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1. Tell us about your background and journey.
My journey into photography started when I was very young. I had a natural desire to take photos and asked for a camera for my 11th birthday. Over the years I maintained my casual interest in photography and always enjoyed taking photos, but my passion only really blossomed when I bought a DSLR camera and joined Instagram in 2017.
2. How and when did you realize your passion for photography?
I’ve always had an interest in photography, but it became a passion after I joined Instagram. I followed many other amazing photographers and was truly inspired by the work I saw. This drove me to practise my skills and keep improving. Living in London, a city that I love exploring, enabled me to blend my two passions.
I would spend hours wandering around the city snapping everything that caught my eye. Only when I got home and looked at the photos on my computer would I see that some of them were out of focus or over-exposed.
There are powerful programs that you can use to edit your photos, but even they couldn’t fix bad photography! So I needed to learn how to improve.
3. What are some tips you would like to share with amateur photographers?
Don’t stop taking pictures, even if you don’t have a dedicated camera. Using a phone can help you learn to set the exposure and frame the shot, so when you’re ready to migrate to a DSLR you will already have the basic tools. I suggest watching YouTube videos to learn how the three basic settings of your camera work: shutter speed (exposure), aperture (F-stop) and ISO.
4. What are the important skills one should have to be a successful photographer?
Photography is something that anyone can learn, with practice and patience. It helps to have the eye for a shot and a desire to improve. Some people have a natural ability to frame a shot, but if you don’t, you can learn tips and tricks, such as the rule of thirds.
But even if you can take a great picture, to take photography to a successful level requires the ability to market yourself and your services, and the courage to take every opportunity as it arises – and this may even require you to offer your services free of charge while you’re growing your portfolio.
5. What are various opportunities available for aspiring photographers?
There are still many opportunities out there, but due to Instagram's saturated market it's really important to focus on creating content that’s unique and stands out. Avoid following trends but instead create your own.
There are always opportunities to connect to other like-minded creators as there is such a large positive community on Instagram.
6. Which is your favourite book and why?
My favourite book is anything written by Rachael Abbott. She writes fantastic murder mystery novels.
- Sarah Lauren
Interview By - Anshika Sharma
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