By : Nikon School Blog | 14 Nov, 2014 |
For the photographers in India, the numerous temples offer wonderful opportunities to create amazing frames. The temples provide photographers with almost all they crave for – people, colours, and moments. If you're a photographer and have never been inside any Indian temple, you're surely missing out on ample photographic moments.
Photographing temples requires all the abilities of a photographer – technical know-how, instincts, quick thinking and innovations. Here's what to expect when you're out looking for great images inside Indian temples, and a few tips how to capture them the best way.
Look for Colours
Colours draw your attention the moment you step into any temple complex. Bright reds or nearby shades are usually the dominant ones, but move around and you will find generous splashes of every other colour in the spectrum. Colours make framing so much easier; you just have to include contrasting colours to create attractive frames.
People
The bustling life inside the functioning temples must be in your hunt list while shooting in temples. The red or saffron robed priests, the ash-smeared sadhus, and throngs of people in bright attire can fill up your frame to create amazing visuals. You can use telephoto lenses to single out interesting portraits amongst a crowd of devotees.
The elements
Typical elements worth including in the frame include - smoke from burning fires or incense sticks, offerings of eatables and flowers, religious items like statues or colourful garlands for sale in countless shops, usually present around any major temple complex.
Temples also showcase the mastery of craftsmen of the past. Try to get closer looks on the sculptures, murals and architecture of the temples.
Moments
Inside temples , you need to wait for the right moment to fill your frame. It's much better if you visit during a particular festival or special days. The activity level goes up along with the numbers of priests and devotees at work, increasing your chances of getting the desired images.
Challenges
Often the biggest challenge is the light. Constant changes in exposure are needed to deal with the quick changes between bright exteriors and dark shades. Keeping ISO around 400 can deal with movements in low lit areas. Higher values may be required for very dark interiors.
All the prominent temples nowadays are under surveillance. Don't try to snoop your way in when a notice prohibiting photography is glaring at you. If you are not allowed to shoot something, just forget it and concentrate elsewhere.
Techniques
Simple rule – Aperture priority mode for bright areas and still subjects, like temple exteriors, sculptures, flowers, etc. Quickly shift to Shutter priority for any human element included in your frame.
Use the auto ISO feature in your camera and limit it to 1600.This way, the camera will be able to adjust ISO if suddenly light goes down.
Lenses
Zooms are the best, for shifting quickly between wide angles and telephotos. Something like an 18-140 or 18-200 will be very useful, but if you are anticipating challenging light, carry something like a 35mm f/1.8 or a 50mm f/1.8.
If portraiture is in your mind, keep a telephoto zoom like the 55-300 or the 70-300 in your bag.
Travel light as fast movement is crucial. Carrying tripods may be prohibited or impractical, so practice hand held shooting with shutter speeds of 1/15 or 1/30.
