Hands-on skills for budding shutterbugs
For many, carrying around a big hi-tech camera seems to be a statement nowadays. But as any professional would tell you, owning a fancy camera won’t necessarily make you a good photographer. It’s easier to switch to auto mode and let the fancy gadget click away. However, acquiring the skill takes more practice and discipline.
To encourage photographers in the capital, a workshop titled “Secrets of Photography” is being held at Minerva, a centre that promotes learning and social change. The six-day workshop is being mentored by independent photographer and filmmaker, Fahim Farid.
The course outline includes sessions on studio lighting, manual camera operation and basic editing in Adobe Photoshop. It also introduces techniques such as splash photography, smoke photography and product shots.
A good feature about the workshop is it’s affordability: the entire course costs just Rs4,000. Also, owning expensive Canons and Nikons is not a prerequisite for this workshop either.
“Some of our participants own cameras that are worth Rs8,000 only and not everyone is a beginner. There are some that have been practising photography for years,” said Farid. The workshop also aims to teach students cheap solutions to otherwise expensive practices. For instance, instead of buying expensive reflectors for outdoor photography that cost over Rs8,000, Farid chose to purchase Rs15 reflective shiny wrapping sheets from the market that work just as well.
Mahreen, a participant, said, “I’ve been a photographer for 15 years now, but this is my first formal workshop where I’m learning new ideas. It’s good to keep yourself updated as technology keeps changing.”
An exhibition of the six best photographs as a result of the workshop will top off the experience for the aspiring photographers in mid-December. The workshop concludes on December 13.
Published in The Express Tribune, December 12th, 2011.
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I can't understand why people are still stuck on comparing digital camera with DSLR in the comments, as stated before; it is not NECESSARY to have a high end camera to learn the art of photography... You must know what aperture is and what shutter speed is etc. CLEARLY the knowledge is lacking among the people who are still stuck on digital vs DSLR (when us say: "photography is just the use of expensive camera", just emphasis on the fact that you need to attend workshops or at least google up some basic info) Furthermore you should know that the lens of a camera plays an important role (regardless whether digital or DSLR), some digital cameras have very good lenses hence opening many dimensions to photography. Namely, bg defocus, high-speed objects, capturing light and so on....
no one can disregard the quality of the high tech camera yet one simply cannot say that to be a good photographer is to have an expensive camera.. some of the best photographers in the world use the ancient box stand cameras that lack all the high tech stuff that r present in the DSLRs.. yet the result is simply breath taking.. many still use the pinhole camera to create the best black and white effects.. know ur photography..peace
It's not NECESSARY to have a high-tech camera, i think that's what this article is emphasizing on. While everyone knows that you cannot compare DSLR's photography with plain digital, it does not mean that you cannot explore the different functions of your digital camera. Plus there are some digital cameras that give you the manual mode, but until and unless you know how to do "metering" or set aperture and shutter speed, it's useless. There are so many things you can explore with normal digital cameras provided you have some knowledge, which is clearly lacking among most. cheers.
"Pretty simple; Photography means to have a high-tech camera." huh??
How about photography using smart-phone having 8MP camera (Samsung Galaxy S2)! Does it give same results as from DSLR? Any thoughts???
Is it an advertisement? come on, did you just say that Rs. 8000 camera will give u the same result as that of DSLR's....you kidding me....there is no such thing as photography. Buy an expensive camera and just read its manual, the rest is how you use your brain. Pretty simple; Photography means to have a high-tech camera.