One year residential course
Professional Diploma in Photography and Cinematography
A one-year residential diploma in Photography and Cinematography program, open after 12th or after graduation, where you master both still and moving images, receive on-campus mentorship, and launch your career in the industry.
Duration1 Year
Eligibility12th / Degree
LanguagesEN · HI · ML
PlacementPlacement support
During the year
Master Visual Storytelling,
the visual language.
You read an image, light it, move the camera, cut it, then grade it. Every week, on industry-grade gear, on-field and inside our studios.
01DroneAerial coverage and flight planning.
02GimbalCinematic, stabilised movement.
03Green ScreenChroma keying and compositing.
04Live StreamingMulticam switching and broadcast.
05Studio LightingPortrait, product and film light.
06Colour GradingMood and tone on DaVinci Resolve.
07Editing LabsAdobe Premiere and Photoshop.
0812+ SpecialisationsWildlife, fashion, travel and more.
Thirty seats.
15+ states.
One campus.
Prefer we reach out?
The curriculum
Overview of Diploma in photography and cinematography syllabus.
MONDAY TO FRIDAY · TWO SEMESTERS · ONE BREAK HOME · FULLY RESIDENTIAL
Saturdays are added only when a project or workshop calls for it.
How an image carries meaning: its vocabulary, grammar, and structure. The foundation every module after this one builds on.
Command the camera, lenses, and exposure until the settings disappear and only the picture remains. Daily shooting across portrait, product, and location.
Learn to read and shape light for the camera. Natural light, three- and four-point studio setups, portrait and product, and the clean, controlled looks a working photographer delivers on brief.
The post-production craft. Colour, composition, and clean finishing in Lightroom and Photoshop, turning raw frames into a publish-ready image.
Choose your genre and build a signature body of work in it. Practise across wildlife, fashion, product, travel, and more, and graduate known for something.
Move from stills to motion. Cinematic language, camera for video, log profiles, and movement, handheld, tripod, slider, gimbal, and drone. One of the few cinematography courses in India taught this way, inside a fully residential campus in Kerala.
Cut clean, fast, platform-aware edits. Edit logic, rhythm, transitions, and sound, exported for Instagram, YouTube, OTT, and broadcast.
Plan a film before you shoot it. Story, script, storyboard, and shot division, turning an idea into a production the whole crew can execute.
Direct and shoot real documentary and short film projects on the floor. From first frame to final cut, on live productions.
Step up to DaVinci Resolve. Primary correction, secondary grading, Power Windows, and cinematic looks, with skin-tone control tuned for Indian skin diversity.
Industry Readiness · 111 to 112
Professional communication and the working habits that make you employable from day one.
Supervised projects across photography, videography, and editing, completed as part of the course before you graduate.
Capstone
Assemble a publish-ready photography portfolio, your first real entry point into the industry.
Graduate with a finished documentary or short film to your name, the work that gets you hired.
Drone · Gimbal · Green screen · Live streaming
The KGTE photography course and NCVET-MESC subjects run alongside the diploma in photography and cinematography, as nationally recognised skill certifications, mapped to the National Skills Qualification Framework (NSQF). Their examinations, assessment and certificates are conducted and certified separately: KGTE by the Department of Technical Education, Government of Kerala, and the NSQF levels by the Media and Entertainment Skills Council under NCVET.
Upon successful completion of the course, students receive a Professional Diploma in Photography and Cinematography course certificate from Creative Hut Academy, based on their overall performance, examinations, and portfolio evaluations. The diploma is independently awarded by Creative Hut Academy without affiliation to any state, central, or international university. NSQF levels are awarded by entry qualification: Level 3 for Class 12 entrants, Level 6 for degree entrants.
Four credentials,
one year.
Recognized by government and industry, awarded alongside Creative Hut Academy’s Professional Diploma in Photography and Cinematography certificate.
Twelve genres
Photography Specialisations.
Diploma in Photography and Cinematography at Creative Hut Academy lets students explore specializations in multiple genres of Photography, and Filmmaking. You can then select your preferred category, gain hands-on experience, and build a professional portfolio under mentor guidance, during the course.
More than a campus. Feel at home.
Course fees
The year you become a Photographer and Cinematographer.
