How to shoot like a professional photographer

Avinash Anand is a production engineer/MBA by qualification, salesman/businessman by profession and photographer/traveller by passion.

He takes every opportunity to take out his camera and learn something new. He has had no formal training in photography and strongly believes that it is better to learn from experience and from suggestions than go through a formal process.

Excerpts from the interview with Lifeblob.com:

Photography Tips: When did you shoot your first photo and what inspired you to take up photography?

Avinash Anand: Probably I took my first photo on a miniature MINOX film camera. Of the 36 exposures on the roll, only 5 turned out half decent. Not quite the start I'd hoped for but remains a distinct memory.

The inspiration to take up photography as a hobby came from two pictures.

The first was a picture of the Mysore Palace lit up at night for Dusshera taken in black and white by my father. The second was a picture of the Eiffel Tower taken in double exposure (film shot, not digital).

The man took a picture at dusk when the sky was orange and then double exposed the frame at night with the tower lit up. The result was a purple looking sky and a brightly lit Eiffel tower. It was magical!

PT: What is your current gear? Any favourite lens?

AA: Canon EOS 500D with a 18-200 lens and Canon EOS 350D with a 50mm (f1.8) lens. The 50mm is my favourite although the 18-200 is the ideal travel lens.

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PT: Which mode do you mainly shoot in?

AA: Majority of my shots in Aperture Priority (A). However, I also use Shutter Priority (T) for photographing animals/birds/sports/kids etc.

PT: Capturing a great shot requires persistence, perseverance and patience, which beginners don't really understand when they start off. On that note, can you choose a photograph taken by you and take us through how you shot it?

AA: It's a photo of a friend taken at her wedding. I hate using the flash so the only light available was from the videographer.

She was standing in the middle of a big crowd when I managed to get her face into the frame and the light went on just at that very moment. While one may argue about how something moved into the bottom right corner of the frame thereby ruining it, I feel the moment of happiness is captured and nothing is more important to a picture than that fleeting moment.

All emotions come through this one photograph and that is why I'd rate it as one of the best I've taken yet.

PT: Your advice to youngsters starting out in photography...

AA: No matter what camera you use -- Point and Shoot or SLR -- the first thing you need to learn and master is how to frame a picture. Everything else can be added to your skill set later. But without knowing how to frame your subject, even the best camera won't help you get a good picture.