A two-day photography workshop was organized by Amrita School of Communication on the 10th and 11th of October, 2014. The resource person was Mr. S. Muthukumar, an expert in advertising and film photography. The event was designed to throw light upon fashion, advertising, industrial and product photography for all those who wanted an insight on the technical aspects of photography.  The main focus was advertising and fashion photography.

The fashion shoot, accompanied by peppy music, captured the attention of aspiring photographers. The hands-on session saw Mr. Muthukumar organizing student volunteers into a team and recreating a typical studio shoot for students.  “The success of a photo shoot is when the photographer conveys what he wants to the model while ensuring that the model is comfortable”, he explained.

Demo Indoor and outdoor fashion shoots were organized and conducted with student volunteers taking up the role of photographers, stylists and models.  Through the indoor and outdoor experiences, Mr. Muthukumar demonstrated the difference between natural and artificial lighting and taught the students how to shoot under different lighting conditions. “Light is my hero and natural light brings an even tone to the visual, whereas in an indoor shoot, preplanning and execution are the most important aspects, it is almost like writing a script for a film,” he added.

Mr. Muthukumar shared his experiences and difficulties to give an idea of how the industry works. “As a photographer, you won’t have a lot of money in hand and I personally prefer travelling by bus. At the end of the day your happiness is all that matters. Every penny you spend during the initial days for photography is an investment that will reap returns”, he shared. He further asked the photographers to be ready to do at least 100 assignments for free and to develop an expertise over the subject to create a good portfolio.  When a question was raised whether photographers should stick to the rule of thirds, he replied “there is no rule to photography and it is all about perception and making the client happy.”

Mr. Muthukumar has worked with Actor Kamal Haasan in films like Chachi 420, Hey Ram and Marudhanaygam and also other movies such asMumbai Express and Peranmai.  His advertising portfolio includes Panasonic, Samsung, Parryware, Kitchen World, Hindustan Unilever, MRF and The Hindu, among others.