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1000 words & much more
If you love taking pictures, have a personal vision & can see the invisible, consider photography as a profession, writes
USHA ALBUQUERQUE. Specialisations are many & sky is the limit It is rightly said that a picture can sometimes say more than a thousand words. Who can ever forget the photograph of Abdul Kasab, rucksack on his back, wielding an AK-47? One single picture brings back the horror of 26/11 and speaks of the terror, pain, suffering and violent deaths of thousands. Or on a happier note, the smiling face of Barack Obama with his family when the Presidential elections news was announced, bringing with it stories of struggle and hope for the future. Good photographs have that effect on us. Photography is a unique and creative medium of self-expression. It is a means of expressing the nuances of history – people, places and events — through the eyes of the camera, freezing the actual image for posterity. Fashion
photography
Photography is an art as well as a scientific technique of producing permanent images on sensitised surfaces, using the photochemical action of light or other forms of radiant energy. Photography is a subject of both art and science. Whereas art basically embodies your imagination to create a beautiful picture, science is the understanding of the phenomenon that takes place inside a camera. A photographer must be able to create a good composition of any subject — a piece of machinery, scenery or a child’s smile. Today, with the explosion of the communication network, photography — though still not formally accepted — has become a profession with great commercial value. Moreover, as modern technology provides new tools for taking photographs and moving pictures, the work of the photographer is becoming increasingly diverse. While many photographers specialise in a particular field, they seldom work exclusively in that specialisation. Of those employed in the industry, around three-quarters work in the photographic processing sector. The work and qualities required for photographs and photographic technicians are different.
Depth of field
THERE are several fields in which photographers may specialise.
Press photographers must know what makes a good news picture, be able to write accurate captions, work well with reporters, be quick and often work under difficult conditions.
Other areas of work for a photographer could also include scientific photography using specialist techniques like photo-microscopy, X-rays, lasers and ultra-violet light sources for products and processes for later analysis by scientists and engineers, medical photography for research, training and information purposes and forensic photography to record scenes of crime, fingerprints, bodies of accident and assault victims.
Training the eye
IT is possible to become a photographer with no formal education at all beyond school. However, formal training earns knowledge and command over a variety of cameras, lights, props, and photographic techniques and hones creative skills. There are no subject requirements for a course in photography but Photography is a craft and thus, the more a person practises, the better he gets. It is essentially a training of the eye, and no amount of training enables a photographer to `see things’ without an intrinsic inner ability. Equipment, training, are all secondary — some of the masters have worked with very simple equipment, though of course sophisticated equipment can make all the difference. But the basic prerequisite is an intelligent, curious and perceptive mind. So, if photography is your hobby and you wish to make it a career, look for an apprenticeship with a senior photographer or take up a course in
photography.
Course scan
THERE are a number of institutions offering courses in photography. These include a number of private and government-recognised institutions providing diploma courses/training in photography. The duration varies from six months to three years. Photography is also offered as an optional subject for a bachelor’s degree in fine arts. Photography is also taught as a subject in the applied art/ commercial art four-year degree programmes at the government art colleges in several parts of the country. Only two universities offer a regular (full-time) bachelor’s level course in photography. These are Jawaharlal Nehru Technological University, Hyderabad, and University of Mysore, Crawford Hall, Mysore. Photography is also taught as a subject at the National Institute of Design, Ahemdabad. The Film and Television Institute, Pune, offers a three-year diploma in motion picture photography while the Mass Communication Research Centre (MCRC), Jamia Millia Islamia, Delhi, offers a two-year postgraduate diploma in motion picture photography to graduates of any discipline. The National Institute of Fashion Technology (NIFT) and Pearl Academy of Fashion, New Delhi, also offer courses in fashion photography. Both courses are open to students after 10+2 with any subjects, and admission is on the basis of an entrance test. The NIFT course is a four-year UG programme in Fashion Communication, which includes fashion photography and visual communication. It is offered at NIFT centres in New Delhi and Mumbai. The diploma in Applied and Professional Photography offered by Pearl Academy is an undergraduate programme that covers all aspects of photography, including fashion photography. Other prominent institutions include:
Picture this
OPPORTUNITIES in the field are plenty. With the media boom, good photographers are bound to do really well. Though most newspaper and magazine companies employ full-time photographers, freelancing is very popular. Tremendous opportunities are presented by advertising agencies as well. Then there are photo agencies that
maintain database of photographs, and provide all kinds of pictures for every purpose. Many government departments, autonomous bodies, major industries, who bring out their own publications, also require good and able photographers. Moreover, photographs have acquired a very important position in the world of literature. All kinds of publications including newspapers, magazines and journals need photographers to cover diverse kinds of events.
