Design & Digital Skills
Photography and photo editing
Taking a better photograph with a phone or a camera: light, composition, focus and exposure, then editing, organising and sharing the pictures.
Suits: Beginners with a phone camera or any camera
Duration, fees and batch timings are quoted by the head office or your centre.
The study book of this course
- Photography and Photo Editing
- Lessons
- 10
- Practice questions
- 40
- Free ebooks
- 0
About the course
What the photography course is about
A good photograph is mostly about light, timing and where you stand, and all three can be learnt with the phone already in your pocket. The course starts with how a camera sees, then light, exposure, focus and composition, with photographs of real things: a product for an online listing, a school function, a family portrait.
Editing is the second half: cropping and straightening, fixing exposure and colour, sharpening, and knowing where honest editing ends. The study book also covers file formats and sizes for WhatsApp, print and the web, backing up, copyright and putting together a small portfolio.
What you will practise
Drawn from the lessons of the study books below.
- 01
Hold a phone or camera steady and understand the lens, sensor and the phone’s pro mode
- 02
Use the direction and quality of light, from window light to the golden hour
- 03
Balance aperture, shutter speed and ISO, and control focus and depth
- 04
Compose with the rule of thirds, lines, framing and a clear subject
- 05
Edit with crop, exposure, white balance, colour and sharpening in a free editor
- 06
Save the right format and size, back up, and respect copyright when sharing
What you will learn
10 lessons, 30 exercises
Every lesson of the study book that comes with this course in the student portal, with the key points of each lesson and exercises to try. Your centre gives you the syllabus, the duration and the fee.
Study book
Photography and Photo Editing
Learn to take and improve photographs with a phone or camera: how a camera sees, light, exposure, focus, composition, portraits and product shots, editing with free tools, honest retouching, file formats, backups, copyright and building a small portfolio.
1How a camera sees4 min read · 4 key points · 3 exercises
Key points
- A camera collects light through a lens and records it on a sensor made of pixels.
- Phones are convenient; larger cameras have bigger sensors and more control, but technique matters more than price.
- Optical zoom keeps detail; digital zoom only crops, so walk closer instead.
- Hold steady with both hands, lean on something and keep the lens clean.
Try this
- Clean your phone lens and photograph the same street scene before and after; compare the haze and contrast.
- Take the same photo three ways: hand-held with one hand, with both hands and elbows tucked, and resting on a table. Zoom in and compare sharpness.
- Open your camera app and write down where the grid, timer, flash, HDR and pro mode settings are.
2Light: the real subject of every photo4 min read · 4 key points · 3 exercises
Key points
- Look at the direction of light: front, side, back and top each give a different look.
- Soft light from a cloudy sky or window is kind to faces; hard noon light makes sharp shadows.
- The golden hour after sunrise and before sunset gives warm, low, flattering light.
- Use window light with a simple reflector at home; avoid the phone flash when you can.
Try this
- Photograph a friend's face four times with the sun in front, to the side, behind and overhead; write one line about each result.
- Set up a cup or a toy beside a window and photograph it with and without a white paper reflector on the shadow side.
- Take the same view at golden hour and at noon on the same day and compare colour, shadows and mood.
3Exposure: aperture, shutter and ISO5 min read · 4 key points · 3 exercises
Key points
- Exposure is controlled by aperture, shutter speed and ISO, together called the exposure triangle.
- A small f-number means a wide aperture, more light and a blurry background.
- Fast shutter speeds freeze motion; slow speeds need a tripod and blur movement.
- Keep ISO low for clean pictures; use exposure compensation when the camera is fooled.
Try this
- In pro mode, photograph a running tap at 1/1000, 1/125 and 1/8 second and describe how the water looks each time.
- Photograph a white wall and a dark cupboard with automatic settings, then correct each with exposure compensation.
- At night, rest the phone on a wall and take a 1 to 4 second exposure at ISO 100; compare it with the automatic night shot.
4Focus, depth and sharpness4 min read · 4 key points · 3 exercises
Key points
- Focus is the one distance that is sharpest; depth of field is the zone that looks sharp.
- Wider apertures, moving closer and longer lenses make the background blurrier.
- Tap or half-press on the subject's nearer eye; autofocus struggles with plain surfaces and dim light.
- Learn to tell focus blur, motion blur and camera shake apart so you can fix the right thing.
Try this
- Line up three objects at different distances and take photos focused on each one; notice how the others soften.
- Use portrait mode on a friend wearing spectacles and zoom into the edges to find where the software went wrong.
- Photograph a moving bicycle at a slow and a fast shutter speed and label each blur as motion or shake.
5Composition: arranging the picture5 min read · 4 key points · 3 exercises
Key points
- Place subjects on the thirds lines or crossings and keep the horizon off centre, unless symmetry is the point.
- Use leading lines and frames within the frame to guide the eye and add depth.
- Check the background and simplify; move your feet rather than zooming.
- Change your height and angle: low for grandeur, high for patterns, eye level for honesty.
Try this
- Switch on the grid and take ten photos of ordinary things placing the subject on a thirds crossing each time.
