You Don't Need to Have a Professional Camera to Click Good Pictures - Shreya Pandey


Click everything. Anything and everything you see and like, click it. There will be some shots you see later and then feel like they look better than they did initially.


1. Tell us about your background and journey.

I'm a 19-year-old, and I consider my 'background' to be my travelling. Not luxurious or fancy travel exclusively,  but even small and quick trips, travel means to move any length, my evening strolls with my sister would turn into me not being able to stop clicking pictures. I have always found solace in trying to capture things like how I see them. 

My head is a place where I would just be walking around and thinking to myself that a particular scene looks so outstandingly beautiful and even intriguing to some point, and how I wish everyone can see it exactly like how I see it. 

This thought kept solidifying and the urge to bring out a peephole through which everyone can get a glimpse of things from my POV  established itself with so much force that I finally made my photography page. I was always the friend with endless pictures on her phone, which weren't of her face. 

I'm very proud of my pictures. They are events which have some thought processes going on. I surely have grown from clicking evening skies to people and places and myself. 


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

Whenever I visited my family in Kolkata or went on any family vacation, my older cousin brother had a photo studio and used to always be seen around us with his DSLR. 

Such a big camera used to make me so curious,  partly because I was a kid, but once I took it into my hands and clicked my first picture, I couldn't explain the euphoric burst of emotions in me. Every vacation I would wait to meet him and sneak in a few clicks from it. 

It was my favourite thing to hold in my hands. I could never stop being obsessed with it. Even my friends who had a DSLR were forced to take it out just because I would ask them with so much enthusiasm.  

All these events do come back to you as you sit down one evening, trying to think what all do you like, and realize the fact that photography has been a constant. 


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

Click everything. Anything and everything you see and like, click it. There will be some shots you see later and then feel like they look better than they did initially.  There is always something good about a picture which you don't see than the first time.  Make sure to edit. 

Editing makes the picture look like it real self, like how we see it with our eyes. Nothing looks better than the real thing. Don't think of how others click,  and if others would like it, just click out of a sheer passion for capturing events. Always helps.


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

I wouldn't be able to answer this quite yet. I do not consider myself to be a successful photographer as of now. Maybe later when I am, I would get back to you. But I believe there are still a few things to keep in mind, always trust your shot. Click multiple pictures, all angles. 

Use good contrast of colours, have a steady hand, or use a tripod instead! You don't need to have a professional camera to click good pictures. :)


5. What are various opportunities available for aspiring photographers?

There is a HUGE range of opportunities available for aspiring photographers or  experienced ones. I'm not going to sugarcoat it, it would be a rather tight struggle to make your  name in the good books, and have your worth recognized. 

Opportunities can range from the field you are great in to the field people think you are great in. Some things you learn in the process, which you might have never thought you would explore.  

Every event/activity needs a photographer or a videographer and someone with a camera. You will start small, very small indeed, and gradually will have to pull yourself up. Focus on your work and keep compiling your work. Apply everywhere and just go all out. 


6. Which is your favorite book and why?

The thing about being a reader and asking them their favorite AND why is like asking a mom which is her favorite kid. I do have a book which I can read over and over again, and feel new emotions come up every time, making me introspect my own life. Is that what a favorite book is supposed to do? 

if yes, then it's a book called "The Illustrated Mum". I've probably outgrown the book's age range, but i go back to it always whenever i feel like a derailed train, moving without a driver or destination. It's that thing we all have that makes us feel nostalgic and safe.


Interview by - Shamayla