1. To: Lead Tutor of Foundation studies, Bahrain Polytechnic: Jim Baker
From: Business student, Bahrain Polytechnic: Mohamed Husain Ghuloom
Subject: Photography sector in Bahrain
st
Date: 21 April 2009
Purpose
The purpose of this report is to explain the photography sector in Bahrain and to determine
whether this sector is passing the line of just being a hobby or it can actually be considered as a
career. This includes describing the sector, and the affect of a change that has occurred in this
industry and explaining what this means for employees. Also to identify skill gaps, and
employability skills, as well as explaining two influences that may impact on this sector in
Bahrain and the Gulf, and finally to draw conclusions, and make one recommendation about
what a student would need to be able to do to be successful in this industry sector.
Terms of reference
The report was requested by Jim Baker, Lead Tutor of foundation studies, on February 23 rd
2009 and is due on 21st May 2009. This is an individual report done by each student in the class.
A final report would be provided after collecting the information & completing the draft
process.
Procedure
Most of the information gathered for the report comes from a range of articles and websites
found on the internet using a range of questions, key words and synonyms. The best
information about photography came from business and professional journals and websites. In
addition a small sample survey was carried out to determine the awareness of students at
Bahrain Polytechnic about photography and whether they think it’s a good idea to take on this
career.
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2. Why photography?
Visual source
Old loves
Seducer
Popular
Let’s think about these for a moment. Picture our world with no picture, how would it be? Published
photographs have been our source of visual information for more than a century. Documentary
photographers and photo journalists have enabled us to see what is happening all over the world. All
thanks to photography we know what the 19th century looked like, how the bombed houses looked and
how the streets were before the war and after. The houses or arts can be reconstructed with the help of
photographers.
Photography is also applied as a form of historical reminder. Whether we’re talking about the last
Prophet’s birthday we held at Bahrain Polytechnic, or the one time only high school graduation party or
how our lovely house looked before we moved to another town or country, we’re always reminding
ourselves of our cheerful events, grandparents, childhood, old loves and distant travels.
We have to become aware of the fact that not all we see in photos is a representation of reality.
Photographs can be manipulated to represent an idea or a perfect world. That is what we see in
advertisements and that is fully permitted. Now stop for a moment and think about this: Does that
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3. photograph inform you of reality, or seduce you? That’s when photos can act as great seducers to have
an impact on the income of many corporations.
“Photography has an almost infinite range of applications. It is perhaps the most applied visual medium
that we have. The combination of realism and cheap, fast and perfect reproducibility makes it popular in
numerous fields. Nobody can do without it, which is why learning to take photographs is like learning to
speak and write.” (Gierstberg, 2006)
Photography can speak for itself. It is the universal visual language. No matter what religion or culture
you come from you will still understand the photo. No matter what country or ‘planet!’ you come from,
still you can see the photo and understand. For that you need to train your eyes. You have to know what
the photographer wants. To inform, or seduce, or to mislead?
That’s why there is photography! (Gierstberg, 2006)
Bahrain has increased business opportunities and their demands for advertisements; therefore we have
seen increased numbers of professional photographers. Here are some well-known photogrpahers in
Bahrain:
Ali Al Riffai
Specialized in commercial photography
www.ali-photo.com
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4. Ahmed Zayer
A very talented photographer in all aspects. Mostly shoots fine arts.
http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=626800507
These are some steps you need to
take in order to improve your
photography skills:
Know what the right time for
shooting is:
Lighting is an essential part of a
picture, and what bad luck when
you get a perfect picture but too
much light or dark to only ruin your
perfect image. As a professional photographer you need to know about the golden hour, which occurs
one hour after the dawn and one hour before dusk. This will give you magical lighting for your shot. The
reason for this is because the sun will be lower to the ground which will give a soft light to the sides with
softer shadows, instead of giving a strong flat light over the objects.
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5. Understand compositions:
This is basically to know where to position your subjects, according to the Rule of Thirds, Golden Ratio,
or other methods. These composition types are proven psychologically to produce more appealing
photos.
Get the right angle:
Go beyond the usual angles. Shoot from an angle that nobody has seen the object from. Be creative, but
remember to follow the rules. (Techradar, 2009)
Skills Gaps
Skills gaps are basically the skills we need for sustainable
communication of our products or services. It’s the gap
between academic teachings and the field of work. (HCA
Academy)
Skills gaps in the photography sector are incompetency of
artistic vision, talent, and acknowledging the workflow.
Many lack the leadership skills in addition to
communication skills and English language. Also the
business dealings and the photographer’s ability to handle
business statements in the proper professional way are
other skills gaps we can identify. Photographers have to
identify these skill gaps and improve their skills in them if
they want to enter this sector.
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6. Employability skills
Employability skills in photography sector are very critical to
building a strong base for current and upcoming photographers
in this field.
It is very true that being naturally talented is a major skill in this
sector. However, even that skill needs to be honed. According
to a study made in one of the universities in London, it was
discovered that in order for a person to reach the maximum
level of talent, you need 100,000 hours of practice. That is
equivalent to around 10 years. That probably explains when
football players, or actors who start practicing from their
childhood, get their first prize at early ages.
