I was delighted to be asked to be the event photographer for the official groundbreaking ceremony to celebrate work officially starting on the new Moda development at New York Square in Leeds.
Moda is a developer and operator of homes for rent across the UK and is launching residential schemes in a number of key cities, including Manchester, Liverpool, Leeds and Birmingham. The New York Square development will be the first phase of a £300m regeneration of Quarry Hill, transforming it into a multipurpose neighbourhood called SOYO Leeds.
Organised by Carousel PR, the event saw stakeholders, contractors and councillors joined by arts and culture acts from Leeds College of Music and local artists gather to celebrate.
Leeds Playhouse has recently undergone a huge redevelopment of its own and this was my first opportunity to visit since the work was complete. They really have done a fantastic job. The event itself was hosted in the Bramall Rock Void – a new studio space within the foundations of the building.
It was a great event to photograph as there was a lot going on, requiring a wide mix of skills. As well as capturing the guests circulating and enjoying the event, there was a musician performing and throughout the event Jameson Rogan was live painting a unique piece of art.
There were speeches from Caddick Construction, Leeds BID and Leeds Playhouse staff as well as a specially commissioned spoken word performance by local poet Mike Southwell.
The technical challenges of shooting in low light
The low light in the venue made it a challenging environment to shoot in so for a large part of the night I was shooting with bounced flash to fill in the shadows. Other times I combined a high ISO with a fast lens to shoot in available light.
Although the venue was fairly small, the lighting conditions varied dramatically as you moved around the room. I kept my camera in manual for the majority of the night, quickly adjusting the exposure as I moved around the room.
My approach to event photography
When I’m shooting events photography I like to work the room to put myself into the heart of the action. This helps me to capture the event as naturally as possible. However, it’s important to always be mindful of not interfering or getting in the way. That way the client can relax and host their event safe in the knowledge that I’m capturing all the best moments on their behalf.
I always aim to create images that make the viewer feel a part of the event. A really good way to achieve that is to introduce layers to the images. Shooting through a crowd, or over a shoulder can really help to create an image that captures the experience of the event.
Although I shot a little with my EF 50mm f/1.2L USM and EF 35mm f/2 IS USM, for the most part I worked with my EF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS II USM. The flexibility of that lens meant I could pick out details as I moved around the room while still being able to work with a fairly wide aperture. At events like this you have to be able to adapt and work quickly.
Do you have an event coming up that I could help you with? You can read more about my approach to event photography or get in touch if you’d like to have a chat about your requirements. I’d love to work with you!
