“The camera is an instrument that teaches people how to see without a camera.”

INTRODUCTION:

 We are familiar with the phrase “The camera is an instrument that teaches people how to see without a camera”. Photography day symbolizes art which freezes moments to times, conserving them for generations to come. Every year on 19th August shutterbugs, enthusiasts as well as professionals and amateurs gather to cherish the rich history and intense procedure for this visual medium. On this day, photographers all over the globe celebrate by clicking pictures, sharing them on social media platforms. Several photography exhibitions and workshops are organized on this day to exhibit the expertise of photographers. This day emphasizes photography as a justified form of art, emboldening shutterbugs to experiment with several innovative and creative ideas. It cheers people to hold the power of photography in high regard.

HISTORY:

Tracing back to its origin to early 1837, the earliest photographic method, the ‘daguerreotype’ was introduced by Frenchmen Louis Dagguerre and Joseph Nicephore. On 9th Jan 1839, the French Academy of Sciences declared his process, and later in the same year, the French government purchased the license for the invention and gave it as a gift, “free to the world.” Willliam Henry Fox Talbott inn UK invented a versatile photographic process by using paper-based salt prints. It intervened as a difficult competition to metal-based daguerreotype. During the 1930s, Henri Cartier-Bresson, known as the master of candid photography, used 35mm (about 1.38 in) cameras to take spontaneous images of people and events, mainly including European wartime efforts.  Later in the era of 1930s and beyond, photojournalists created photographic history by capturing images from World War II, all of which cast an impression in the face of photography as a news and tool for communication as well. In the 1980s and 1990s, innumerable manufacturers began initiating consumer and professional digital cameras. In 1991, Kodak released the DCS 100, the first commercially available DSLR (digital single lens reflex) camera. The history of photography is likely not over even now, but it is maintaining equilibrium as basic point-and-shoot cameras capturing high-quality digital photos, most of us depend on smartphone cameras nowadays to picture our everyday lives, and professional photographers continue to pin their hopes on DSLRs to take exclusive snapshots.

INTRODUCTION TO PHOTOGRAPHY

● Thinking about the composition
A composition can be defined as “something that is created by arranging several things to form a unified whole”. A composition is said to be the foundation of a photograph. It also includes arranging every element according to the theme. When you are taking a picture, you are composing it in the same way as an artist composes his or her painting. One must pay attention to the composition of every picture they take to witness improvement.

● Every picture must have a subject:
It is very important for a picture to have a subject. Without knowing the answer to the question of what your picture is all about, your picture will never work. Subject is the first thing that the viewers see when they look at the picture for the first time. Subjects may range from a small flower to a big scenery.

● The rule of thirds:
This rule states where to place the subject in the image. Imagine that your image is divided into nine equal squares (basically a tic-tac-toe board) with the lines equally spaced.

● The four points where the lines intersect are the strongest focal points of your image.
● The lines that make up the squares are secondary strong points.

The human eye is naturally drawn to these spaces within a frame, not the center of the frame. Make use of this to maximize the impact of your images by placing your subject along one of these lines or at the intersection points.

● Observe the foreground and the background:
A photograph is a two-dimensional representation of a three-dimensional scene. This means that the camera effectively “compresses” the scene. That is why it is essential to pay attention to the background and foreground of every photograph.

● The background is anything on your subject:
If there is a tree directly behind a person’s head, it will appear that the tree is growing out of their head. Likewise, a fence could seem to grow out of the side of a person.

● The foreground is anything in front of your subject:
Foreground holds same importance as the background does. If you are shooting a beautiful lake sunrise but there is an ugly tire on the water’s edge, the photograph can be dilapidated (unless your point is addressing towards pollution).

● Lighting in photography:
When you look at a scene, your eyes are constantly adjusting to the different lighting situations. When you take a photograph, the camera only records one light situation because it does not have our brain’s ability to interpret and adjust to the scene. Every camera is slightly different in how it “meters” or reads the amount of light in a scene.

Photography as  a career:

Enroll in course: If you wish to hone your skills in the profession then taking up a course can jumpstart the journey for you. There are several schools in and around the city which majorly offer two types of courses: standard and professional. If you are a beginner, consider going for the standard ones first. Once you have gained some experience, you opt for a professional course or work as an apprentice with an experienced professional and learn directly from them.

Set up a professional page: Self marketing can turn out to be the real game changer in this profession. Once you feel you are ready for it, set up a page across popular social media handles to showcase your portfolio. This will not only help you to share your work, but also put you in touch with factual clients.

Network and communication: Nearly 90% of the work in the professional photography field depends on building contacts and relationships. As a beginner trying to set foot in the field of photography focus on delivering your best and building relationships with your clients. A lot of the popularity of a professional photographer comes from word-of-mouth.

Written By

Ayshani Bhattacharya

Student , XI Commerce(2023)