The institute aims to lead a gurukul way of learning providing innovative spaces for ingenious minds to express and explore their creativity.
Situated at Mattakkara of Kottayam district in God’s own country, Kerala, Creative Hut Institute of Photography is known for its unique educational system based on traditional Gurukul. It is renowned as India’s first residential school exclusively for photography education. Established in 2007 and managed by the non-profitable trust, National Education and Research Foundation, the institute has proved to be the right choice to enhance one’s passion and career in professional photography.
Dedicated Infrastructural Facilities
Creative Hut always focuses on providing students with all the advanced facilities, latest technologies, infrastructures, library, class rooms, editing room, cameras, and other equipment. Along with these, extra facilities and infrastructures offered here make this institution stand apart from other media colleges.
It offers the largest and well equipped studios with proper indoor lighting in the campus where nearly 8 to 10 studio setups can work at a time. Also, it provides the facility to shoot aerial or top view pictures in the studio more conveniently. The institute has a butterfly park, which provides an added advantage of photography and videography in a natural environment. The organic garden grows natural and fresh vegetables and fruits in the campus.
The institute offers the gurukul way of learning provided with food and residential facility separate for boys, girls, and faculties in the campus itself. It also provides the extra facility of 24×7 faculty guidance, and morning, and evening practical sessions, while reducing the transportation time and money for both students and faculties. The institute’s one-year photography course is affiliated to the Kerala Government of Technical Examinations for Photography.
Promoting Academic and Personality Development
Creative Hut focuses on enhancing each student’s learning abilities and exploring their skills in photography. From the very beginning of the course, students are encouraged to think out of the box. It provides students hands-on practical sessions on macro photography, bird photography, fashion photography, and so on. The institute also arranges for outdoor photography and conducts study tours on wildlife photography, photojournalism, street photography, architecture photography, and many more.
The institute lays emphasis on communication as an important factor in this competitive world. Hence, here, students are initiated with English communication & working skills development classes, wherein they learn the ways of easy and effective communication in both writing and speaking. The gurukul way of learning helps them to nurture the qualities of sharing, respecting one and all, discipline, self-dependent, character building, and confidence.
An Exceptional Leader
The person leading Creative Hut from the front is none other than Abin Alex, the Founder Director, Principal, and Photo Mentor. A photojournalist from Kerala, he is a post graduate in Master in Design and MBA (Design Management). He is the Photo Mentor of Canon India Pvt. Ltd, Chairman at National Education and Research Foundation, Managing Director at Alextern Education Pvt. Ltd. and Chief Editor at Photo Mentor magazine. Awarded with visionary leader award for education and best photo mentor award, he is the recipient of Limca Book of Records, India Book of Records, Asia Book of Records, and many more.
Reaching the Heights of Success
The institute has achieved many noteworthy landmarks throughout its illustrious journey. It is renowned for the invention of the world’s first photography history calendar, unique and biggest photography wheel, and the biggest photography board game. Creative Hut has been awarded Commendation Certificate by Office of Additional DG & IG Prisons, Gujarat State for conducting photography workshop for jail inmates at Sabarmati Center Jail, Ahmedabad. It has received Commendation Certificate from Technical Education Department of Kerala, State Institute of Technical Teachers Training & Research for contribution in developing the curriculum of photography.
Career Development Initiatives
The institute encourages the students to apply for internship programs towards various companies and organizations. The pre-placement activities include innovative sessions on resume writing, project presentations, portfolio submissions both in digital and printed media, communication skills in speaking, emails, telephonic, and direct face to face interactions.
Along with the faculty guidance, it takes initiatives for interviews of various appropriate job vacancies in and outside the campus. The placement percentage goes with 97 % to 98 % every year. After the course completion from institute, many students proceed further with higher education in media and communication.
The students from previous batches are now working in
- Film industry as cinematographers and director of photography (DOP)
- Official photographer for Kerala Blasters Football Team
- Photojournalists, reporters, and cameraman for different media houses
- Sports photographer in abroad
- Faculty and assistant faculty for photography and media in different media colleges
- Function and event cinematographers at varied companies in different Indian states
- Architecture photographers and product photographers for e-commerce companies
Towards a Bright Future
Marching ahead, Creative Hut has set several goals for achieving educational excellence and providing the students with better employment opportunities. The institute aims at establishing a vintage camera museum, an exhibition art gallery, a research project center, and a media channel.
