How Photography Changed My Life: Ankit Goyal, Student, Pune.
An introduction about who you are, what you do for a living and how you got into photography.
Hello, to all the photography enthusiasts . I am Ankit Goyal , a beginner photographer and I am currently pursuing 12th Commerce at Ness Wadia College, Pune .
I developed a urge of clicking pictures right , since I was 10 , I used a Sony Cybershot at that time and loved almost every image I had clicked , but I got serious about photography after my trip to Ranthambore in April 2016 , where I saw many people were using those huge lenses and cameras , I also wanted to give it a try , so after that trip , I got my DSLR and after joining Creative Pad Photography’s workshop in June 2016, which I consider to be the best decision of my life so far , that’s when I realized that photography is more than just clicking a shutter .
How was your first experience with your camera?
I purchased my DSLR in May 2016 , my first experience was really painful , starting right from trying to attach the lenses , then figuring out the functions . I remember , the first shot I clicked with my camera turned out to be extremely overexposed , and suddenly I had thoughts like “ Is something wrong with my camera?” and all the curiosity of exploring this new gadget .
I remember on the first day of the workshop , I was quite nervous and intimated by the fact that I may not be able to cope up with the other students because of my age and was quite skeptical about starting a bit too early for my age , but all those thoughts were gone by the time we reached to the end of the first day of the workshop , thanks to my mentor Kush , who explained every single thing about photography in the simplest means possible .
The best part about the workshop is that it Is totally based on practical understanding and application of photography.
What were the things you did to get better at photography?
I watched hundreds of YouTube videos regarding different aspects and explored photography in every mean possible. I read many articles about photography written by Kush , followed many best photography pages in the world . And the most important part , I practiced everything I saw on the internet in order to replicate atleast 50% of it .
Your favourite shot of yours up till now and its details
The settings for this shot are – ISO 250 , f-8, SS 1/60.
This is my favorite shot till now . This was shot in Rishikesh . I like this shot because of its mood and feel , but also it was highly appreciated by all the respective members in the group , which made this even better close to my heart .
What is your favorite type of photography?
I used to shoot everything which forced me to remove the camera out of my arsenal and frame it . That included wildlife, street , landscape, events , etc. But the kind of happiness I get after shooting portraits was incomparable to anything else. If u can make someone smile in front of your camera and build a connection with the person , that’s the best feeling . And that’s the beauty of portrait photography for me .
I mostly shoot fashion portfolios, pre-maternity portfolios and environmental portraits .
What is the equipment that you use?
Currently I own and use the following:
Camera:
I currently own and use the following :
Camera – Canon EOS 700D
Lenses – 18-55 mm wide-angle lens .
55-250 mm telephoto zoom lens .
Canon 50mm prime f1.8 .
Tripod – Joby Gorillapod
Vanguard ALTA Tb-19
Strobe light / Speedlight – Digitek DFL-200Rt
Simpex 100w studio kit .
Retouching Tablet – Wacom PEN&TOUCH .
And I use Sandisk 32gb memory cards and 2 extra batteries , wireless shutter release button.
How photography has changed your life?
Photography has completely changed my life in a year . It has not only helped me to live my life to my own terms but also , now I have a new meaning to my life and I am really fortunate to be able to take photography as a profession after my basic studies .
Photography has taught me to admire the smallest changes in the environment around me . The chirping of the birds , the sunrise & sunset , such small events which happen everyday didn’t matter to me when I wasn’t a photographer , but now I cherish these moments thorough my camera every single day .
The biggest possible change in my life because of photography is the overwhelming amount of love and appreciation I receive every-day from all my photography peers and friends . It feels good when people call you photographer instead of your name . And I am really grateful for the title of “ Little Magician “ given to me by Kush sir , and all of this is possible because of CPP . As I said before , CPP is the best thing that has happened to me in my life and career .
Other shots that you would like to show
What are your future aspirations in terms of photography?
While standing by the shore , I can see an entire ocean left to swim ahead of me in terms of photography . I want to learn as much as I can about this life-changing art . My main aim is to become a Fashion Photographer and also becoming an expert in other forms of photography . I am looking forward to get a degree in photography and take this overwhelming passion to another level . I still need to learn a lot about the business and retouching of images .
Anything else you would like to add
Other things being apart . Thanks to Kush and all the 1000+ family members of CPP , I am really grateful to all of you in every manner . A big applause to Kush , for founding CPP and giving an opportunity to me and many others to join you in your workshops and sharing this art with us .
I am a proud member of this group . I can’t express the degree of change that CPP and Photography has brought in me . Thanks to every single person who read this article .
Happy Clicking .
Cheers .
