Photography is very interesting but difficult since it involves a culmination of science and art. A photographer needs to know the basic essentialities, the basic techniques involved in the business, but at the same time, photography also demands imagination, creativity and originality of thoughts and ideas. In order to be a good photographer, a person must have artsy as well as scientific bent of mind. It is generally considered that art alone cannot be learned in the same way as tech since it comes from within and is fed by an artist’s personal experience and observations. Even when these are the important factors in a work of art, the artist still needs to be aware of the techniques involved in concertizing his/her creative imagination. Similarly, tech is not completely wry of art since some amount of imagination on the part of the techie is required in formulating new ideas and creating innovative work(s). Thus, both these qualities are essentially innate in a being but still need to be gradually nurtured, shaped up, and polished, and for this, the learning aspect comes into the picture.

There are tons of resources available at your disposal through which you can easily learn about both the art as well as technique involved in photography. These resources include Internet, books, college, diploma course, crash course, distance learning, personal tuition, internship, apprenticeship, and so on. There is no end to these resources; start from anywhere according to your suitability and make sure you LEARN.

Although there is no end to learning as a person is forever a student in his/her life, yet on an average, it will take you around three to six months to learn the basics of photography. This is enough for you to begin your journey in pursuing your passion. Learning the advanced level photography will take years of practice and efforts on your part, but for that you need to start with knowing the basics. The technology is constantly evolving and you must prepare yourself to keep up with the trends. Keep learning about the new cameras, new techniques, new methods, and new campaigns on Social Media every day. Basically, keep sticking around. LEARNING NEVER STOPS.

The main challenge people now-a-days face is how to begin learning the art. There are a horde of options available to the people and this is both a boon as well as a curse. A lot of trash available on the Internet only confuses the viewers and wastes their time. In such a scenario, you need to be smart enough to extract the maximum benefit out of the resources and ignore the rest. You need to filter out the good from the trash- this can be time consuming but aren’t the efforts worth it?

If you are a kid pursuing Intermediate, a lot of people would advise you to get a regular Bachelors degree in order play ‘safe’ in terms of placement and job security, and pursue your interest in Photography “side by side” as an alternate career “in your free time.” I say, fuck it! Your passion should not be your alternate career choice. Your passion should be your career choice. LEARNING ABOUT YOUR PASSION SHOULD BE YOUR PRIORITY. Why do you care about the regular Bachelors degree if you have made up your mind to follow your dream? Shouldn’t you be dedicating your time in learning the art and techniques involved in Photography?

Drop the regular Bachelors degree and get yourself admitted in a good college that offers a course in Photography. Conversely, no one cares about your degree in the first place when it comes to business in a stream such as photography. All it requires is that your art needs to be good enough and you must know how to sell yourself and your product. Why? Next article.