Ganpati Bappa Morya! Ganesh Chaturthi is approaching and what I really love doing during the festival is photographing Ganpati Bappa. So here are my 10 tips for Ganpati Photography.

If you are too bored to read ahead you can watch my YouTube video about the same

Keen to read on, here are my tips to explore photography opportunities during Ganesh Chaturthi.

1. Permission

Photography is mostly allowed in Ganesh workshops and mandals. But it is always sensible to ask for permission before you start clicking. Wherever required, remember to remove your footwear outside; so wear comfortable slippers or sandals which you can easily remove.

2. Gear

You can use whatever gear you have with you. You don’t necessarily need an expensive DSLR. You just need a tool that brings out your creativity in the best possible way.

3. Settings

If I take my DSLR with me, I shoot in the Aperture Priority mode and keep my aperture around f/5. I keep my ISO such that my shutter speed is above 1/100 sec.

4. Composition

Follow the Rule of Thirds. Divide your frame in a 3×3 grid and place your subject along the lines or at the intersecting points of these lines. Look for leading lines that kinda direct the attention of the viewer in the image.

5. Eyes

The most difficult part while painting the idol is its eyes. A lot of detail goes into it and the eyes look very vibrant. Make sure the eyes of the Ganpati idol are super sharp in your images.

6. Angles

Try to experiment with different angles. Avoid shooting everything at your hand’s level. Find ways to stoop low or go high and capture your shots with different angles.

7. Close-ups

The best part is that you can get close to the idols. You may not get this privilege in a temple because of the crowd and lack of time. So capture close-ups of different parts of the idol like the face, eyes, truck, hands, feet, etc.

8. Through a frame

Shooting through a frame gives amazing depth to your images. It allows you to focus on your subject and also lay emphasis on its background.

9. Be alert

The best and worst part about this genre of photography is that you don’t know what you may come across. So you have to be aware of your surroundings and be observant.

10. Tell a story

Stories are integral to human culture and storytelling is timeless. Try to include human elements in your images. eg the artisans working day in and day out while making the idols, the devotees thronging to visit the Ganesh mandal, etc.

Ganesh Chaturthi offers great opportunities for street, portrait, and product photography too. I really love photographing different idols at various workshops, mandals, and during Visarjan. Each and every aspect of the festival is special.

If you want me to come to your Ganesh workshop or mandal and take photographs or videos for you, you can contact me at sonikacreativeservices@gmail.com. Also, if you keep an idol at home, and would like me to come and photograph, please let me know. Thank you :1

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