Passionate Photographers

The following article was written based on personal experience, with the purpose of motivating other photographers around. May readers like you find this sharing useful in improving your photography skills.

“To be a good photographer, you have to be a good human being. Have humility, feel their lives.” The humble Khaled Hasan from Bangladesh shared his experience as a photographer in his home place.

As Nikon Malaysia celebrated their 10^th Anniversary Celebration, photographers and enthusiasts were given the rare opportunity of attending photography talks by the professionals. This was the place where the pros shared their photography passion with those present. Ten talks, spread out in 4 consecutive days, saw some over two thousand people attending the talks, where the audiences were given the chance to be up-close and personal with the pros.

Photograph with Emotions

Khaled Hasan, who was awarded the All Roads Photography Award by the National Geographic, shared his powerful images with the crowd on Saturday evening, where he featured his black and white photographs of his people in a stone factory. Being a documentary photographer, he spent time with the subjects and tried to understand them. “My mentor once told me that I must be a good human being before I start photographing. This is because when I know the history and emotions of my subjects, the photographs I take would reflect how I feel.” With strong emotions in his photographs, the photographs he shared gave everyone a sense of hopelessness in the stone factory workers.

Currently equipped with a Nikon D200 and a 28mm prime lens, he believes that one should know their gears thoroughly before shoots. He gave some tricks away as well, “look out for emotions, contrasts, and tones. Always photograph what you feel.” As Khaled started off with film photography, he liked his time spent in the dark room developing his black and white photographs. As for now, he still spends some amount of time on the computer burning and dodging some of his shots before prints. On his last note, he advised everyone to “outdo yourself, push yourself and challenge yourself with the other professionals.”

Deanna Ng from Singapore started off with her own project on photographing Pasat (Market) in Singapore. “It was a something more personal, as I know some of those sellers myself.” Her photographs from a project called Life Before Death campaign by Lien Foundation moved those present to tears, where the photographs showed much emotion in the hospice and terminally ill patients and their families in their last days. “Those are not patients. They are my friends. They are dear to me.” Deanna shared with us while flipping through her album. There were times she found it hard to press the shutter, as those very sad moments for her. “Believe it or not, the hardest people to photograph are those closest to you. Try photographing your family and you will realize how hard it is.” She also took the opportunity to encourage everyone to not just focus on taking nice photographs, but take photographs that mean something.

Emotions, strong and powerful, they put the viewers into deep thoughts. Many photographers sharing during the event do agree that emotions play important roles in portraying the subject of the picture. Indonesian photojournalist Ahmad Zamroni, or just Roni, shared his experiences and photographs he has taken during many natural disasters, especially those involving his homeland. He found that those emotions came rushing through and he can’t let go of his camera, he kept on clicking away, wanting to get the best shot he could to show the world how he felt about the natural disaster. On a lighter side, he has experienced joys of photographing as well. “There was once my assignment was to photograph a football league. When one of the teams struck a goal, I was hopping with joy, totally forgotten about my photograph.” He laughed reliving the moments. “Only a few seconds later I realized that I have a responsibility to fulfill.”

Compact to Pro

From a psychology teacher to a professional photographer, Manny Librodo from the Philippines started off his photography with a Nikon Coolpix compact camera.

“I got this camera to photograph myself. That time, I did not know about the settings, compositions, or how to make the shots nice. But I know one thing for certain: I love colours”.

Manny Librodo took hold of the power of the internet and shared his photographs online, where he learnt from the others and got feedbacks from many viewers. The positive feedbacks helped too. That was where he started to photograph better pictures.

“The turning point of my photography was when I borrowed my brother’s Nikon D100 to a Bangkok school trip.” That time, he was oblivious about the technical aspects of the camera, but he still managed to get some wonderful shots with Aperture Priority and Program Mode. “I was totally blown away by the images. So, I went to a photo store the next day after my trip and got myself a new DSLR.” His skills grew from that day onwards.