Choosing a one-year residential program is a big decision, often for the entire family. At Creative Hut Academy, we believe in complete fee transparency. One course fee, three flexible payment options.Wondering about the Professional Diploma in Photography and Cinematography course fee and how to pay it? Find the complete fee structure, payment options, and instalments below.
Instalment Registration fee, tuition fee, 18% GST, hostel & food. Check the easy instalment schedules below.
Early-bird Scholarship₹20,000 less than instalment.
Advance full Fee ₹30,000 less than instalment
for those who pay full fee in advance.
Every payment plan is subject to an additional ₹10,000 refundable caution deposit, which will be returned along with your certificate.
Students can select for either early-bird scholarship or scholarship based on advance full fee. For details about scholarships, please contact our Admissions Office.
Fees once paid are non-transferable and non-refundable.
Fees can be paid in instalments.
How to Apply
Professional Diploma in Photography and Cinematography Course? It's just four steps.
30 seats · One batch a year
01
Fill the form
Quick application form. ₹6,555 registration fee.
02
Personal Interview
A counsellor calls you within 24 hours.
03
Seat Confirmation
Submit documents and the first instalment.
04
Join the batch
You get the welcome letter. Ready to begin your year.
The people you learn beside
Faculty who still shoot, still teach, still ship real work.
You learn beside working photographers, cinematographers and film-makers, not from a slideshow. Every one of them still practises what they teach.
Abin Alex
Anu Joseph
Rahul Rao
Punnia Jones
Plus visiting mentors across wildlife, fashion, advertising and sound.
Student Work
Proof, not just promises.
Documentaries shot, cut and finished by our students, the work that matters when you are choosing a film and photography school.
Watch our students' work completed during our one-year photography and cinematography course duration.
Attappadiyan
DOP & edit · Agrah S Deth
Pancha Gramalu
DOP & edit · Sesetty Shanmuka Sri Uday Mani
Changaram Wetlands
DOP & edit · John Thomas
The software you master
Editing Software for Photo Editing and Video Editing.
You master the craft on the real industry software, made faster with AI.
AI sits alongside each one to make the work faster; never to replace your skill.
Explore here the software that you will be taught as part of the one-year diploma in photography and cinematography course program.
Photoshop
Retouching, compositing, masking, colour and print prep.
ChatGPT and Claude for generative fill, retouching and batch actions.
Premiere Pro
Edit logic, rhythm, transitions, titles and export.
Claude, Kling and Seedance for pacing and generated shots.
DaVinci Resolve
Primary correction, secondary grading, Power Windows and node trees.
Claude, Kling and Seedance for grade planning and shots.
Lightroom
Cataloguing, RAW develop, presets and batch export.
AI culling and ChatGPT to sort thousands of frames fast.
Trained here. Working everywhere.
Placement Assistance
From a focused batch of just 30 students a year, here is where our graduates after the one year diploma in photography and cinematography course go.
65%+
In media, production house and ad or brand agencies.
30%
Freelance or running their own studio or an entrepreneur
5%
Go for higher studies.
What families ask before they visit.
Who can join the diploma?
Anyone after the 12th, from any stream. No prior experience is needed. Students come from across India, fifteen states were represented in the last batch.
Is it fully residential?
Yes. It is one year on campus in Kottayam, Kerala. Hostel and food are included.
Do I need my own camera and gear?
Yes. A personal camera and lens are strongly preferred for full-time practice, assignments, and portfolio building. The college will provide cameras and lenses, subject to availability, for coursework only until you acquire your own equipment. However, bringing a personal laptop and maintaining the necessary software subscriptions throughout the course is mandatory for every student.
What certifications will I get?
Upon successful completion of the course, students can earn KGTE, NCVET-MESC, and Adobe, along with the Diploma Certification from Creative Hut Academy.
Do you teach AI filmmaking too?
Yes. You learn current AI tools alongside core photography and cinematography craft. Creative Hut Academy made Rising Embers, the world’s first AI feature film made inside a film school.
When does the batch start and how do I apply?
Our one year diploma in photography and cinematography batch start in the month of August every year. One batch a year, thirty seats. Fill the enquiry form or message us on WhatsApp, and a counsellor will provide you the details, walk you through the steps and current intake dates.
What about jobs and placements after the diploma?
Yes. Creative Hut provides placement assistance to all its students. You get placement support and build a professional portfolio across the year. Graduates work as photographers, cinematographers, editors and AI creators. Students gain real production experience on campus projects like Rising Embers.