Bring your cameras, take photography lessons with Jamie Ellington

To all those out there with a keen interest and passion for photography, New York-based photographer Jamie Ellington has a message.

"Find a story that is unique to people's experiences, then shoot a narrative that is both in front of you and reaches people everywhere," he told The Business Standard today (15 November) on his way to Bangladesh to conduct a seven-day long exclusive workshop.

Jointly organised by Map Photo Bangladesh (Map BD) and Interspeed, photographers and enthusiasts from the country will get to take a course and learn, advance their skills and create a better portfolio.

The event titled "New York Portraits", is an intensive and advanced workshop offers lessons on a practical and theoretical approach to fashion photography, which will take place from 17-23 November at the Shala Neighbourhood Art Space within the Aloki complex in the capital. Within the initiative, there's a two-day weekend course as well. 

People can sign up for introductory lessons on fashion, lighting and studio lighting essentials, multi-light settings and high fashion looks, creative lighting techniques and mood, outdoor and location lighting, as well as post-processing and final portfolio review. 

Asked what are some of the ways young photographers from Bangladesh can achieve international recognition, Jamie said he believes that sharing your photos on social media is a great start. But heritage agencies and managers around the world are having to keep up with the times and quickly changing industry by pouring time and resources into the digital world. So, social media connects you to publications and clients everywhere.

"But it is only one piece of the puzzle. Having a good professional attitude, a quick and adaptive knowledge of lighting, equipment and variables, developing an interesting and unique network within your own communities, are all factors that contribute to working professionally," he said.

Addressing enthusiasts of the field, he posed a question. "What draws people to certain stories or subjects?"

"Look into Nan Goldin, Vivian Meir, Campbell Addy, Meisel, follow photo editors, creative directors, photographers, galleries, photo awards and publicists, you never know who is looking at your work," he said.

Jamie is an artist working in fine art/fashion photography, music production and writing. He did his BA(Hons) in Art and Photo theory at Kingston University in London. His recent clients and collaborators include Cartier, Show Studio, Calvin Klein, among others.

Regarding what he might take away from this experience of conducting a workshop in Dhaka, Jamie said, "I wasn't taught how to be a photographer at photography school. So, I think that's the education and advice that all photographers deserve.

"I learned it by working up from assisting in New York, talking to the best and the people that designed lighting for the best. Every year, I learned something that would have made the previous year easier and I want to share that with everyone," he said.

As with all photoshoots, going in with an idea, experience and a cup of coffee can always surprise you, he said, adding, "Shake someone's tree and fruit falls."

So, as we count the days until the workshop begins and takes us into its own journey, we decided to go back a bit and get an insight on how this project was birthed.

The Business Standard also had a conversation on Thursday (14 November) with some of the minds whose brainchild this event has been.

We spoke to Asadur Rahman Ashiq, a photojournalist working with Map Photo Bangladesh, and Interspeed; Nazia Nazmul, PR head of Map BD; Adnan Karim, managing director of Interspeed; and Mahmud Rahman, co-founder of Map BD.

What is this event about and how did Map BD and Interspeed come together?

Ashiq: we're bringing Jamie through Map. He's coming here to conduct a lights, portraits and fashion photography workshop. We're calling it an advanced, intense workshop for anyone who is a photography enthusiast, who has the basic skills and wants a more advanced skill. We wanted to introduce this idea in our workshop to show how a photographer does his work internationally. So, when I approached this with Interspeed, I had in mind that Bangladesh already has numerous wedding photographers, and those working in the fashion and corporate industries as well. So, I was playing with the idea, what if we introduce how photographers work on an international standard. A lot of people or friends of mine  were interested to explore that. So, that's how it all started.

Adnan: I also believed there was a gap here that can be improved. As an advertising agency, we do a lot of photoshoots with products and models. And we know that lighting is a big part of photography among other aspects, such as how to deal with clients, and conceptualise events and such. Some of our photographers may or may not be adept with that kind of professionalism. So, this was the perfect opportunity to uplift our photographers to get that kind of exposure from those who are working abroad with big companies, and see how they do it firsthand from someone. From there, as an event management or advertising company, we felt it's our responsibility to bring this to Bangladesh.

What is the allure behind bringing in town a photographer from abroad? What does he bring to the table?

Ashiq: I've met Jamie during my travels and I knew he lives in New York. So, a random thought came to mind, like hey would you be interested to come to Bangladesh. When he agreed, mine and Adnan's idea sort of came to life. Usually what happens is when I ask a photographer to come and teach, they hesitate or turn it down. But Jamie didn't back out from it and readily said since he has a degree in photography, he would love to teach. So, that's when we started planning to add something new to the lessons apart from the monotonous lighting aspects of it.

Nazia: Jamie has been working professionally for a number of international brands, and he is also into street photography. Another reason for bringing Jamie is that a lot of people are interested in going abroad to pursue photography. However, due to affordability concerns, they may not be able to do that. Their passion seldom stays in practice. If we can prepare that exposure here, this can be a great factor of motivation. It's for all those people who would even love to go abroad and do a course as such for a month or so. So, we designed our course with Jamie with all of that in mind.

