The "Manual Mode" Myth

In the days before the automatic camera's, there were your cameras which made every photographer work real hard to get that correct exposure. There were pocket manuals for different conditions, about what your shutter speed should be and what your aperture should be and what your ISO rating should be. The photographers worked really hard for their pictures. Hence photographers like Ansel Adams and Alfred Eisenstaedt were some of the famous pioneers of the art industry. They all shot in Manual mode, because that's all that was back then.

Technology has advanced a lot since then, creating micro sized chips with enough memory to fit a complete event, unlike the days of film. They have created more user-friendly cameras, and the creation of the "AUTO" mode in cameras.

For a short course on using M mode; it consists of 3 basic factors. Shutter speed, Aperture and ISO. The shutter speed controls how long your shutter is open. Aperture controls how much light enters the lens. ISO controls the sensitivity of the sensor to the light. In the manual mode, to get the perfect exposure you need to adjust shutter speed and aperture according to the display of the light meter. Now, you either choose the aperture first, and dial the shutter speed till the light meter displays the correct exposure, or the shutter speed first, and dial the aperture till the light meter displays the correct exposure.

Now heres the misconception. "You are not a pro if you don't shoot in Manual." I'm going to come out and say it out right. I mostly use Av and I almost rarely use M. Why shouldn't I. Its an option on my 5D Mk II. Its there for a reason. You don't need to worry about what anyone thinks about how you shoot, as long as you get the job done. There were manual cars before, with gear shifts, till they came out with an automatic gear with a trip shift system. You are a pro as long as you are professional. As long as you get the job done. I use my camera on Av mode because I know how each f/stop changes the exposure, I manually decide my ISO depending on the situation, and I let the camera decide the shutter speed. The only time I use M mode is during still life and flash photography, when I'm using my umbrellas and soft boxes.

Don't be shy of how you shoot. If auto is how you roll, you go ahead and create magic. In the wedding industry, its all about timing. If you fumble with your settings, you might lose the opportunity to have captured a moment.

Did you know most "pros" use Av mode a lot more then M mode.

Business Tuesdays: Inspire and Exalt

Inspiration. A tool to exalt. A tool to uplift.

I am an easy person to inspire. Many things inspire me, because inspiration is a tool to elevate. I believe in the philosophy that if you can do it I can do it too. Its simple. You have two hands, so do I; you have two eyes, so do I; you have two legs, so do I. Most importantly, you have a brain; so do I. Don't get me wrong, because I'm not saying that if you can do it, I can do it better. No! I'm not a proud man, but I do take pride in my achievements. For example, If you tell me, okay get down and give me 300 Push-ups because you can do it, and I will tell you I can do 300 push-ups too, but probably not right now. If I worked towards that goal, one day, YES! I will be able to do 300 push ups. That is what I really mean when I say if you can do it, I can do it too. Just not right now. This keeps me going, everyday of my life. You can believe whatever you want; whatever keeps you going is key. So pick up that camera, and if someone tells you, you aren't creative or you don't have it in you, tell yourself NOT YET, BUT ONE DAY I WILL and keep clicking, because practice makes perfect.

Exalt. Uplift. Rise. My philosophy.

Simple concept. If the world understood it, I think it would be a better place to live in. To rise, you need to leave your seat. To succeed, you need to leave your place. Today, everyone is so concerned about their current position that they are scared that they will be replaced and they would lose their current power, their current position and current status. Its simple. If you stay in one place, you won't move. That's how sole proprietorships turn into multinational corporations. A single idea into a million dollar corporation. Let me give you an example. In my market, there was this retail outlet, where the owner used to sit on the cashier's desk. He would have his sales team to bring in the sale, but he would never leave the cash counter. He wanted to be in control of his cash, and so he was. The company reached its optimum profit limit. The partners in his company told him, to leave the cash counter and manage the shop. He denied as he thought that being in control of cash was power. After much advice, he was asked to delegate those responsibilities to someone else which he did. After leaving that cash counter, he could now look over the cash counter, the sales team and the store, where he found a lot of loop holes which he fixed. Had he never moved from his place, the holes would've remained. Also he was able to see many other things which he changed in terms of functionality. Years passed by, and the company reached its optimum profit limit. The partners again asked him to leave his position and delegate them to someone else. He denied, thinking how can I leave this place. If I leave this place, I will totally lose control. After much discussion, the partners persuaded him to delegate his duties. He finally did. After delegating he had found himself totally free and nothing else to do. During this time, he worked on opening a second location to his initial business, and this way from one to two, from two to four and today operates six locations  from one location. So if you sit in that place where you are, and hope things will change, forget about it. Stand up, and move. Get a fresh perspective, and rise.

