The stomping ground – the habitat
Ranthambhore’s habitat is an interesting mix of terrain ranging from hill slopes and valleys to plains and plateaus interspersing with water bodies – all contributing to the thriving tiger numbers. Relics and ruins dating to its royal past dot the landscape at regular intervals.

The camera – shooting opportunities
Ranthambhore is a good place to polish your portrait photography skills. The animals here are rather unfazed by human presence. Poignant close-up portraits of mammals are a real possibility here. The most common subjects shine through with utmost beauty, frame after evocative frame.  

The camaraderie – fun, food and friends
Nothing gets in the way of our photography learning/teaching. Until it’s time for lunch, that is. And dinner. And breakfast. During which time, nothing comes between us and the food. As for the fun part, when we do what we love, fun just happens. Just as polite hellos turn to boisterous fist bumps; quiet handshakes turn to backslapping bear hugs; acquaintances become friends for life…

Before the Workshop

We will ask you for:
– some basic information about your equipment
– your photos/portfolio
– your expectations from the workshop

Based on this, Sudhir will chart out best practices for your set of equipment. He will review the images and judge the areas that need working on.

Communicating your expectations beforehand will ensure that Sudhir addresses them during individual interactions with you.

During the Workshop

– Sudhir will demonstrate the best way to approach and shoot the subjects and give deeper insights on their behavioural aspects.
– He will introduce the advanced custom function settings of your camera. A firm understanding of these settings will be your first step toward shooting like a pro.
– In the park, he will continually guide you based on the field conditions and subjects.
– Knowledge sharing and image review will continue through the evenings as Sudhir interacts with you with focused inputs to reinforce the day’s learning.
– You will have assignments to complete, giving you ample scope to assimilate and apply all that you have learnt.

*For a detailed list of the topics covered, please scroll down.

After the Workshop

Your pursuit of photography knowledge doesn’t end with the workshop. The SSP Community is your gateway to continued learning and interaction, apart from being the ideal platform to showcase your best images. In addition to image review and critique by Sudhir and his team, you also gain the perfect peer group interaction to grow as a photographer. Theme-based assignments, healthy discussions, candid feedback, equipment reviews and resale are the other great perks of being part of this community.

*The below topics will be covered and the participants will learn how to apply these concepts in wildlife photography.

– Manual and autofocus (focusing points, autofocus lock, single or continuous focus)
– Manual exposure (ISO, shutter speeds, f/ stops and the light meter)
– Metering modes (evaluative, matrix, spot metering)
– Depth of field (shallow, deep, hyper focal distance)
– Motion (freezing, blurring and panning)
– Picture styles / picture control (colour, black and white, sepia etc…)
– Aperture priority, shutter speed priority, Manual exposure and other program modes
– In-depth coverage of Spot Metering, Evaluative / Matrix Metering, Partial Metering and Centre-Weighted Average
– Understanding exposure – the 18% concept
– White balance (pre-set and custom)
– Different kind of outdoor lighting and how to study / make use of it.
– Composition (framing)
– Elements of design (seeing v/s looking)
– Lenses and perspective (the right choice of focal length)
– Pre-visualization
– Completing the story

Post Processing:
During the course of the workshop, you will be taken through the fundamentals of image processing, and the following topics will be covered:

– Colour management policies (colour settings, working space, ICC profiles etc.)
– Working with RAW files
– Cropping and image editing
– Levels, curves, contrast, saturation adjustments
– Image sharpening, cloning, dodge and burn
– Noise reduction
– Advance concepts of targeted adjustments using masking and layers technique
– Saving for web/ printing