Photography

• Photography is a form of art that involves the capturing of light on a sensor or film to create an image. Different types of photography include portrait, landscape, aerial, action, wildlife, macro, and more.

• Photographers must understand important technical aspects, such as exposure, aperture, shutter speed, ISO, focus, and light metering, which affect how well-lit, sharp, or blurred an image is.

• Composition techniques such as the rule of thirds, leading lines, framing, symmetry, and viewpoint can enhance the aesthetic appeal of a photograph and guide the viewer’s eye to the main subject of the image.

• The purpose of photography can vary from documenting events, telling a story, conveying a mood, producing a piece of art, selling a product, or as a record for archival purposes.

• Editing is an important part of photography, using software like Adobe Photoshop or Lightroom. Editing techniques can include cropping, adjusting brightness and contrast, correcting colours, reducing noise, and adding philtres or special effects.

• Historical styles and photography’s evolution should be understood. Explore pioneers like Daguerreotype, Henry Fox Talbot, and styles like pictorialism, straight photography, and movements like Dada, Surrealism and Pop Art’s influences on photography.

• Ethical, legal, and social considerations associated with photography should be considered as well, like privacy rights, issues around manipulation or misrepresentation of images, and the consequences of sharing images widely on social media.

• Analysing and critiquing photographs is a key part of photography, using concepts like formal elements (line, shape, form, colour, texture, tone), meaning and interpretation, context, and the photographer’s intent.

• The practical skillset needed includes understanding how to handle and operate a camera, the ability to frame and compose shots, know-how of lighting, understanding how to work in different environments, skills in post-production and editing.

• The ability to create, interpret and understand a wide range of photographic works will be needed, alongside knowledge of contemporary and modern photographers, their work and their historical context.

• Exploration of creative aspects of photography like conceptual, abstract, and experimental photography will be beneficial.

• One should have an ability to create a photographic portfolio, which includes selecting the best photographs, arranging them in a meaningful or aesthetically pleasing way, and presenting them in a professional manner.