The photographer conducted a photo shoot at Salford Quays to capture images for a water sports center. They experimented with different camera settings and compositions. Several images were further edited in Photoshop by adjusting exposure, color balance, and filters. Three rejected images were overexposed with dull colors. Lessons learned included ensuring proper lighting and exploring more camera settings for future shoots.

1. Photo Shoot
Review
Unit 57: Photography and Photographic Practice
Task 4 Selection of final images & review
Ben Holmes

2. Aim of Shoot
The main focus of this Salford Quays photo shoot was to
experiment with a number of different techniques and effects
with the intention of creating some interesting compositions
that could be used to promote the Salford Quays Water-Sports
centre. I attempted to capture images of the water and items
that would resemble anything to do with water sports and then
chose a selected few images to further develop in Adobe
Photoshop. Also I experimented with a number of different
camera settings such as aperture, depth of field and leading
lines. The photo-shoot took place in October 2013 on a college
visit to the Quays. Upon arrival I decided to stray away from
my original photo-shoot plan and focused more on the water
than on the buildings and infrastructure.

5. Editing effects
Original Un-Edited Image.
This is an image of the old fashioned ladder that leads into the
quays. Although it is a rather simple composition it works
effectively and features photographic techniques such as
leading lines and symmetry. As the original image was poor
quality I experimented on Photoshop with the Exposure levels
and the brightness / contrast. By Increasing the exposure and
lowering the offset, I created an interesting composition with
vibrant colours. Although the image quality is not the best the
editing managed to bring it to life.

7. Editing effects
Original Un-Edited Image.
This is a photograph of part of the Manchester Ship
canal. I chose to edit this image due to the interesting
composition and the symmetrical patterns. Like the first
image the lighting is rather unattractive and makes the
image look plain. To counteract this I changed the
colour balance in Photoshop and made the image black
and white. I then experimented with the brightness and
contrast to bring out some white highlights in the image.
Finally I added a blue colour filter to add an old-
fashioned effect.

9. Editing effects
Original Un-Edited Image.
Following the same style as the other images this is also
over-exposed. However I admire the composition of this
image due to the depth of field. The bollard in the
foreground is clear and in focus, leaving the water and
buildings in the background slightly blurred and out of
focus. As the colours on the original image are very dull I
decided to experiment with the Vibrancy tool on
Photoshop, by increasing the vibrancey and saturation I
brought this image o life and created a much more
interesting image.

11. Rejected Images
These 3 compositions are my rejected images. Although I do like the compositions
of these images they are all over-exposed and the colours look dull. This was due to
me using the flash when it wasn’t necessary. All these images are a representation
of water/water-sports but are not as interesting as all the other images I took. Due to
the colours and compositions of these images I chose to discard them from my
contact sheet.

12. Aims for next project
When conducting my next photo shoot there are a
number of things I will be keeping in mind. Firstly is to
ensure that none of my images are over-exposed and
that the lighting is suitable for the shoot, this will be a
huge factor towards a successful shoot. As I have
learnt from this shoot that using the flash during the
day time is not the best method. Also I will explore a
lot more camera settings such as Aperture and
Shutter Speed, which I did not understand before this
project. Another target for my next shoot will be to
capture twice as many images as this shoot. The
more images I take the easier it will be to find an
interesting composition.