Update – dPs published this article on September 11, 2012.
Over the last two years, I had the privilege of interacting with many talented photographers from around the world discussing their work, vision and style of photography.
My first ‘victim’ was Jyothy Karat – a photo documenter. I wanted a set of compelling and illuminating questions that could help a newbie start. But I had no clue as to what I should be asking. No amount of googling did help either.
But little did I realize at that time that I had the opportune blessing of being both ignorant and curious about photography. I sat down thinking about the questions that I wanted to be answered and clarified. After an hour or so, I did come up with some interesting questions.
Given below are a handful of questions that I use as a starter on every photographer that I interview.
Q. What kind of gear do you use?
a. Camera body –
b. Lens –
c. Tripod –
d. Filters –
e. Flash –
f. Camera bag –
g. Mention others, if any.
Q. Which is your favorite lens? Why?
Q. When you go in one of your travels, what all you take with you? Why?
Q. Among the gadgets that you own, is there something that you wish you hadn’t bought? Why?
Q. In the field, what are your settings?
a. Aperture –
b. Shutter Speed –
c. ISO –
d. White Balance –
e. Focus – Manual/Auto
f. Image Format – RAW/JPEG
Q. What kind of tools do you use for post processing? Explain your work flow.
Q. How do you educate yourself to take better pictures?
Q. Among your works, which one is your favorite? Why?
Q. Whose work has influenced you most?
Q. What is the one thing you wish you knew when you started taking photos?
These questions have revealed interesting aspects and insights in to each one of the interviewees. Hope these help you to get started.
Note – Complete list of Interviews is available here.
