Assignment - Exhibition

Statement of Intent:
My objective was to gather a range of images whilst attending a commercial exhibition. The photographs would capture the environment, people at work within that setting and any images of "characters". The main issue would be to capture photographs without effecting the image.

Equipment: My aim was to use the 14-42mm lens predominantly as this would provide sufficient zoom without loosing crispness as the camera would be hand-held.

Camera Settings: ISO 100; 1/25-1/40 shutter speed @ F5.6 for interior photographs. Outdoor settings were ISO 200; 1/250-1/400 due to the high intensity of light. 

Page from my notebook recording camera settings and objective

Safety requirements: These were likely to be minimal as the exhibition was to be set in a relatively secure environment.

Setting the scene: The exhibition was held at Farnborough in one of the large tailor-made buildings. Many of the delegates would travel by car but there would be both coaches and VIP cars arriving.



Initial photographs portray delegates moving around the exhibition. The lead image is crisp and captures the layout of the exhibition but is short of delegates portraying a quiet period. The lower image offers greater movement as the isles are busy. Unfortunately the point of focus is not on the lead delegate and so offers limited benefit.
Neither photographs capture a key focal point when applying the "thirds rule" and therefore do not hold a viewers attention. In particular the lower photograph contains many individuals but the majority are taken from the rear. The only exceptions are the lead individual facing the camera who is out of focus and the lady in the red top partly obscured by the gentleman she is talking with.

 

The next pair of images capture the exhibitors. Both were taken during a quiet period of the exhibition and so all exhibitors are focused on other activities such as talking to colleagues or catching up on test messages. Both images may be enhanced through the use of PhotoShop to further draw the focus on to the individuals.

This photograph offers interesting lines in the positions of the couple with both heads angled slightly away from each other. This resembles courtship of birds although the intensity of display is obviously missing!

14-42mm lens; 1/25 @ F5.6; ISO 100; manual focus

Initial crop - third's rule remains lacking

Further cropping - Female's head on third's lineage

The final image after modification provides a better photograph. Using the blur tool on PhotoShop at up to 50% has been used around the edge of the image. The company name remains present but is not the main focus. Blurring of the lower body also draws the focus to the upper body and heads. The pale background has proved to be an additional advantage as the blurring has minimal impact thereby drawing the line of focus towards the individuals

Final cropped version plus blurring around the edge

The next photograph captures a quiet moment for one of the exhibitors whilst she catches up with her e-mails or text messages. She is isolated within the exhibition stand. Cropping of the original has removed a colleagues knee drawing her along the vertical third line. Further adjustment of the image using the "Hue/Adjustment" tool has allowed the picture to be lightened whilst maintaining the colour tones of the background. The final image (below) has been further adjusted using the "Blur" tool within PhotoShop (50% around the extreme edge lowered to 20% close to the individual). This has allowed the detailed background to be seen but pushed the focus top the exhibitor.

Final version following adjustment & blurring

Saturation & lightness adjusted +14

Original photograph

 My attention changed to those delegates arriving at the exhibition and the car park. The light was extremely bright and intense which was giving a slightly burned out image. There were small groups of delegates crossing the car park. This photograph provided the opportunity to use some modification in PhotoShop to look at various ways of presenting the image.

Original Photograph - ISO 200, 1/400

 The main image to focus on is the group of three delegates in the foreground but there are other groups at the back of the parking area.Cropping the image down to focus on the these groups provides a line of interest emphasised by the random shapes of the parked cars. The cropped image is effected by the intense light which is lightening the colours.
The colours in the cropped image where then enhanced using the "Hue/Saturation" tool in PhotoShop. Hue was not altered but both the Saturation and Lightness were; +30 and -14 respectively. Focus on the delegate group was then enhanced using the "Blur Tool" at 20%. This effect was concentrated on the top third of the image and slightly down each side  to force the focus on to the group.
The mid-tone colours were then altered using the "Levels" option. The extreme light and dark settings were unaltered. This has enhanced the colour range within the image to reduce the effect of the intense natural lighting.
The final alteration attempted using PhotoShop was to remove some of the colour thereby drawing the focus to the coloured areas.This was achieved using a continuous sampling option for the Brush Tool. All of the colour has been removed to the upper section of the photograph but there are pockets of colour left on the parked vehicles immediately surrounding the group of delegates.

 

Cropped image: no alterations.

Cropped image: Blur tool @ 20%

Cropped image: Mid-tones altered in "Levels"

Cropped image: Continuous sampling brush tool

One objective during the exhibition was to look for unusual images or characters. The majority of the exhibition was bland with the exception of the following. These photographs were taken across a corner through one exhibition stand looking at another. These images were taken with the lens focused through a holed panel producing a halo effect.

 

The only "character" located was a solitary suited man sitting on a stand. The tie and socks provide a contrast against a very plain background. The funnel poster on the wall draws your focus across the individual and through the poster. A further image was taken at an angle to provide additional contrast.
The pink socks were just crying out to be photographed!

Review of assignment:
My original objective was to capture the interaction of attendees and exhibitors. I realised early into the exhibition that it was proving difficult to gain images of a quality that I was looking for. By looking for specific instances I have gathered a variety of images to portray the "character" of the individuals. Through PhotoShop techniques some of my images have been manipulated to enhance the effect. The output of the assignment proved to be slightly different to the objective but has allowed me to try a range of effects to gain various effects.