Closing thoughts
THE range of work of a photographer and the exposure to different people, places and situations makes the life of a photographer interesting and challenging. Depending upon a photographer’s standing and calibre, remuneration differs. Freelance photographers could get between Rs 5,000 and 50,000 for a day’s work! Reputed professionals could get even more. A photographer’s prospects depend entirely upon his calibre. For a good photographer, the sky is the limit as far as career prospects go. The only drawback in this profession is the high cost of equipment and relative paucity of this equipment in India. So, if you love taking pictures, possess sound visual imagination, an eye for detail and composition, artistic sensitivity, creativity, good powers of observation, and an ability to make the picture speak for itself, you can picture yourself in a highly creative career. (The writer is a career expert)
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UNEMPLOYMENT
WHATEVER the truth about what British Prime Minister Gordon Brown meant by his now infamous sound bite “British jobs for British workers”, the global truth is the downturn. In Britain, the Chartered Institute of Purchasing and Supply points to job losses in the hard-pressed manufacturing sector alone of 30,000 a month for the foreseeable future. That will help to push the jobless total over the 3 million mark for the first time since the 1980s. In America, last week saw “Bloody Monday” — 72,000 jobs cut by seven different companies in 24 hours. That brings American jobs lost to the recession to 2.6 million since December 2007. But, this is a global problem looking for global solutions. The population of the world is still growing regardless, but the downturn means that, more than ever, employment is not keeping pace, and the rapid descent into protectionist activity seems set to make matters even worse. The 1930s showed what unpalatable political movements can spring from even the most civilised nations in the face of unemployment levels in excess of 20 per cent and the apparent uselessness of democracy. It is an unhappy precedent Next year, the IMF says, world economic growth will be at its slowest since the Second World War, and global trade will decline for the first time since 1982. The International Labour Organisation (ILO) predicts that another 50 million or so will join the jobless queues around the world, out of a world workforce of around 3billion. Despite pledges to resist “the retreat to protectionism”, the pressure on governments to “protect” domestic industries and jobs has become irresistible: legislators on Capitol Hill plead that they can do no other than inject “Buy American” clauses into the fiscal packages and other bailouts now being assembled, such is the public anger about what has happened to the economy. Having just elected the most protectionist Congress in 60 years, American voters expect their legislators and their President n to deliver on promises about “American jobs”, and are deaf to the arguments for free trade. America’s new roads and bridges will be built with US steel. Or take Surat in Gujarat where millions of jobs have been lost in the once-thriving diamond trade. The Indian Government says that it has found most of the diamond enterprises have closed recently; of 1,000 units covered in a labour department survey, only 360 were still working, with many remaining staff on reduced hours and low wages. Millions more jobs have been lost in the textile industry in Tamil Nadu. Even adjusting for the size of India’s vast population, this will be the biggest jump in joblessness since independence six decades ago. Soon, in the upcoming elections, populist politicians will blame it all on globalisation. The scale of the economic, social and political problems the global rise in unemployment represents are frightening. Indeed, this recession could easily result in the biggest loss of paid employment seen in human history, given that major powers such as Russia, Germany and Japan had virtually opted out of the world economy during the last serious downturn, in the 1930s. The growth in the world’s population and the opening up of populous nations such as China and India mean that the scale of job creation needs to be that much bigger for these countries and the world as whole for their jobless numbers just to stay still. China needs growth of around 10 per cent a year to keep unemployment stable: around 27 million jobs, equivalent to the UK working population. India is not alone. In countries such as Mexico, Morocco and Bangladesh waves of young people, including their graduates, are launching themselves into a shrinking jobs market. A century ago the populations of Mexico, Morocco and the Philippines were 14 million, 4 million and 7 million, respectively. Now, the Mexican and Moroccan populations have increased to 100 million and 29 million, respectively, and the Philippine population is up tenfold, to 76 million. Hence, the pressure — even in good times — on their economies and the flow of people, legal and illicit, to North America, Western Europe and the Middle East in search of work and funds to send home. In the last century, in Europe, families in Ireland and Italy became familiar with their diaspora sending cash back to the old country. Nowadays such flows are even more substantial; about $300bn internationally, comprising, for example, 10 per cent of the Philippines’ GDP.
