Workshop with Canon Photo Mentor Ravi Dhingra

IIAD organised a 2 day photography workshop with Ravi Dhingra - Canon Photo Mentor and a Lifestyle and Commercial Photographer who specialises in products, portraits, food and interiors. Mr. Dhingra provided the students of Communication Design a chance to learn about the basics of photography - from light sources to various lighting types and techniques such as back light, white light, warm light and kicker light among many others. He also discussed how different lights are better suited for certain things. For instance, back light is used for silhouettes, white light for more general illumination and warm light aids in the creation of a specific mood or ambience.

Each image tells a different story and it is this narrative behind each picture that Mr. Dhingra unveiled along the course of the workshop. This aided the students in gauging the kind of thought and detail that goes into the composition of any frame before taking a picture. The workshop not only provided the students with a platform to talk about the various aspects that need to be kept in mind while taking a photograph but also how to use things such as reflectors and light modifiers in order to create the appropriate atmosphere and environment to visually express themselves.

Mr. Dhingra also spoke at length about shadows and the way they can add volume and dimension to any frame. It is this interplay of light and shadow that can take an otherwise ordinary photograph and imbue it with a distinct personality. Mr. Dhingra stressed on the importance of the absence of colours in a time of so much sensory overload as a way of disrupting the monotony and asserting one’s individuality.

The students, through the workshop, not only got to see and comprehend how these different lights work in relation to objects but they had the chance to gain practical, hands-on experience as they experimented with DSLR cameras, took pictures and, in the process, better understood the nuances and technicalities of the art of photography!