Truro City of Lights - Community - Establishing Image (Final 3 images)

When researching potential shoots for an establishing image for community, I came across a fairly local event called, Truro City of Lights. It is an event that involves local groups including bands, dancers, youth groups, schools, etc. making and then parading through the streets with large tissue and withy lanterns.

I planned my shoot well in advance due to the scale of the event. I knew it would be hard to take out equipment and take a long time to get to Truro. I hired a 6D and 50mm f1.4 lens. This was because I wanted high quality images and needed a camera and lens that could handle low light.

These are the final 3 images that I need to choose from to get my final 8x10 print.


I chose this image for one of my final 3 because it shows all ages involving themselves in a community event. The main point of focus in the image is of the woman in the foreground looking directly at the camera which is the one of the aspects of the image I don't like. When a person is aware that a photograph is being taken of them, it is very hard for them not to act in at least a slightly different way. I wanted the images I shot of the event to be as natural as possible to really show how the community acted at the event. Having said this, from feedback many people have said that this is an aspect of the image they like and that it makes it more personal. They also said that she does not appear to be performing any differently to the other members of her group that arn't aware that the photo is being taken.

The lighting was very difficult for the duration of the shoot which meant I had to boost the ISO quite high in order to get a sharp image. This means there is quite a bit of noise/reduced quality if you look closely. In the future I will get around this by using a flash.

I was lucky to capture this image as I did not have a press pass for the event. Luckily I spotted someone that did have a pass who had 3 members of one of the groups posing meaning I could get a similar shot to him. The vibrant costumes that stand out from the dull and dark background with the 'wings' slightly illuminated by these is what made me put this photo in my final 3.

I did not like colours and informative background but after dicussing this with other press students we decided that this emphasises he vibrance and luminace of the subject of the photo. It also emphasises that the event really brings a large community together.


My final of the 3 images is a close cropped image of just one member of a group. I had a very similar image which was slightly technically better than this one of the woman in the background. The reason I didn't choose this was because the excitement and happyness which this woman shows really portrays the general atmosphere of the whole night in contrast the woman behind who didn't seem like she wanted to be there. It brings an element into the photograph that I had no control over making it unique and the main reason why I put it in my final 3.

I also love the out of focus seasonal lights in the background which add not only aesthetics to the image but also important infomation showing the viewer that it is approaching Christmas. This is significant due to it being one of the first Christmas events of the year.