What are the main objectives you hope to achieve through this event?

Ashiq: A lot of my friends have their own cameras, but are in different professions like business or service, and they want to be a photographer. Through this seven-day course, they have the scope to gain knowledge and eventually get into their own practice. That was my objective, to provide them that accessibility and help them advance their skill set a bit more.

Adnan: Through this, I would want our industry photographers to become better and enhance their knowledge further. We have many talented and versatile photographers here who cover weddings, concerts and events, and this would greatly help them out as long as they have an open-mindedness to learning.

Nazia: We often see that a photographer requires a portfolio when looking for a job or when someone wants to hire them. For a new person, it's tough to manage a known face whom they can do a shoot with. So, we are also creating a platform here where the participants of our workshop can shoot with models alongside Jamie, which is promoting the models and their portfolios as well. So, it's like a win-win situation. For the new photographers working alongside the mentors of Map, who have had a life-long career in the field, is a golden opportunity to learn as well.

Mahmud: Echoing their idea, I'd like to mention that many years ago, I prepared the portfolio of a woman who had earned the prestigious "Miss Bangladesh" title. What I did and what this workshop is doing are totally different. This is professional. We were emotional. So, this is something that will sustain.

Even after this event, how can we move this initiative forward and continue this conversation for more photographers out there?

Ashiq: In other countries, for example, there are photography cafes, clubs or gatherings that are organised. But here, I feel there isn't much of a scope for that. There are people who go out, take photos, but there lacks a space for hanging out and sharing ideas. Also, if someone is a part of a certain group they're not welcome in other spaces. But since working with Map, I've learned from Mahmud bhai that Map invites all. That bridge needs to be gapped. We can then discuss other pressing issues, as to why there is a lack of opportunities in fine arts, or scopes of knowledge and such, and why can't Bangladeshis create a greater value with production and creation here at home. I've been in photography for 12 years, and never really found a close-by workshop to attend. But say in Bangkok or England, every weekend there's a workshop. People even do crash courses over the weekend to brush up their skills, which is kind of supporting your creative mind. Keeping all that in mind, we want to continue this initiative by bringing different avenues of photography into the mix. We can do exchange-programmes with other countries with foreign photographers coming to Bangladesh or our photographers going abroad. As of now, we're looking forward to exploring what happens here with this event.

Nazia: We are actually trying to build a community here. We're trying to bring everyone in one place as there are crores of photographers in Dhaka already.

How can people turn their passion into a profession and avail more prospects in the field of photography?

Ashiq: We have many photographers in the country. If they work through an agency, there is a certain honorarium. But I still think that's less than what's happening internationally. There are complex issues with intellectual property rights for photographers in our country, or concerns regarding their working hours. Like, if a company hires someone, how much of their rights are being taken away or protected? There is a lot to discuss over such matters. Hopefully, that can be addressed. With Jamie coming in, I want to address these gaps, like how do international platforms work or what kind of protection do they offer their photographers. A lot of our photographers may not know about their rights — they take images and they give it over to their company. So, helping them get acquainted with those rights is also important.

Adnan: Personally, photography has always been a hobby and I explored it professionally through my work. I saw my father work with photography, and basically grew up with cameras. Through such an experience, I can say that for those who want to pursue this, there's plenty of scope in the country. The pay- scale used to be low but now, clients approach with more and remuneration, for example for photoshoots. Professionally, there is a huge market now with models, products and companies. In foreign countries, you do get paid more but at home, it's still quite a decent earning.

Nazia: In the city, as there are no clubs for bringing photographers together, we're thinking of this as one such imaginary club where we can help people with networking and getting connected with one another. In another case, let's say for product photography, people may not pay much as opposed to what the talent deserves. But, we have to value the person's skill and the work they do which is a hefty and time-consuming and involves many things like editing, lighting, angles and such. So, this is also something we're trying to bring to light and with time, we hope to see better opportunities to avail for these photographers.

Mahmud: My question is why do we have to be professional, can we not do something for soul? That should be there. As a community of photographers, we usually hang out and meet a lot of people from other avenues of interests and professions. So, they can do those works and also be a photographer. It doesn't have to be just this one thing. However, in the professional field, I've often hit the streets with other press photographers to document their life. On 4 August, the day before the ouster of the Awami League government, at around 8am, I went to a location where there were six other press photojournalists present. I told them I wanted to follow them throughout the day. Considering the  struggle behind what they do day and night, risking their lives for their passion, I asked them their pay scale, and I was shocked [at how low it was]. That needs to change. So, what we're doing now, just bringing people together and having discussions and conversations, that would bring about a difference.

A message for all

Ashiq: With this workshop what we're going to do is go on photo-tours and even take photo- walks. So bring your cameras, let's get out there, take some pictures, and share that with each other.

Nazia: My message for all the photographers out there is this craft is an art. Trust your gut, listen to what others have to say and look at the results of your action. Once you know the truth, you know what action you can take to improve. We become what we practice. The more you pursue this passion, the better you'll get better at it. So, keep collecting stories.