Capturing Silhouettes
“With a photo, I can capture a moment and have it forever”, is what student photographer Syariifah Khan mentioned when asked about her ever-growing passion in the vastly populated hobby of photography. From the moment she ventured into it she noted her experience of how light, shapes, colours, textures, people, buildings, trees, and flowers suddenly began shifting. Through the viewfinder, she found herself taking into count the smallest details she ordinarily didn’t.
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Just like many photographers out there, she uses her talent to express herself in the best way possible: choosing what to photograph. The concept in itself is ever-changing and she believes that, that very aspect represents her as a person cruising through the various phases of her life. Having a chance to show the world, the world in a uniquely fascinating way, many fail to notice in today’s fast paced globalisation, is what she attempts when she takes photographs.
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“My biggest motive when I take pictures is to make my audience feel something”, she said. Knowing how much photographs play with emotions is one of the biggest reasons why she continues to be intrigued by the hobby, because what could be better than touching a person’s mind and heart?
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With a camera dangling around her neck almost every day, Syariifah’s favourite part-of-life to shoot is the sunrises and sunsets she experiences wherever she goes. As the sun comes to life and dies, the dazzling effect of colour streaks it leaves across the roof of the world, is what captivates her the most. Besides that, she also takes a liking into shooting people, sceneries and animals, but in the best way she knows how: using light and darkness. When the both overlap, she captures the silhouettes of each as each require different sets of skill, concentration and patience to getting it just right. Often when photographing, her camera settings are set to a lower ISO, a smaller aperture and minimal exposure producing a darker pictures.
How to Get Syariifah’s Photographs
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Lowest possible ISO (depending on clouds in the sky if you’re taking a sunrise/sunset)
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Small aperture with an f-stop value of f/16 or higher (for a large depth of field)
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Shutter speed of 1/30 of a second (if your camera has image stabilization)
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Don’t increase the ISO setting beyond 400, or 800 (if your camera has a full-frame sensor, especially if the scene has lots of shadow areas)
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Low exposure
Her journey with photography began at a very young age. It started off as a hobby, a little girl taking pictures for the fun of it. However, as she grew, it began to dawn on her how much fun she actually had taking pictures for fun. Slowly, picking up knowledge on photography from the internet and magazines she would purchase month after month, the hobby developed into a deep passion. Eventually, she understood that she would find so much happiness if it became something she could do for the rest of her life. With that being said, she opened herself up to making photography into a career option.
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Being one of the more expensive hobbies, Syariifah has spent a total of about RM20 000 so far pursuing her hobby, which is also one of the biggest limitation going in the direction of photography; financial ability. Currently she has Fujifilm XT-1 (mirror less camera), DJI Spark (drone), Osmo Pocket (gimbal action camera), a tripod, and various lenses (18mm, 50mm, etc.). Her hope however is to own a Sony Alpha 7R IV (mirror less camera). Sony is the leading edge of technology right now when it comes to camera bodies and she believes owning that would take her one step further to being a world class professional photographer.
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“My favourite photographer is Steve McCurry”, said Syariifah. His photograph of ‘The Afghan Girl’ got published in National Geographic Magazine which after 17 years bagged him a Pulitzer. According to Syariifah, one of her biggest dreams is to someday follow in the footsteps of her idol and be featured in the very same infamous magazine herself.
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For those that want to pursue the hobby, she noted that the three most important aspects is interest, a camera of course and time. Having a general interest is quite crucial when indulging in a hobby, any hobby, she noted. Besides that, it is also a must to spend time learning, growing and experiencing in said hobby, photography included.
Syariifah Khan hopes to own a Sony Alpha 7R IV which could take her one step further to being a world class professional photographer.
Some of the Do’s and Don’ts of the hobby:
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Do Learn To Shoot In Manual Mode as you will learn what kind of pictures you like or want and it teaches you the basics of photography
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Do Practice because like everything else on Earth, practice makes perfect
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Don’t Over-edit Your Work because it’s okay to give your images a little pop of color, but there is a tasteful line that is worth seeking out in order to ensure your great images don’t turn into rainbow crap.
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Don’t Start With A Overpriced Overcomplicated Camera because learning takes time and it will likely just add to the confusion and frustration of figuring out how to use your gear.
When asked on some advice she could put out there for youths intending to explore their creative side and take up photography, here is what she said. One, have fun, because when you’re having fun, then the price of your gear would hardly matter. And two, buy used/second hand gear, because this way you save money and you still get quality photographs.
“I myself have a second hand camera and it takes some of the most amazing pictures. As great as it is to have the best cameras, one of the world’s most renowned photographer (McCurry) took ‘The Afghan Girl’ on a film camera and it outmatched all the digital cameras that existed out there. So to me, it’s has always been hardly the device used to photograph, but more so the skills, emotions and thoughts of the photographer which gets translated onto frames, that eventually makes all the difference”.
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