- Find three leading lines on your street (a road, a railing, a row of shops) and photograph each leading to a person or object.
- Photograph the same subject from eye level, crouching and standing on a step; choose the best and say why.
6Portraits, products and events5 min read · 4 key points · 3 exercises
Key points
- In portraits the eyes must be sharp; use soft light, step back and talk to the person.
- Product photos need a plain background, window light, consistent angles and a clean item with a sense of scale.
- At events, prepare the phone, raise ISO to keep the shutter fast, use bursts and cover the whole story.
- Deliver a small edited selection rather than every frame.
Try this
- Make a chart-paper sweep by a window and photograph five items from your kitchen as if for an online listing, using the same framing for each.
- Take a portrait of a family member in open shade with the 2x lens, then one with the wide lens up close, and compare the shape of the face.
- Photograph a family meal or festival as a story of eight pictures: wide, medium, detail and faces.
7Editing basics with free tools5 min read · 4 key points · 3 exercises
Key points
- Edit in order: crop and straighten, exposure, highlights and shadows, contrast, white balance, colour, sharpen.
- Snapseed, Lightroom mobile and GIMP are capable free tools; learn what each slider does rather than where it sits.
- Vibrance is gentler than saturation; keep skin tones natural.
- Always keep the original and save edited versions as copies.
Try this
- Take a slightly tilted, slightly dark photo on purpose and fix it in Snapseed or your gallery editor following the order in this lesson.
- Correct the white balance of a photo taken under a yellow bulb until a white object looks truly white.
- Apply a filter at full strength, then at half strength, and then make the same look by hand; compare the three.
8Retouching honestly4 min read · 4 key points · 3 exercises
Key points
- Retouching changes parts of a photo; keep it to temporary blemishes, dust, wires and local brightness.
- Heavy skin smoothing and body reshaping mislead; keep people recognisable and real.
- Product photos must show the true colour and condition of the item.
- Record and news photos allow only crop, exposure and colour; declare AI-generated changes and respect consent.
Try this
- Use a healing tool to remove a dust spot and a wire from a landscape photo so that no one can tell.
- Retouch a portrait twice: once with light, honest fixes and once heavily smoothed; show both to a friend and ask which looks like the person.
- Write a short three-line policy for photos of your own small business or school magazine, saying what edits are allowed.
9Formats, organising and backing up4 min read · 4 key points · 3 exercises
Key points
- JPEG is small and universal, RAW keeps everything for editing, PNG is for graphics and screenshots.
- About 2000 pixels on the long side is enough for the web; prints need around 300 pixels per inch.
- Use date-first folder names and meaningful file names; cull soon after shooting.
- Follow the 3-2-1 rule: three copies, two kinds of storage, one elsewhere.
Try this
- Create a dated folder structure for your last three photo outings and move the photos into originals and edited subfolders.
- Export one photo at 2000 pixels for the web and at full size for printing; note the file size of each.
- Set up automatic cloud backup on your phone and copy this month's photos to a pen drive or hard disk.
10Sharing, copyright and a small portfolio4 min read · 4 key points · 3 exercises
Key points
- The person who takes a photo owns its copyright automatically; using others' photos needs permission.
- Check licences such as Creative Commons, and be considerate with people and restricted places.
- A portfolio is 15 to 25 of your best photos with a clear theme, consistent editing and a sensible order.
- Ask for honest feedback and agree deliverables in writing when photographing for others.
Try this
- Select your best 15 photos, arrange them in an order that flows, and make a simple PDF or album to share.
- Find three images online and work out their licence: all rights reserved, Creative Commons or public domain.
- Write a short message to an imaginary shop owner offering ten product photos, listing what they will receive and when.
Glossary: 28 key terms of Photography and Photo Editing
- Lens
- The glass or plastic pieces that bend light to form a sharp image on the sensor.
- Sensor
- The chip inside a camera that records light as millions of pixels.
- Pixel
- One tiny point of colour in a digital picture.
- Megapixel
- One million pixels; a measure of how many points a sensor records.
- Optical zoom
- Zoom done with real lens movement, which keeps detail.
- Digital zoom
- Cropping and enlarging the middle of the picture, which loses detail.
- Exposure
- How bright or dark a photo comes out, set by aperture, shutter speed and ISO.
- Aperture
- The opening inside the lens, written as an f-number; smaller numbers mean wider openings.
- Shutter speed
- How long the sensor collects light, such as 1/250 of a second.
- ISO
- How much the camera boosts the sensor signal; higher values add noise.
- Noise
- Grainy speckles that appear in photos taken at high ISO or in dim light.
- Histogram
- A graph showing how much of a picture is dark, middle or bright.
- Exposure compensation
- A control that makes the camera's automatic exposure brighter or darker.
- Depth of field
- The zone in front of and behind the focus point that looks sharp.
- Bokeh
- The soft, blurred look of an out-of-focus background.
- Golden hour
- The hour after sunrise and before sunset when light is warm, low and soft.
- Reflector
- A white or silver surface that bounces light back into shadows.
- White balance
- A setting or edit that makes whites look white under different colours of light.
