If you have an eye for detail and can capture the beautiful face or the environment in your lens then photography is the career for you. A good photographer can enhance the persona of a person more through photography even if one doesn’t have a beautiful or photogenic face. Like any other career, Photography too has various options. The most lucrative is the fashion and advertisement. The most common is working in a media or running a photo studio.

 In today’s world, many photographers are using automatic lens and shutter speed settings to click pictures, while the popular option is still manual operation where one’s creativity comes into fore. Such photographers use different equipment like filters, flash attachments to special lighting equipment and tripods to achieve the desired quality affect.

It is believed that some photographers use a traditional, halide film-print camera or a digital recording camera. Depending on the type of print, some photographers develop the film in special laboratories. However, it is believed that most of them do it on their own. Most photographers have knowledge of darkroom equipment and/or computer programmes to process film correctly.

In today’s fast developing world, photographers scan and produce standard film onto digital formats. They can then manipulate and edit digital images and send them to any location through e-mail. It is important to note that photographers can use computer software to change or carry out corrections in digital images. Even storing of images has become easier on compact disks or other special memory cards, like flash disks for digital cameras. A popular photographer said that digital film and software was broadening the field of photographic art and advertising with more precise colour schemes. Digital portfolios are becoming common, and photographers are necessarily becoming increasingly knowledgeable of related computer software, he said.

All photographers don’t take all pictures. Here too there is specialization.

They are as follows:

News photographers take pictures of people and community events for media publications. This includes pictures of events, sports, politics and personalities. These photographers are employed with newspaper organizations and have short, heavy deadlines to meet.

Fine arts photographers commercialise their artwork. They have a strong technical knowledge and are creative people.

Freelance photographers work on a freelance basis by fulfilling a task assigned to them or submitting their photos to agencies for use. Such agencies forward the photos to magazines for use and they are paid accordingly. Freelancers have a lot of freedom, but their earnings are uncertain. They often have to seek others help find to find new assignments.

Commercial and industrial photographers click pictures for advertisements, catalogues, and others. These photographers shoot anything from models, landscapes, buildings, and merchandise. Some photographers take pictures of machinery, workers, and other products that is useful to people in analyses, public relations and businesses.

Scientific photographers take pictures that are useful for scientific and medical records. Some of them have knowledge of medicine or science for clicking pictures.

Portrait photographers work in a studio or cover functions in a school or at homes by clicking personal pictures covering birthday parties to weddings.
 
No doubt photography is exciting as it gives an opportunity to meet the rich and famous. However, it has its own dangers too. Many photographers work in dangerous environment while covering events such as natural disasters, accidents, or military or riots. The photographers should be strong enough to carry large equipment if needed.

Qualifications Needed
Institutions employing people look for those with strong imagination and technical skills. Most photographers are qualified with a degree in photography or journalism. Many institutions have photography programmes that teach creative and technical aspects beginning from composition, design, techniques, processes, and equipment. Come bachelor’s programmes have business courses.

All those interested in photography must gain experience as a student by enrolling in photography clubs and taking up part time employment. Important characteristics

Photographers need good coordination, eyesight, and creative ability. Most importantly and necessarily they should be accurate and patient and have good interpersonal skills while dealing with clients.

Institutions offering Courses:

• National Institute of Photography (N.I.P.), Dadar (W) (Maharashtra) Phone: 022-24306502, 65203364
• Academy for Photographic Excellence [APEx], New Delhi
• Ambitions 4 Photography Academy, Chennai (Tamil Nadu)
• Bangalore School of Arts and Photography (B.S.O.A.P.), Bangalore (Karnataka)
• Barkatullah Vishwavidyalaya, Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh)
• Creative Hut, Ahmedabad (Gujarat)
• Deen Dayal Upadhaya (D.D.U.) Gorakhpur University, Gorakhpur (Uttar Pradesh)
• Delhi School of Photography, Kalkaji (Delhi)
• Fergusson College, Pune (Maharashtra)
• Fortune Institute of Communication and Television, New Delhi
• Indian Institute for Development in Education and Advanced Studies, Navrangpura (Gujarat)
• International School of Photography, New Delhi
• J.D. Institute of Fashion Technology, Mumbai (Maharashtra)
• Jawaharlal Nehru Technological University, Hyderabad (Andhra Pradesh)
• Kiran Nayak Photography Academy, Bandra (W) (Maharashtra)
• Mahatma Gandhi Kashi Vidyapith, Varanasi (Uttar Pradesh)
• National Academy of Phototgraphy (N.A.P.), Kolkata (West Bengal)
• Pandit Ravishankar Shukla University, Raipur (Chhattisgarh)
• RG Advertising & Modeling Agency, New Delhi (Delhi)
• Satyajit Ray Film and Television Institute, Kolkata (West Bengal)
• Shashikant School of Photography, Chennai (Tamil Nadu)
• Sri Venkateswara University, Tirupati (Andhra Pradesh)
• Star Computer, Sagar (Madhya Pradesh)
• Udaan School of Photography, Mumbai (Maharashtra)
• University of Allahabad, Allahabad (Uttar Pradesh)
• Visualite Academy, Chennai (Tamil Nadu)