For me, I'm going to go grow into my photography business.

Join in on every Tuesday for more positive business related philosophy.
 

Engagement Session: Shabbir and Arwa

The wonderful and glamorous Shabbir and Arwa. The two of them actually met at Arwa's place when Shabbir came down to Dubai from Chicago, and had no place to go, and arrived at her doorstep. Arwa always wanted a knight in shining armor on a horse, to knock on her door, but it was Shabbir with 2 suitcases and no place to go. How did that happen? Shabbir is good friends with Murtaza (Mapu) aka Arwa's cousin from Chicago, and he just said, hey man, just crash at my cousin's place. So there he was knocking on her door.

Shabbir and Arwa were great in front of the camera. A great pair, and fun people to be with. Frankly, when I met Shabbir, I was little weirded out with his habit of always having his hands in his pockets. The moment I asked to take them out, he would be like "Where do I keep them?". Then gradually, I realized that when I don't have my camera in my hand, my hands are in the pocket too.

The experience was exhilarating, and they both were lovely to shoot. We shot through the streets of Diera, and then finally ended up taking a ride on the Abra during Sunset. The light was amazing, and gave us some really good shots.

Engagement Session: Shabbir & Arwa - Images hidden upon client's request for selective viewing.

Fighting Negativity...

It is amusing how sometimes people leave it to "life" to decide their path. What's more amusing is how when you are born, your fate has been decided by your parents before your name. Times are changing now. Ive been blessed with two sons over the past few years, and I will be lying if I hadn't thought about what my son would one day grow up to be. The feeling of envisioning your son to be something you want him to be is so natural, no matter how much I denied myself, that when my son comes in this world, I will let him be what he wants to be(natural in most eastern cultures). Its only the most fortunate ones who can wake up in the morning, to do the thing that they love the most.

For a person belonging to this eastern culture like me, where a father expects his son to take his place in the "circle of life", it is quite difficult and sometimes impossible to become what he wants to be. Don't get me wrong, my family is not that conservative to the thought. Its not like they are denying me to purse photography, but they aren't letting me pursue it freely either. So my father has developed his business, this brand, and this name for himself in the "market", and he's given 30+ years of his life to it, and expects me to sit in the same place where he sits today and be that man. There is nothing wrong about him feeling that way. I think any father who has achieved something with hard-work, their sweat and blood, will want someone to take over; and that someone will preferably be his heir. Don't get me wrong guys, but I'm stuck in this place, where one part of me, wants what my parents want, and the other part of me wants what I want.

That is key. What I want. People who wake up to do what THEY want to do, is life in itself. Most people do what their parents want or wanted them to do, and accept it as reality, and continue doing it. Its selfless. If Herman Einstein told his son Albert, that son, I've created this company where I have manufactured and sold electrical equipment and I want you to take my place, I don't think the world would've understood the theory of general relativity, let alone revolutionizing the world of physics.

I think I'm really lucky to have a father like my father, and I've learnt a lot from him. Just today in the morning, he asked me to give my ads in the classifieds for my photography business. See he does and says these small things, but there are moments where I'm reminded my place in the "circle of his life". I won't give up hope, especially never in myself to be great. To be someone. Even if Ansel Adams told me my photos sucked, I wouldn't give up!

