As part of the media unit we had to do a detailed plan relating to a shoot we will do for a specific purpose. We have to make up a scenario ourselves, do the research and plan then do the shoot and present our final images. The scenario I make up for myself was this...
"The Northern Quarter is a very large part of the history of Manchester and very well rooted in its heritage as a musical city. Great have come from Manchester: The Smiths, The Bee Gees and The Stone Roses to mention a few. Manchester City Council want you to take between 5 and 10 images they can choose from to use in brochure about the Northern Quarter for those who don't know much about the area. The aim is to generate interest in the area"
There are many questions I needed to ask myself before setting off, which included...
Will I use Film or Digital?
Digital because the way in which I plan the take the photographs is slightly candidly. I want to do it in a way that's very casual and laid back and I feel digital would be better because it would allow you to look at the photograph there and then to see if it is what you're looking for (there is a risk I would over think things if I were to do film).
Who is it aimed at?
As mentioned in the scenario, it is for people who don't know very much about the area and have perhaps never really spent time there. This affects what I photograph because there is no point going out and photographing some very specific and niche aspects of the area if they won't understand it or if it won't captivate them. This is what led me to decide that the images need to be in colour and not only that but colourFUL and lively to capture the readers attention.
The impression we want to give is it is a lively and exciting place to be. We want to give the onlooker a sense of the area so street photography I'm thinking is appropriate because when you walk into the northern quarter before you walk into a cafe or record shop you walk down the street so I want to ensure they recognise the image when the see it/go to the northern quarter after seeing it.
Also, because it is to do with music, our target with the brochure would be music fans so all the images must in some way link Manchester and music (so there is no point in photographing...say...a hair salon!)
How much would it cost?
Well because it is digital and not film the capturing of the images won't cost anything but I will need about £5 for transport and ranging from £5-£10 for the prints; I am going to present them as 12x8 inch prints so they can see the detail well to make an informed decision as to whether that is what they are looking for.
What settings would I use?
Well that depends on the weather and the subject. WB will be adjusting according to the light available (obviously most will be in natural light or a mixture of natural and artificial). Also shutter speed and aperture will be adjusted depending on the weather but also whether or not I want motion blur (which I don't see myself using) and whether I want shallow depth of field or deep depth of field (example...I want to do at least one wide angle shot down Oldham Street and for that I will need a high aperture etc). I will probably use Automatic Focus (seems appropriate for the assignment). The final technical aspect I need to consider is exposure. I decided to have the exposure at 0 because if it is too dark, it will appear too dreary and if it is too bright you will lose colour and detail so I decided to meet in the middle!
How will I edit them after?
Just ensuring exposure is correct and crop and rotate as needed. I also want to increase the saturation and the contrast evvver so slightly just to give the images an extra kick!
Where am I going to photograph?
ALL OVER the Northern Quarter, but mostly based around Oldham Street and Thomas Street.
How long will I spend?
Well I've been to the area before so I know it. Also I have done some street photography in town before so I think I am will equipped (don't think I really need a test shoot). I have decided I will spend most of my day there.
Now that my plan is done, I needed to do some hands on research. Me being fairly new to Manchester myself I have been down to the Northern Quarter a few times however I have never spent a substantial amount of time there so before I did the shoot I went for a brew in Teacup Cafe on Thomas street to get a feel for the general area. It was elevenses time so people had started coming in for a cup of tea and cake or brunch. These were my observations...
I then set out, keeping all that I've discussed in mind, taking photographs of the area. I went to Afflecks, all the way down Oldham street, all the way down Thomas Street and down towards Lever Street and Newton Street. I got plenty of images and when weeding out the maybes and the definite no I would refer back to the scenario and consider if it fulfils the requirements and does its function as an image for an informational brochure. I kept doing this until I was left with 7 images I was happy with. All of these fit the criteria I had set myself (Is it in the Northern Quarter? Does it represent the Northern Quarter fairly? Is it related to music? Is it vibrant? Is it accessible to all?)
I edited them in PS as I said I would earlier in the post and these are my final images...
"The Northern Quarter is a very large part of the history of Manchester and very well rooted in its heritage as a musical city. Great have come from Manchester: The Smiths, The Bee Gees and The Stone Roses to mention a few. Manchester City Council want you to take between 5 and 10 images they can choose from to use in brochure about the Northern Quarter for those who don't know much about the area. The aim is to generate interest in the area"
There are many questions I needed to ask myself before setting off, which included...
Will I use Film or Digital?
Digital because the way in which I plan the take the photographs is slightly candidly. I want to do it in a way that's very casual and laid back and I feel digital would be better because it would allow you to look at the photograph there and then to see if it is what you're looking for (there is a risk I would over think things if I were to do film).
Who is it aimed at?
As mentioned in the scenario, it is for people who don't know very much about the area and have perhaps never really spent time there. This affects what I photograph because there is no point going out and photographing some very specific and niche aspects of the area if they won't understand it or if it won't captivate them. This is what led me to decide that the images need to be in colour and not only that but colourFUL and lively to capture the readers attention.
The impression we want to give is it is a lively and exciting place to be. We want to give the onlooker a sense of the area so street photography I'm thinking is appropriate because when you walk into the northern quarter before you walk into a cafe or record shop you walk down the street so I want to ensure they recognise the image when the see it/go to the northern quarter after seeing it.