– The Independent
Out with immigrants
COUNTRIES that once welcomed immigrants to do the jobs the native workforce rejected are thinking again. Spain, for example, has seen unemployment double to 14 per cent in a year — not far off Morocco’s official rate. With the construction boom over, almost one million more Spanish workers are jobless than this time last year. So, now the Spanish want their old jobs in the olive groves back, and they are paying the Peruvians imported to toil there to go home. If labour market xenophobia forces more such workers repatriated, there will be grievous effects on emerging economies; the remittances will dry up and competition for jobs in their countries of origin will intensify still further. Social unrest and political extremism are the inevitable consequence in nations with fragile democratic traditions and few social security benefits. The ILO says that some 200 million workers could be pushed into extreme poverty. Pressure on land, water, food and housing, and levels of poverty, will soar; the temptation to argue with neighbouring nations over natural resources will grow. The world may soon witness its first “water war”. The price of mass unemployment — human, economic, social, environmental — has always been high. This time it will be higher than ever.
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Career Hotline
B.A. or B.Sc
— Jivika Lamba A. Practically speaking, there is very little difference between the B.A. and the B.Sc degrees in psychology. The difference only comes in the electives. Science students select some of their electives from the sciences (biology, chemistry, and physics), while arts students will select electives primarily from the arts and humanities. It also depends on what your career goals are. If your interests lie in areas such as counselling psychology, social work, industrial and organisational psychology, social psychology, and developmental psychology then you may benefit most from a B.A. in psychology. However, if your interests lie in fields like biopsychology, psychopharmacology, neuroscience, psychiatry, neuropsychology, sports psychology, physiotherapy, pharmacy, genetic counselling, public health, medicine, dentistry, and veterinary medicine you may benefit most from a B.Sc in psychology. In theory, the B.A. degree should lean more towards the social side and the B.Sc towards science — i.e. contain more biological psychology. However, in reality, there is no difference. A B.A. still has a lot of statistics in it. Although there is a great deal of overlap between the two degrees in terms of the syllabus, B.Sc courses may tend to have a somewhat heavier emphasis on the biological and biochemical basis of behavior and mental function whereas the B.A. degree focuses more on the social aspects of human behavior and psychological function. Among the better ones, you could check out the following universities: Annamalai University, Mother Teresa Women’s University, Chennai, Panjab University, Chandigarh, University of Mumbai, Maharashtra, University of Madras (offers a BSc) More importantly, if you are opting for distance learning mode, please also make sure it is additionally recognised by the Distance Education Council. (www.dec.ac.in). Giving flight to dreams
— Sameer Singh A. Sure there is! The good news for students like you is that you can still make it to the Air Force through the NDA by taking math separately from the National Institute of Open Schooling (NIOS), which comes under the Ministry of Human Resource Development. Earlier, you could enrol for these courses only once a year, but now NIOS offers online admissions for math and physics throughout the year.
