Experiencing Photography in the Real World by Sophie Clarke

My name is Sophie Clarke and I am from Redmoor Academy. I spent the week doing work experience with my friend Isabelle at Christina Lauder Portraits. I chose to do my work experience with Christina as I have a very keen interest in photography and I wanted to know more about being a photographer as a career. From spending the week with Christina, I have now learnt that being a photographer isn’t just about taking photos; there is so much more behind it.

Isabelle and I testing the lighting and set up for prom

On the first day, we mainly watched Christina develop some of her images on the computer using software such as Photoshop, Lightroom and Colour Efex. This has now taught me new skills because before I didn't really have any knowledge about these, so I will now be able to use what I have learnt in my own work. The next day, in preparation for a trial prom shoot, Isabelle and I helped set up and put the props in place. Whilst Christina was photographing the client, she taught us about lighting, positioning for the photos and the different camera angles. This enabled us to think about our own photo shoots for our photography project.

A photo that I edited of Isabelle for our first photo shoot

Later on in the week, Isabelle and I had our own photo shoots for our GCSE project and we used each other as models. From doing this, I am now more confident with my camera settings such as aperture, ISO, shutter speed and white balance. Christina allowed us to be independent during this, using some of the skills we have learnt. We got to use different backdrops and props etc. After we had finished the photo shoot, we looked at our images; some were good but many needed improvement, but now I know what I need to do next time. After that we began to edit a few of our images, this is where we used our new photoshop skills which Christina had taught us. This was my favourite part of the week because we got to experiment in our own style and be as creative as we liked.

A photo from mine and Isabelle's second photo shoot which I edited

On one of the nights, the local athletics came in for team photos, so we helped set up and pack up afterwards. Isabelle and I gave each of the children props and we got to have the experience working with younger clients.

Athletics photo set up

Overall, I have had a fantastic week with Christina being a photographers assistant and I have had an eye opener to what it's like in the real photography world. I have learnt many new skills which I will be able to use as I take more photographs, and how to get the perfect picture. I am very grateful for being able to spend the week with Christina because I have extremely enjoyed it and I will most definitely use everything I have learnt in the future.

Another image of Isabelle which I edited

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