From using his students as models to spending time doing post processing his shots, he learned so much and he shared much of his passion and experiences with the other photographers through workshops he conducts. He also gave away some hints and tips during the presentation for the Nikon Photography Talk. “Always look out for catch-lights when you photograph portraitures, observe the natural lightings, use props and tools to diffuse your light, and capture those patterns and textures with your photographs.” He too believes in sharing and he hoped that everyone could share what they have learnt. “When others are better than you, it creates a friendly competition where it drives you to try harder.”

High Speed Sports to the Game of Patience

High speed sports are pretty much unpredictable, and you can never have your subject redo what they have just done. To capture those memorable shots, Khalid Redza, who has been covering sports events for the past 34 years, shared that practice makes perfect. “When I first started off, I was told by my editor to head towards sports field to photograph. That was the place where I practiced and learn. It was a challenging process, and with film that time, you can only know how well you shoot after you develop them.”

As he recalls his days of film photography, he advised many present to “not be shy to ask.” He said, “Get yourself a mentor and do not hesitate to ask the pro photographers how to shoot. Most of the time, they are willing to share their experiences with you.”

Besides these, he encouraged everyone to learn and practice the photography skills, and also be knowledgeable about the sports. “When you are on the field, remember the winners, as well as the team who had just lost the battle. Look at the crowds, their reactions.” To him, it is the attitude of the photographer which will determine the end result. “You must be willing to take risks, know all your gears, and be prepared. Good captions for your photographs help a lot too.”

Wildlife photographers may not experience much adrenaline rush like the high speed sports photographers, but they too share some similar points. Just like sports photography, wildlife photographers would gain the most if they do their homework. “You need to know the behavior of the animals and plants. Only with such knowledge, you know when and where the animals would appear in the forest, and when the wild plants would grow and blossom.” Cede Prudente, who is Sabahan, has worked with many scientists and researchers in preserving wildlife in photographs. “The photographs I take would be a reference for researchers around the globe. It becomes a proof of existence.”

During his talk, he emphasized again and again that patience in wildlife photography is a must. He shared a few photographs which he finds it hard to ever come by again. “Photographing flying creatures of the Borneo is time consuming but worthwhile. You don’t see much of these creatures in the forest, and therefore you really need to spend time knowing these animals and their behaviors.

Besides taking photographs, he videotaped some of the scenes where he encounters the wildlife. “Photographing is just not enough sometimes. A video is more powerful in conveying the message.” He recorded some rare clips on the behaviors of the orang utans and some of these clips were used as educational materials for the BBC. “Most importantly, I realize that what I have taken would show the whole world the wonders of nature, and this message can be a reminder for everyone to preserve our natural habitat.”

Quick Tips to Share

The time it took for Stefen Chow to become professional was 4 years. This self-taught photographer from Singapore shared some of the truths behind the photography world during his talk. “It is a competitive world out there. Do what it takes to survive out there, but remember, do what you love. You need to know all kinds of things, learn them, relearn them, and remember to apply them.”

Most of the time, he finds himself working on personal projects, where he pushed himself harder each time, to make his work stood out among the crowd. “Do something people wouldn’t commission you to do. Pay for your own projects and put yourself in a unique position.” Not only that, he advised everyone to learn to work with everything, evolve and generalize oneself. “Most importantly, make your photography useful. Share them.”

Occasionally, a photographer may find it hard to stick to the original assignment. Deanna Ng was happy to advice a solution to the issue. “Write down your thoughts and ideas you want to photograph before a shoot, as specifically as possible. At times you’ll find yourself overwhelmed with unexpected incidents and you started to lose focus on your main objectives. At the end of the day you may find that you did not accomplish much of your goals. The thoughts you have written down, they help. They help to bring you back to your main story.”

One thing for certain, the photographers who shared their work during the event showed much enthusiasm and passion towards photography. They love what they do, and they believe that sharing would make them stronger. Before I end this article, allow me to do a quick summary of all the 8 talks I have attended.

1. Get yourself a mentor. Be it someone across the internet, or someone professional you know of.

2. Believe in yourself, be willing to take risks.

3. Evolve and generalize yourself.

4. Challenge yourself to do better each time.

5. A picture is worth a thousand words. Don’t just take nice photographs, make them meaningful.

6. Study your subject, do your homework and understand them.

7. Make use of the gears you have. Learn your gears.

So here, I wish everyone the best!