Photo by Holly Webb

 

In reflection of finishing this module – and university in general – I am very proud of the work I put in for my final project and throughout the module.

I went into this module knowing nothing about the technical sides of photography. I enjoyed taking photos in my spare time as a hobby and was excited to learn more, however I had never even looked at the manual settings of a camera or tried to learn any of the theory behind taking photos.

I think that the main areas that I excelled in included extra research and further study. I practised a lot before shooting the actual photos for my project, and also did extra research surrounding the theory of photography and how a camera works. This is because I really enjoyed this part of the module and so I found it easy to do extra work and research around it. I also believe that my skills in Photoshop and Lightroom were vastly improved. Although I was confident in them already, this module allowed me to play around with both programs for different reasons to before, meaning that I learnt more tools and things you can use the programs for.

If I were to do this project again, there are a number of things I would try and improve for next time. Firstly, although I didn’t feel rushed, and I didn’t complete much last-minute, I don’t believe you can ever be too prepared and so I would have attempted to contact potential sources sooner. Secondly, I think that while my interviews were good and newsworthy, I should have interviewed another person in the industry, such as the manager for the new climbing wall. I did contact him, however he never got back to me – inevitably being very busy with the opening.

Looking back at the module, I have thoroughly enjoyed my time. What I enjoyed the most was learning about the theory and technical side to photography, as I now believe my photography has vastly improved now that I know how a camera actually works. I also enjoyed researching and speaking to people about my project, getting totally involved and immersed in the climbing community – something that I believe you have to do in journalism, which meant that it gave me a look into what a career could look like in the future.

Lastly, I want to express thanks to both Karl and Ruth for their help and guidance throughout the module. I think that their assistance has vastly improved my skills and has inspired me to pursue a career in photojournalism. I feel like I am both excited and more prepared for the industry, and give a lot of credit to them for this.

I am now more confident in my ability as a journalist, and believe this was my favourite module from my time studying journalism – a great way to round off three years at university.