I was excited to start this module as I’ve spent a lot of time simply developing my ambient light work prior to the course. I typically avoiding flash and studio based photography due to being intimidated by it. I felt during this module I was more comfortable with ambient light and achieved better results when using it. In fact, my three final images are all ambient light based.

Throughout the first module, I was told to succeed and go far I would need to put the effort in, to go out and shoot and take initiative. With this module I felt that’s exactly what I did. I made a point of stepping out of my comfort zone by contacting the likes of Tyne Tees Models and requesting shoots with models, shooting still life and using the studio as much as possible.

Though in the long run I feel the effort has paid off, I feel I was presented with challenges and often chastised for putting in the effort causing me to become somewhat demotivated. Knowing we had 4 weeks of flash work to do, I booked the studio as much as I could to take advantage of the facilities, however I found in doing so I was criticised for taking up the time.

I also found I wasn’t fond of group work. I felt the rest of my cohorts were on different wavelengths and often wanted to work alone. What this has shown me is how much I let my surroundings affect my work and motivation. It’s easy for me to blame stuff on circumstances however it boils down to me as a person rising above it and continuing to expand my skills and knowledge.

I noticed I spent a lot of time planning this module, possibly to avoid doing the things I wanted to do but was intimidated by. During my firs tutorial this was brought to my attention and I set out to fix it.

Regardless of setbacks I continued to work and found the more I pushed myself into things I was intimidated by, such as still life, working with people I don’t know like models and using the studio the more I developed and improved.

With ambient lighting I’ve found I’m looking now at how the light will affect the picture as opposed to just finding something interesting to photograph and exposing for it. With flash I’m less wary of getting into the studio and I’m confident I can come out with a decent image. With ambient and flash, I’m less confident and wish I allocated more time to practice with this. I was limited somewhat by equipment; however, I know I could’ve still shot more.

I think I have definitely improved throughout this module and going into the next module I’ll be looking to push myself further out of my comfort zone as I think that is how I really develop my skills as a photographer.