Q&A

There are plenty of opportunities in photography and digital design. With the media boom, photographers who are good at their work are bound to do really well. If you have a high level of visual imagination, an eye for detail and composition, artistic sensitivity, creativity and good powers of observation, a career in photography and design can bring you both success and satisfaction. It is possible to become a photographer without formal training, though it can give you knowledge and command over a variety of cameras, lights, props and photographic techniques. Formal training also hones creative skills. There are numerous opportunities for photographers — most newspaper and magazine companies employ photographers, as do advertising agencies and all kinds of publications including journals etc. to cover diverse kinds of events. One of the most exciting aspects of photography is the variety of options available in the field, ranging from highly specialised, technical jobs to work that require creativity and visual literacy, from political news, fashion, and commercial/ industrial work to nature and wildlife, forensic and video filming. The following institutes offer training: *Triveni Kala Sangam, New Delhi *Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, New Delhi *National Institute of Design, Ahmedabad *JJ School of Art, Mumbai *Academy for Photographic Excellence, New Delhi *Harkisan Mehta Foundation Institute of Journalism and Mass Communication, Mumbai Moreover, if you are versatile in drawing, you can enrol in a visual communication and design course to work in web, animation or graphic design. There are many institutes for animation, such as Jamia Millia Islamia, Apeejay Institute of Design, Film and Television Institute of India. Training in animation and multimedia can also be done through short diploma courses with graduation. These courses are offered at institutes including Maya Academy of Advanced Cinematics in Delhi and Mumbai, Gecko, Academy of Digital Arts, New Delhi and Arena Multimedia. Usha Albuquerque