Teaching Photography

Once upon a time

For a long time, I was involved with academic institutions in my hometown and nearby areas, as well as with photography discussion forums. Again and again, I noticed the same curiosity. Most people wanted to understand the basics, and one question returned more than any other: Which lens should I buy within this budget? While I have always appreciated that enthusiasm, I also felt that something deeper deserved equal attention.

We often assume that every new photograph automatically becomes new visual content. But I have never fully believed that. If one searches for something as simple as “sunset,” millions of images appear instantly, each echoing the other in some way. That makes me wonder whether photography should merely repeat what the world has already seen, or strive to imagine something new. To me, photography becomes meaningful when it begins with an idea, with a vision, and then gives that vision a form.

A Photographer is a Creator

Over time, this belief became stronger. Photography, for me, is not just about recording what is in front of us. It is about creating something that did not exist before. It is about seeing inwardly before seeing outwardly. A photographer is not merely a person with a camera, but someone who can turn thought, feeling, and imagination into a visual experience.

Project Wonderland

When I was invited by NIIFT, Mohali, to teach a photography module, I felt a strong desire to encourage students to move beyond technique and into creation. After introducing them to the basics of camera functions, exposure, depth, and colour temperature, I asked them to visualise themes that felt personal and emotionally charged. From this process, the project Wonderland was born.

Wonderland became a curatorial exploration of human emotion. Students of Textile Design were encouraged to imagine emotional states as visual worlds they could place themselves within. Some explored positive feelings, others darker and more complex ones. Themes such as conversation, dreams, energy, and earth emerged as spaces where emotions could live and take shape.

Working together in groups, the students created their own backgrounds, built the visual settings, selected clothing, painted faces, and crafted ornaments by hand. Equal importance was given to the expressions of the individuals chosen to embody each theme. The final images felt imagined and theatrical, yet also intimate and truthful. They revealed not only emotion, but the aspirations, inner worlds, and creative instincts of young minds learning to see themselves differently.

Experience of Teaching Photography

At the beginning, many students expected photography to feel lighter and more playful, and some were disappointed that they did not create as many photographs as they had imagined. But as the course came to an end, something had shifted. They began to understand that photography is not only about taking pictures. It is also about giving form to images that did not exist before.

That realisation was one of the most rewarding parts of the experience. Across a class of around fifty five students, I could see not just technical learning, but a deep unfolding of imagination. It showed me how powerfully students can respond when they are invited to create, not just observe. If I were to teach photography again, I would want to make the course even more open, so that this instinct for invention could grow more freely.