Photography 101

In these times that seem to fly by all too quickly, the art of immortalizing a precious moment whilst preserving all its vivid realness and beauty is something many of us are eager to learn.

It is a widely-held opinion that DSLRs are compelling gadgets – which explains the considerable turnout for the very first Photography Workshop conducted by Lumen, the Photography Club of KMC, at Interact on April 10th, 2017.

The session was hosted by Armaan Ahuja, Club Head of Lumen and Editor-in-Chief at MTTN and Rahul Ambati, Managing Editor at MTTN.

The workshop started with the question, “What is photography?”

After a few members of the audience shared their thoughts, an answer was arrived at. Simply put, photography is a form of art.

Rahul Ambati took the audience through the technical aspects of the art of photography. He delved into how modern day digital cameras and DSLRs pose an advantage over traditional film cameras. He expounded on phone cameras and how they can be used for excellent photography, provided certain measures are followed. Technical terms such as ISO, Shutter Speed, Aperture and Focal Length were simplified and explained in a pedestrian way for the understanding of the newbies.

Rahool Ambooty

According to Ambati, composition and perspective are paramount in taking engaging and visually pleasing photographs. The secrets to finding balance and create interest in a photo were the heavily followed conventions of the Rule of Thirds and the Golden ratio.

All the while, a Nikon film camera, and a DSLR were passed around for everyone to see and examine for themselves.

In the interim period, the audience was encouraged to roam around, look for inspiration outside or simply turn to the person sitting next to them and click a few photos, keeping what had been said in mind.

“Before you take a photo, you should pause for a moment and really think about what it is you want to capture.”

When everyone was back after around 20 minutes, Armaan Ahuja showed the audience the power of post-processing software Lightroom, which can greatly enhance and sometimes completely transform what at first seems to be a mediocre image at best. With little adjustments in sharpness and clarity, a photograph was enhanced beyond recognition from its previous version.

Our man Ahuja

Features that are otherwise mundane for the less accustomed were taught individually. Technicalities such as Contrast, Hue, Saturation and Lightness (HSL), which otherwise is perplexing were streamlined to its elementary form. It was much easier for the members to comprehend the changes that take place on just casually playing around with the Temperature and Tint bars. When used correctly, these simple techniques can bring out and highlight what we saw in a photo, which inspired us to capture the moment in a frame at the very beginning.

As the workshop ended, each participant of the workshop walked out more knowledgeable about the art of photography. The participants were inspired to put what they learned over the course of the two-hour workshop to use. There was an air of satisfaction present in the halls of Interact as each member of the workshop walked away keen and pleased with a Monday evening well spent at Photography 101.

-Written by Niharika Dixith. 

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