- Rule of thirds
- Placing subjects on lines that divide the frame into three columns and three rows.
- Leading line
- A road, railing or edge that guides the eye into the picture.
- Negative space
- Empty area in a photo left on purpose to give the subject room.
- Sweep
- A curved sheet of paper or cloth that gives a product photo a seamless background.
- JPEG
- A compressed, small, universal picture format for sharing and printing.
- RAW
- An unprocessed file holding all the sensor data, for editing with full control.
- PNG
- A lossless picture format that supports transparency, good for graphics and screenshots.
- Resolution
- The number of pixels in a picture, such as 4000 by 3000.
- EXIF
- Information stored inside a photo file about the date, camera, settings and sometimes location.
- Copyright
- The legal right of the person who took a photo to control how it is copied and used.
Practice and study material
Study books and timed practice tests in the student portal
Students sign in to read the study books lesson by lesson, print them, mark lessons as done and test themselves with timed practice tests, every answer explained.
- 1study book
- 10lessons
- 40practice questions
- 28glossary terms
How the practice tests work
- Fresh questions each time
Up to 20 questions are picked at random from the subject’s question bank.
- One minute per question
A timer counts down. When it reaches zero, your answers are sent automatically.
- Move around freely
Skip a question, flag it, and come back to change your answer before you submit.
- Learn from every answer
At the end you see the right answer and an explanation for each question.
- Read, print and keep track
Each study book has its lessons, key points, exercises and a glossary. Print a lesson, or mark it as done.
Your centre gives you your login when you enrol.
Try 3 practice questions
Real questions from this course’s question banks. Pick an answer to see the explanation.
How many photos make a good small portfolio?
Show the answer
Answer: A. About 15 to 25 of your best
A short, strong selection with a clear theme is more memorable than a large mixture.
What is the main drawback of using a very high ISO?
Show the answer
Answer: B. The picture gains grainy noise
Boosting the sensor signal adds noise, so keep ISO as low as the light allows.
Which is the recommended first step when editing a photo?
Show the answer
Answer: B. Crop and straighten
Fix the frame first, then exposure, colour and finally sharpening.
Careers
Careers this course leads towards
The kind of work these skills are used for. Each guide explains what the job involves, the skills it asks for and how to get started.
Graphic designer and DTP operator
Laying out visiting cards, posters, pamphlets and banners, and preparing files that print correctly.
How admission works
From your first question to your certificate.
The usual steps, at the head office in Delhi or at an authorised member centre.
- Who can join
- Students above 12 years of age.
- Where
- The Delhi head office and authorised member centres.
- Fees and timings
- On WhatsApp at +91 97116 99511, or by phone on 011 2721 1512.
- 1
Ask about the course
Call or WhatsApp the head office, or visit your nearest member centre. Ask for the duration, the fee and the batch timings in writing.
- 2
Fill the admission form
Admission forms are supplied by the head office to every centre.
- 3
Learn in class
Attend your batch at the centre, with the course material and study notes, and sign in to the student portal for the study books and practice tests.
- 4
Take the exam
The institute prefers written exams, taken in front of a teacher.
- 5
Receive your certificate
Students who pass get a Gurukul Technicals Institute certificate and marksheet. Employers can verify it with the head office.
Who can join the photography course?
Students above 12 years of age can take admission, at the Delhi head office or at an authorised member centre. The course suits beginners with a phone camera or any camera. Tell the head office or your centre what you already know, and they will suggest where to start.
Do I need a DSLR?
No. Every lesson can be done with a phone camera, and the exposure lessons use the phone’s pro or manual mode. A camera with manual controls is useful but not required.
How long is the course and what is the fee?
Duration, fees and batch timings depend on the course and the centre. Ask the head office or your nearest member centre, and get the details in writing before you pay.
Where are the classes?
At the head office in Delhi (A-10, Chief Commissioner Colony, opposite Rana Pratap Bagh) and at authorised member centres. Call or WhatsApp the head office to find the nearest centre.
What do I need to use the study books and practice tests?
A phone or a computer with an internet connection, and the login your centre gives you at enrolment. The student portal opens in an ordinary web browser, so there is nothing to install. Student login.
How do the practice tests work?
Sign in to the student portal and choose a subject. Each test picks up to 20 questions at random from that subject’s question bank and gives you one minute per question, with a timer that sends your answers automatically when it reaches zero. You can skip a question, flag it and come back before you submit, and at the end you see the right answer and an explanation for every question. This course has 40 practice questions across 1 subject, and you can take the tests as often as you like.
Is there an exam and a certificate?
Yes. The institute prefers written exams, taken in front of a teacher. Students who pass receive a Gurukul Technicals Institute certificate and marksheet.
How is a Gurukul Technicals Institute certificate verified?
On the verify certificate page, anyone can enter a certificate number and check it against the institute’s online register, which covers certificates issued through the portal. For older certificates, or if there is any doubt, send a copy to the head office by email or WhatsApp; the reply comes within 2 working days.
Ready to start the photography course?
Ask the head office for the duration, the fee, the batch timings and your nearest member centre.