Career in Photography

What: Photography is the art of taking photographs of objects or people. Photography is the process of recording visual images by capturing light rays on a light-sensitive recording medium. Light imitated from objects activate a sensitive chemical or electronic sensor during a timed exposure, usually through a photographic lens in a device known as a camera that also stores the resulting information chemically or electronically.

Photography has many uses for business, science, art and the gratification of the mind. Photography is an art form requiring aesthetic sense as well as technical expertise. A hobby that can be made money-making by going professional by the ingenious. The first permanent photograph was made in 1825 by a French inventor, Joseph Nicéphore Niépce, building on a discovery by Johann Heinrich Schultz.

That a silver and chalk mixture darkens under exposure to light Photography as a field has no particular or fixed career and salary structure. One has to be very brave to start off as a freelancer. You would rather begin by working in a studio. One can start as an assistant to senior photographers in which you’d be paid Rs 3500 to Rs 6000. Once you are established, you would be paid as per the assignment. The range can be from Rs 10,000 to Rs 30,000. Fields like commercial photography pay higher compared to the other fields. Beginnings can be made at Rs. 15,000 which may grow over a period of time.

How: Sometimes back, the idea of being a professional photographer might not have appealed too many but today lots of people want to be photographers. The rise of mass communication and the growing importance of the media and fashion is probably a factor which has led to this change.

To be a photographer, you have to have both creativity and technical knowledge. You must have that extra quality and interest in visuals, colour, light etc. The field of photography is constantly changing with the advancement of technology and hence you have to be fast-paced and willing to learn throughout your career.

These days, lots of schools offer photography at the 10+2 stage as a vocational subject. There are no specific academic requirements for the full time courses in photography; however, candidates who have cleared the 10+2 exam are eligible for the diploma/ certificate courses in photography. Photography is also offered as an optional subject for a bachelor’s degree in fine arts.

Where:  A photography career offers you the opportunity to create unique art and work in a rewarding profession. As a photographer, you will require an aesthetic sense as well as technical expertise. As a successful photographer you will possess a host of qualities: creativity, good communication skills, and an ability to translate original ideas into fantastic images that really have an impact.

Institutions (See Below):