The BOSM English Press sat down with Shivika Dhandhania, the Coordinator of the Photography Club for BOSM 2023, to get insights on their initiatives during the fest and the preparation leading up to it.

Shivika explained that they had opted for initiatives instead of traditional events, such as putting up panels of photographs capturing the festivities and participants of BOSM. Additionally, they had taken up a new initiative of giving out mementoes, which would be a short album showcasing the BITS teams’ performance during BOSM.

Reflecting on the significant challenges they encountered, Shivika shared that Photog faced the task of capturing a multitude of photographs, selecting the best from them, followed by editing and printing on the same day, and updating the display panels. She also mentioned the complexity of managing the workforce and ensuring coverage of all the matches.

Shivika emphasized that the mementoes and the panel updates weren’t part of the previous years’ initiatives. She felt that, in the past, they had clicked photos mainly for themselves and now wanted to give back to the institution that had provided them a platform to showcase their talents. Additionally, they aimed to generate some revenue, given their substantial budget and equipment rental expenses. She hinted at the possibility of engaging external stakeholders in future events.

Speaking about her experience as the coordinator so far, Shivika talked about the challenges of dealing with team members who occasionally slacked off, requiring her to cover their responsibilities. She acknowledged that their previous batch had been slow and somewhat inactive as well. Her goal, she affirmed, was to make the club more visible and active.

In closing, Shivika dispelled the notion that photographic skills are innate, sharing that she herself was once a novice photographer. She encouraged people to experiment and practice, and emphasized that even using a DSLR camera was not difficult to learn.