form of a research blog post. The type of photography that we selected should also have some relevance to the idea we were aiming to pitch for our final project.

Given this information I decided to look more deeply into the element of sports photography and I discovered lots about its history, the different techniques sports photographers use, the challenges that they face. Furthermore, we were asked to locate some examples of a well know photographer in that particular field. Amidst my research I came across Neil Leifer who instantly caught my attention, and little did I know was responsible for the famous Muhammed Ali photograph of him knocking out Sonny Liston in the heavyweight title 1964. Following our task we were strongly instructed to avoid publishing and to maintain our work as a saved draft alone. Our module leader went on to explain how publishing someone else’s work and photos is a form of copy write and can lead to an invoice direct to the university. This advice was prioritised and something that I will remember for future tasks.

In our class session we also received some feedback from our first task, mine being that I need to address who is involved and name who is in my research, as well as some tips on how to title properly and what I can do to capture a more engaging photograph.

Being completely new to this type of work and module as a whole I debated whether to continue or to change to a different module and an easier fit where my other course mates were situated. After having conversations with the module leader and other students I decided that I wanted to challenge myself and try something new and interesting. The introduction to the module was clear and well delivered giving me everything I needed to take the module on.

For the first task I was instructed to go into Leeds and find an inspiring story from a local enthusiast in there field or topic of interest. Initially we were supposed to go off in pairs during the workshop time, but weather forecast interventions prevented that form happening. As a result I managed to get in touch with a contact and someone who I know to be passionate tattoo owner, who gave me an insight into each individual tattoo that he owned. Coming from someone who doesn’t own any tattoos I found the stories that he explained very moving, particularly the Manchester Bee on his forearm representing the tragic Manchester bombings, of which I included in my first post.

In terms of the photographs that I took using my iPhone I would certainly like to get some more experience in that area and I think each week I should improve. We were informed in our class that using and iPhone is totally feasible as long as its of a certain range, mine being an iPhone X it fitted the description. However, for future reference I would like to get a chance to use a DSLR camera and see the difference it makes to the shots I’m going to take.