I believe everyone of us, each and every single human being has the power of being different, and no one is any less then the other. We are all Einsteins; we just need to believe that.

Remember, Everyone's Beautiful!

Social Media or Poor Man's Billboard?

Today, I've completely dedicated to putting my name out there. Where is OUT THERE?

Its funny how social media today can be so confusing, (you must be thinking, ever since I've started reading this guy's blog, hes been confused) since everything is interconnected in a way. Now twitter is connected to facebook and this blog is connected to facebook and twitter, and everything is like blah!

Im not confused, but just a little ... well you see I have this thing, or should I say this is how I work. Before I use anything, or purchase anything, or get into anything, I am going to think it through like there is no tomorrow. For example, my friends gifted me a pen tablet, and it was on my wish list, but you see the reason I hadn't bought it yet was I didn't know what I would do with it. I know why and how to use it, but how am I going to incorporate that into my life. I know, I know, Its crazy, but thats how I work. Now that gift is still packed in its bag, not because I don't appreciate it, but I think it was a wonderful gift, and it was something I wanted. Now I need to make place for it, and use it to justify its presence in my life. I keep thinking about it day and night, what am I going to use it for, like that special moment. I rarely own anything that I don't use, but I do own a few things, which I know I WILL use.

That's how I work with everything. I plan and I plan and I plan, and finally I execute. So, if you think I just got up from my bed, and started using Twitter, and Facebook and this Blog, you are wrong. I worked it through in my head a thousand times, and finally I came to a point, where I could work it no more, until I started. So I started...Its the not the best ways to work, but it works for me.

Therefore, I went ahead and created a Facebook and Twitter page for my brand.

Follow me on Twitter, @mustafatin  

The Chicken or The Egg...Who's first?

Okay it's barely been like 10mins and I am already blogging again.

I'm quite mind boggled on how and where to start this Photography business. I try to look at other inspirations but they are all out of this region. Now for example, this region right here, has many ...lets say...LAWS...and legalities, that it doesn't give me the freedom to just walk out of my home with a camera and start a photography business, unlike other places.

So, where do I start from? Where do you take off from? How do you get on the runway? How do you start? I need an ignition, but where and how? Oh it boggles me. Sometimes, I feel I know all the answers, and then somewhere down that track some one will ask you a question and you'd be like "Oh! I dunno!"

Do you buy equipment first? Do you get a job first? How do you do a job without equipment? How do you get your equipment without a job? We don't live in a country, where photography is diverse, and has a full fledged market. We have a few electronics suppliers, and the main agents for Nikon & Canon. I don't believe there is a place here in this region, which rents out equipment for use, which would make the above question much more simpler. Do you buy equipment first or you get a job first? Photography equipment is not cheap, specially not in this region and especially if you are trying to start a business.

Think Mustafa...Think!

When a blog is born...

So I sit here before my laptop, and this black thin cursor keeps on blinking....Blink!....Blink! My white screen is staring at me, and the cursor keeps blinking; mocking me in the process.

What do you write in your first blog? Apart from the usual and boring introduction, "Hi, My name is Mustafa Tin, and I am lifestyle photographer/blogger based out of Dubai, U.A.E." Well, I'm not a blogger, but this is my first blog, and it is MY blog, so I guess that does make me a blogger.

I'm just going to put myself out there in the open for this city, and the rest of the world residing in cyber space to see who I am. I am going to document each and every step of this journey towards my goal of starting a business in Photography. I am going to make sure, that the greatness that lies ahead for me in my future, should have a story to it. It should have a background; it should have HISTORY, and this is none other then HIS STORY!...My Story! My story in the making. I want to document each obstacle, each hurdle, and each success that I gain through my endeavors as being a successful photographer in this region. And I guess this is a good enough place to do it.

I want to jump, and fly one day. I want to see, and show one day. I want to learn, and teach one day. I want to be inspired, and inspire one day. I want to win, and win one day.

I want to make all the mistakes right now, right here, still when I'm learning to stand up and walk, because its going to hurt like a bitch when I fall running fast.