You can take the exams on-demand — immediately after you have completed the admission process. For more details, log on to www.nios.ac.in
Aim for AFMC Q. I got 68 per cent marks in class XII (PCB) and am pursuing my B.Sc (PCB, third year) degree. My cherished dream is to become a doctor in the Indian Navy but I don’t know about the exams I have to take. Please advise. — Kiran Kharbanda A. The Armed Forces Medical College (AFMC), Pune, is a reputed medical college, ranked next to AIIMS and Maulana Azad Medical College in the pecking order. AFMC conducts an all-India entrance exam for admission to its MBBS course in May. Eligibility: Single (you can’t marry during the course), medically-fit candidates who have passed class XII with English and PCB (1st attempt, 60 per cent aggregate and at least 50 per cent in each subject) and math in Class 10. Age: 17-22 years Details: www.afmc.nic.in B.Sc graduates with any two of these subjects — physics, chemistry, biology (botany/zoology) are also eligible. In fact, the age limit for taking the exam is 24 years for B.Sc graduates. The exam is the same for B.Sc graduates as well as for those who have done 10+2 (PCB). The two-hour paper consists of objective type questions divided into four parts (50 marks each) in biology, chemistry, physics and intelligence, reasoning, English language and comprehension. On the basis of their performance in the written exam, selected cand-idates are called for an interview in June at AFMC, Pune. Based on the test and interview scores, two merit lists are drawn up (one for boys and one for girls), and admission is offered in order of merit. The Armed Forces Medical Service also recruits doctors in the army corps both in direct permanent commission as well as in the short service commission, which means that candidates who have done their MBBS/BDS (and preferably higher studies) from other colleges are also eligible to apply. Surveyor of the seas
— Kulbir Chand A. The Indian Register of Shipping, Mumbai, advertises every three months. Around 50-60 persons, all first class graduates in naval architecture and different branches of engineering, are recruited every year. They are provided with training, which could extend up to four years. Only after completion of five years are they authorised to undertake surveys under the supervision of senior surveyors. The Indian Register of Shipping (IRS) is an internationally recognised independent ship classification society. It provides competent and independent third party technical inspection and certification services for all types of marine craft and structures. These services have also been expanded to cover a range of offshore and industrial projects. They have a website as well. You may like to visit www.irclass.org Choose with care Q. Are the following institutions recognised? They call themselves private universities.
— Darpan Misra A. Indian universities can be classified under various categories like central universities, state universities, deemed universities, private universities, agricultural universities, national institutes of importance and open universities. A private university means a university established through a state/central act by a sponsoring body, viz. a society registered under the Societies Registration Act, 1860, or any other corresponding law for the time being in force in a state, or a public trust or a company registered under Section 25 of the Companies Act, 1956. Regulations specify that each private university must be established by a separate state act and conform to the relevant provisions of the UGC Act, 1956, as amended from time to time. For clarifications regarding recognition status, I suggest you contact the SIS Division of the Association of Indian Universities (AIU) over the phone: 011-23230059 or 23232435. Their website is www.aiuweb.org. You can also e-mail your query to them on studentinfo@aiuweb.org Log on to the UGC website (www.ugc.ac.in). Their telephone numbers are: 23232701, 23236735, 23239437, 23235733, 23237721, 23232317, 23234116, 23236351, 23230813, 23232485. Dial extension 414 for information on UGC recognised colleges. Dial extension 339 for information about UGC recognised central, state and deemed universities. All B.Ed courses need to be recognised by the National Council of Teacher Education (www.ncte-in.org). For queries regarding law colleges, do also check with the Bar Council of India (barcouncilofindia.nic.in) This column appears weekly. Please send in your queries, preferably on a postcard, along with your full name, complete address and academic qualifications to: Editor, Jobs and Careers, The Tribune, Sector 29, Chandigarh-160030, or at careers@tribunemail.com
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Your child flunked his test today...
