Never Be Afraid of Losing a Good Shot on Manual - Vikrant Kaushal


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1. Tell us about your background and journey.

I did my schooling from Sainik School Sujanpur Tira and bachelors in Business Administration from Govt. Post Graduate College, Dharamshala. And right now I am pursuing my MBA in Marketing. I come from the beautiful city of Dharamshala, which is in the Dhauladhar range in the heart of Himalayas. The scenery of the mountains both in the morning and evening are amazing. Just gazing at every turn of the road is what fills me with a passion to travel and capture the moment.

2. How and when did you realize your passion for photography?

When I was in 10th, I got my first phone in 2011. It was a Nokia, X2-00. the phone had a 5mp camera which was a big deal at that time. I just captured everything I could with that camera and liked to play with the light in shots, and I never looked back.

I bought three phones after that; Micromax Canvas 2 colours, which introduced me to features like GIF and 360-degree shots, Moto G4, which had a decent camera and then LG G7 Thinq, which has one of the best cameras I have yet seen in a phone. It has the manual mode that is just amazing giving you access to ISO (50-3200), Shutter speed (1/2000- 30), the aperture of 1/1.6 and manual focus. I am even able to capture the galaxy with the phone.

3. What are some tips you would like to share with amateur photographers?

Never be afraid of losing a good shot on manual. The auto will definitely capture the moment for you and using manual settings may end up in losing the moment. But that's what teaches you. They say ”everyone is a photographer until M”. Try to be on the backside of the camera rather than the front.

Just get your hands on a camera whenever you can, a friend’s camera, or your institutes. And always be open to trying new things, be open to suggestions from others.

4. What are the important skills one should have to be a successful photographer?

If we were to talk about skills one need to be a photographer. I would say:
  • Curiosity
  • Patience


5. What are various opportunities available for aspiring photographers?

There are many institutes for making your career in photography and generally, people are going in it because they think it makes you cool in the public. Well, being cool won't pay your bills. You have to be passionate about it. you don't have to start with Mark 3 or a high-end DSLR to start a career.

You can start learning with a simple one that teaches you how to work on it. It's not about the camera, its about the one who is behind it that adds value to the shot. I started playing and learning basics like shutter speed, ISO, etc with my mobile phone. LG G7

6. Which is your favourite book and why?

My favourite book is Shiva Trilogy by Amish Tripathi. I am a huge fan of mythology and he created a perfect blend of all the characters in Shiv Puran and made a whole new story.

Interview by - Sonam