Bhubaneswar, March 4: He holds an enviable record of being featured in the maximum number of television commercials as a model. He was a popular TV film show host and enjoys the reputation of being a successful photographer.

Model-actor-turned-photographer Humayun Peerzaada conducted his first-ever photography workshop — “Shutter Freeze” — at Idcol Auditorium here on Sunday. About 40 aspiring photographers participated in the event, organised by Diabetes Entertainment.

Peerzada touched upon the various aspects of photography, especially exploiting lighting conditions to work out a frame. The workshop was held in two sessions with the tabletop photography session being conducted in the dimly lit auditorium and the portrait photography session, outdoors.

He demonstrated some of his finest snaps and explained how amateur photographers could also bring in the desired effect in their work. He offered tips on making mini studios with minimum budget.

Peerzaada, who turned to photography when two of the films he was part of did not see the light of the day, said that unlike other arts, photography was very easy to learn.

“The camera takes away 50 per cent of your effort. The right choice of lens can take care of another 25 per cent. A photographer needs to use his mind to get the remaining 25 per cent correct and for that, passion and hard work are required,” said the celebrity lensman.

Now, it has been four years since he has been doing product and architectural photography. Apart from commercial ventures, he is also working on a coffee table book that features landmark monuments of India. He used the occasion to click pictures of the Sun Temple in Konark and Jagannath Temple in Puri for his compilation.

“Photographers love street photography but often find our streets filthy. However, I want to capture the beauty of the city,” he said.

Diabetes Entertainment CEO Dayanidhi Dahima said: “These days, we see a lot of youngsters who have taken up photography. Such a workshop will help them understand the seriousness of the profession.”

The participants from Bhubaneswar, Cuttack and Angul were all praise for the ace photographer.

“I learnt a great deal about how household things like a torch or tumbler can be used to produce great visual effects,” said Moupia Bhowmik, a student of a private engineering college.