Receive your kid’s attendance alerts & progress reports via SMS & e-mail for Rs 150 a year!
OPTRA, Online Performance Tracking Services, launched by INZ Axis, is a one-stop solution that provides access and information on students such as marks scored, attendance percentage, periodic announcements made by the educational institutions and other notifications to parents from the institute. “In India, parents worry endlessly about the well-being of their children and are keen to know what is happening at the institution he or she is studying and the performance. However, the conventional communication channel between the institute and parents, including letters, parents-teachers meeting are faced with hurdles like delays and inability of parents to attend all the meetings”, according to Sharan Madawal, director, business development, of the company. The solution helps in tracking the student’s performance and uses latest communication interfaces such as SMS, e-mail, websites and phones to keep parents regularly updated on their child’s academic performance and his attendance. The solution enables parents to receive attendance alerts, progress reports, involve parents early in student-learning cycle, provides graphical format for easy interpretation. It also helps management track overall performance of the institute, including performance of individual teaching staff and students, he said. OPTRA also enables parents to receive flash notifications issued by the educational institute and announcements that need immediate attention, said Sharan. The company has targetted the low and mid-ranged educational segment, including government schools and colleges, NGOs, creches and day care centers, for the solution that is completely implemented, maintained, regularly updated and provided support by the company, said Sharan. Schools would have zero investment in the solution. The solution could be availed on per student usage charge varying from Rs 150 to Rs 225 per year. The company has already forwarded the proposal to the state government for consideration of implementation in the government run schools, he said. Currently the solution is being implemented in two institutions in Tamil Nadu and it was under process in various other institutes, he said. INZ Axis, a five-year-old firm which has been developing educational content, plans to launch multi-lingual SMS service in future. It plans to establish OPTRA services to urbal and rural government schools, ensure website integration module access results through SMS pull technology, ensure phone enquiry system and come up with low cost school, college automation tool.
— PTI
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Changing with the times
“With growing demands for beauty products, almost 50 ITIs have introduced courses related to manufacturing of beauty related and wellness products,” said Confederation of Indian Industry’s chief consultant for skills development, Neeta Pradhan Das. “Students are guided on various aspects of beauty care, formulations of beauty products, proper procedures for mixing various ingredients among others,” added Das. Without disclosing the names of any industrial groups, groups, Das said that CII had worked on institute development plans of several cosmetic majors in this regard. So far 150 industries have adopted ITIs with CII consultation. Education software major and IT firm EduComp has also adopted around 15 ITIs under the current government scheme and is planning to introduce courses relevant to software development, client sourcing and authoring courses. Hospitality major Taj Hotels had also approached the Ministry of Labour and Employment expressing willingness to adopt ITIs in North-Eastern states for imparting training in aspects of hospitality industry like housekeeping, guest relations and others. According to labour ministry officials, the government has given academic and financial autonomy to ensure the smooth functioning of the adopted ITIs. Industries are free to decide on the courses they want to introduce but they have to mention them in the `Institute Development Plan’ submitted to respective state government and Central Government authorities, director general of employment and training Sharda Prasad said. Based on the plan, the government releases an amount of Rs 2.5 crore to the institute’s society as an interest free loan for the next 10 years. The government has so far released more than Rs 1,250 crores as loan to more than 500 ITIs for their upgradation. The loan amount is managed by the adopting industry to set up courses as per their convenience.