Learning the basics is always the first step. Stop looking for
subjects to photograph and learn to see, show the best of your
work to other people, and seek out and listen to the critiques of
others. (Wester)
There are many other skills needed, such as knowing how to
make your clients comfortable, how to sell images, etc... This
differs from sector to sector. For example, to be a medical photographer you will not need good
communication skills as you will if you are a fashion photographer. In medical photography, precision is
very important, on the other hand in fashion photography, expressing and reaching your feeling to the
model so he/she represents it is important.
Describe the affect of one change that has occurred in this industry and explain
what this means for employees.
The revolution of digital changed the world of not only photography, but visual arts as a whole.
Photographers no longer need to spend a whole day in the dark room for just a photo. No film costs and
less time required. It became as simple as shooting, reviewing, deleting or keeping.
Employees should use this for the benefit of their businesses. To shoot as much as they can for the
assignment they have been given, gives them a better chance to review and pick the best and get them
ready for the post processing stage.
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7. Explain one influence that may impact on this industry in Bahrain and the Gulf
Popping of amateur photographers into the market
In the last years the number of photographers has increased dramatically in Bahrain, but after
more analyses, it turns out that the majority are actually amateurs who are trying to imitate and
rush into the business. Because of their lack of knowledge in regard to the market prices, they
accept any amount of money just to get a project. This has manipulated the real prices of the
photography market and lowered the value of photography.
Based on your research and findings draw conclusions and make one
recommendation about what a student would need to be able to do to be
successful in this industry sector.
Photography sector is gaining popularity and is becoming something no market can live without. My
personal recommendation is to always go for what you love. If it is photography, then welcome on
board.
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8. Interview with a professional photographer
Name Grant Jones
Title, role or position Photographer
Company name Simpatico
Date May 8th 2009
Question: What makes a good photograph?
Answer: “I think different things make a good photograph. I love a photo that tells a story, it doesn't
have to be great, photographically speaking, it can be slightly out of focus, a little blurry, but if it says
something to the viewer, even if the action is only in the imagination of the viewer, even just out of
frame, it often is a good image. I often find journalistic images are in this category.
Other photos are good just because visually they are good or beautiful, again they don't have to be
excellent technically, but if the model is beautiful, or the scene wonderful or the look in a child's face is
endearing or it is simply wonderful in a graphic sense it also becomes a great photo, again like the first
category of images that I described, it is beautiful on a emotional level. Finally there is the mathematics
of photography known as the Golden Ratio.”
Question: Can you explain more what the golden ration of a photo is?
Answer: “The golden ratio is a mathematical ratio. I think the Parthenon in Greece was built close to
the golden ratio, although I don't think it was deciphered mathematically until the Renaissance as having
the value of 1.618.
Humans find this ratio pleasing, it is almost built into the psyche as pleasing because the human body
and face conform to this ratio. The figure of a beautiful women fits within this ratio, it doesn't really
matter if she is well endowed or very svelte, as long as the ratios are proportional, and we will find her
figure alluring. If you throw off the ratio, say through a birth deformity we are reviled by the oddness of
the face even though we try to high that we are repulsed as this is not politically correct, we really still
are primitive, emotional creatures.”
Question: Is rule of thirds copying the same principle of the Golden Ratio?
Answer: “The rule of thirds is similar, a simplified version on the golden ratio. You don't always have to
dissect it, but the eye sees when the crop is right in a given photo if it conforms. It is sort of even used
in interior design when odd number of art objects is more interesting to the eye than even, or objects
that are in proportion fit. You couldn't have two large objects of similar size on a coffee table with one
real small object, it would look odd, and they all need to be in proportion.”
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9. Question: What you think is your only problem?
Answer: “My biggest problem is I never update my stuff. My own website I haven't updated in a long
time, writing code is such a bother. I'm already on so many sites that I never update either. I've also
seen a lot of people on Blogger.com.”
Question: I’m always looking for that one image that will take me to the top. What about you?
Answer: “I'm also looking for that one image. I’ve been a photographer for 25 years and I don't know if
that will ever happen, I think I could finish life contented if I could just shoot that one image, but maybe
that is something one should only strive for and never achieve? “ (Jones, 2009)
References
Gierstberg, F. (2006, October). Why Photography? Retrieved 03 25, 2009, from Nederlands
Fotomuseum: http://www.nederlandsfotomuseum.nl/content/view/103/119/lang,en
HCA Academy. (n.d.). Mind the Skills Gap research. Retrieved 05 13, 2009, from HCA Academy:
http://www.hcaacademy.co.uk/system/files/mind_the_skills_gap_full_report.pdf
Jones, G. (2009, May 8). Photography. (M. Ghuloom, Interviewer)
Techradar. (2009, January 20). 10 easy ways to improve your photography skills. Retrieved June 3, 2009,
from Techradar: http://www.techradar.com/news/photography-video-capture/cameras/10-easy-ways-
to-improve-your-photography-skills-502286?artc_pg=1
Wester, E. (n.d.). How to Develop Your Photography Skills. Retrieved May 7, 2009, from WikiHow:
http://www.wikihow.com/Develop-Your-Photography-Skills
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