Also, because it is to do with music, our target with the brochure would be music fans so all the images must in some way link Manchester and music (so there is no point in photographing...say...a hair salon!)
How much would it cost?
Well because it is digital and not film the capturing of the images won't cost anything but I will need about £5 for transport and ranging from £5-£10 for the prints; I am going to present them as 12x8 inch prints so they can see the detail well to make an informed decision as to whether that is what they are looking for.
What settings would I use?
Well that depends on the weather and the subject. WB will be adjusting according to the light available (obviously most will be in natural light or a mixture of natural and artificial). Also shutter speed and aperture will be adjusted depending on the weather but also whether or not I want motion blur (which I don't see myself using) and whether I want shallow depth of field or deep depth of field (example...I want to do at least one wide angle shot down Oldham Street and for that I will need a high aperture etc). I will probably use Automatic Focus (seems appropriate for the assignment). The final technical aspect I need to consider is exposure. I decided to have the exposure at 0 because if it is too dark, it will appear too dreary and if it is too bright you will lose colour and detail so I decided to meet in the middle!
How will I edit them after?
Just ensuring exposure is correct and crop and rotate as needed. I also want to increase the saturation and the contrast evvver so slightly just to give the images an extra kick!
Where am I going to photograph?
ALL OVER the Northern Quarter, but mostly based around Oldham Street and Thomas Street.
How long will I spend?
Well I've been to the area before so I know it. Also I have done some street photography in town before so I think I am will equipped (don't think I really need a test shoot). I have decided I will spend most of my day there.
Now that my plan is done, I needed to do some hands on research. Me being fairly new to Manchester myself I have been down to the Northern Quarter a few times however I have never spent a substantial amount of time there so before I did the shoot I went for a brew in Teacup Cafe on Thomas street to get a feel for the general area. It was elevenses time so people had started coming in for a cup of tea and cake or brunch. These were my observations...
- Theme was brown,white and red.
- So many teapots! Mostly red and white.
- People generally in two's,a couple of people on their own but no larger groups.
- Lots of mums with prams and children so it's a child friendly cafe
- Happy-go-lucky type music...elevator music...I think its called Musak...even in the toilets I discovered
- Quite a dark cafe to be honest because it only has two windows (albeit large windows) one either side of the cafe
- Very cluttered place, gives a cosy atmosphere but borderline claustrophobic
- Small and squeaky wooden chairs and square wooden tables
- Friendly but busy staff.
Here are some images I took on my phone...
I've even included a video so you can see what I saw!
Looking at the research I have come up with 5 words to describe the place...
- Lively
- Quirky
- Traditional
- Welcoming
- Interesting!!!
I decided to use this research to mould my understanding of the area and hopefully that will translate into my images!!!
I then set out, keeping all that I've discussed in mind, taking photographs of the area. I went to Afflecks, all the way down Oldham street, all the way down Thomas Street and down towards Lever Street and Newton Street. I got plenty of images and when weeding out the maybes and the definite no I would refer back to the scenario and consider if it fulfils the requirements and does its function as an image for an informational brochure. I kept doing this until I was left with 7 images I was happy with. All of these fit the criteria I had set myself (Is it in the Northern Quarter? Does it represent the Northern Quarter fairly? Is it related to music? Is it vibrant? Is it accessible to all?)
I edited them in PS as I said I would earlier in the post and these are my final images...
'Cut Loose'
I included this image purely for the wonderful bright colours. They are very eye catching and in turn stimulating, which would definitely benefit the brochure and help fulfil its aim to generate interest.
Leaflets
I felt this image really represented the music scene because it included everything from a musical to a gig held in the Bohemian Grove...there was even a leaflet for ParkLife music festival. The chaos of the leaflets just strewn across the table I feel really reflects on the liveliness of the area.
Northern Quarter
This is the image I was talking about where I wanted to do a simple photograph of Oldham Street when you enter the Northern Quarter to demonstrate what the area looks like. This again goes back to the fact that anyone can recognise this area and would relate to it this image when they see it for themselves.
Posters Galore
I felt this image is similar to the Leaflets image. This shows the diversity of the music scene here with everything from DJs to TOTP! The posters really catch your eye because that is their purpose in the street and now that is their purpose in the photograph!
Record Shop
This image I took from the inside of the record shop. I shot through the window out onto the street. What I love about this image in particular is not just the fact that it is very much about records and about music but the records in the foreground and the reflections really add some depth and is intriguing and I feel would catch the reader's attention.
Afflecks
I included this image because the mosaic on the wall of Afflecks is so iconic that it is not a landmark in Manchester with the Manchester icons and the dragon opposite. I felt that it would lead to some interest within the article as I felt it would help them introduce this landmark.
Vinyl Exchange
I believe traditional was a word I used to describe the area...and nothing is more old school than vinyl...Am I right? This image quite simply sums up the Northern Quarter: Music and Tradition!
I thoroughly enjoyed this task as I felt that I learnt a lot about the variables and factors you need to include to produce images of a high quality. I felt that without the planning and the research I wouldn't have been able to produce images that satisfied their function outlined in the scenario. It just goes to show that the process is just as important as the images you produce!
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