— PTI
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Accounting for all
THE Institute of Cost and Works Accountants of India (ICWAI) has launched a one-year certificate course for accounting technicians to address high demand of trained hands at junior level in the country. The course would help the rural populace in getting jobs in small business sectors. Addressing a press conference, ICWAI president Kunal Banerjee said this course would focus on imparting necessary skills to the students to apply in practical situations in different functional areas of accounting and to provide on-job experience of practical aspects of accounting. This course was mainly helpful to the students, who had come out from the plus-two class in tier II and III cities and especially in rural areas, he added. He said there would be a three-million job demand within three years in small and medium business areas, where there was a necessity for day-to-day accounts work. Banerjee said ICWAI had also signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU) where exclusive B.Com and M.Com courses were introduced with ‘costing’ as specialisation. ICWAI students would have to appear only for four papers in each (total of eight papers) to get a graduate, a post-graduate degree in addition to ICWAI qualification. These specialised B.Com and M.Com courses would be offered by IGNOU in Hindi and English, he added. These courses had been started as per the request from the Union Ministry of Corporate Affairs, he said, adding they had planned to tie up with rural colleges to start the one-year certification course.
Post-Satyam: CAs & risk management IN a move aimed at enhancing the role of chartered accountants (CAs) in the areas of risk management, anti-fraud controls and corporate due diligence, the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI) has codified best practices in these areas by launching an extensive state-of-the-art training curriculum on ‘risk management’. Speaking at the launch of the certificate course on Enterprise Risk Management, ICAI president Ved Jain said introduction of the much-awaited training on forensic audit, internal audit, due diligence, concurrent audit and development of training manuals would provide continuous specialised guidance to members in this niche area. He said the ICAI through the Internal Audit Standards Board (IASB) had paved way for equipping its members with a host of technical guidance, embodying global benchmark practices. “It will go down in the history of the chartered accountancy profession and ICAI as a very eventful year,” he added in an oblique reference to the Rs 8,000-crore accounting fraud unveiled in Hyderabad-based Satyam Computers Ltd. The steps, the president said, are at the same time aimed at providing assurance to corporate management about their systems, processes, controls and compliance issues. The institute has committed to continue with this tempo of codifying best practices for CAs. India is the only country in the world till date to have developed its own set of high-quality Standards on Internal Audit. The institute through its Internal Audit Standards Board (IASB), has devoted resources on development of internal audit standards. In addition to providing performance benchmarks to members, the standards will bring in greater consistency and standardisation in assurance and ERM practices in India.
— UNI
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Press or news photography: This essentially involves telling a story in pictures and, therefore, a journalistic sense is needed. Feature photographers may work with reporters as a team — they may be freelancers or work for newspapers or magazines. Many photographers specialise in photography of wildlife, sports, travel and the environment.
Q.
I will be taking the board exams next month. I want to do psychology honours in graduation through open or distance learning mode. Some institutes offer this course in two ways — B.A (hons) psychology and B.Sc (hons) psychology. What is the difference between these two? Please list a few known institutes.
Q.
I want to be a fighter pilot in the Indian Air Force but due to lack of awareness, I opted for the wrong subjects (PCB) in class 11. Recently, I came to know that to become a fighter pilot I should have selected PCM. Now, I am in class XII. Is there any way I can still fulfill my dream?
Q.
I am a mechanical engineer. How does one get the job of a surveyor with the Indian Register of Shipping?
If yes, what does this recognition mean? Are their degrees equivalent to other universities like the University of Rajasthan and University of Delhi? Can my sister and I register for their LLM or B.Ed programme, as we are moving to Jaipur?
A NEW innovative tool that keeps parents regularly updated on their ward’s academic performance and his or her attendance reports has been launched by INZ Axis, a company dealing with education solutions.
WITH a rise in demand for professionals in the beauty, hospitality and software sectors, the Industrial Training Institutes are reorienting their courses to churn out skilled manpower in these fields. In keeping with a government initiative to upgrade 1,396 existing ITIs through public-private partnership, more than 500 ITIs have been adopted by various industries. The new courses for skill development are introduced at the ITIs by industries adopting them. Trade associations have been already been engaged by the government to identify industries interested in adopting these ITIs.