Part 1 – Introduction and Interview
[The examiner asks the candidate about him/her, his/her home, work or studies and other familiar topics in this part.]
Q. Whats is your name?
A. My full name is Peter Smith. While “Peter” is my first name, “Smith” is my family name.
Q. What shall I call you?
A. Well, my friends and relatives call me “Peter”. You can call me “Peter” as well if it’s okay with you.
Q. Could you show me your identification, please?
A. Sure. Here is my identification card. Do you need any information from my side to verify it? Thank you.
Q. Where do you come from?
A. I come from a quiet and beautiful suburban area called “Sutton” which is located in South-West London and is approximately 20 kilometres away from here. This is is a great place to live in and I love this place very much.
Q. Can you tell me something about your hometown?
A. Well, “Sutton” is a beautiful suburban area located in South-West London in England. This was previously a village and was connected to central London in 1847 by the railroad. Afterwards, it began to grow into a town and significant Victorian-era expansions could still be observed there. More than sixty thousand people live in this area and it has the lowest crime rate in Greater London. People in “Sutton” are quite amiable and well-behaved and the natural tranquillity is a big feature of this town. This town is home to many international corporations and the sixth most important shopping area in London. It is also famous as a hub for filming movies.
Q. Can you tell me some famous landscapes or scenic spots in your hometown?
A. There are, in fact, plenty of renowned and beautiful places in Sutton and many tourists find it a great place to stay during their vacation. This town has more than 89 parks and each of them is quite beautiful. Manor Park, Morden Hall Park and Carshalton Lavender Fields are my personal favourite. Moreover, St Nicholas churchyard, St Nicholas clocktower, All Saints Church, Christ Church, Landseer Road Conservation Area are some of the prominent landscapes in this town. As I have already said, Sutton is also home to many big international corporations and large shopping malls. Public arts, large libraries, beautiful landscape and many beautiful parks make our hometown a worth visiting place.
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Part 2 – Cue Card/Candidate Task Card
Topic:
Describe your favourite photograph.
You should say:
- where the photo was taken
- who took the photo
- what it contains
and explain why it is your favourite photograph.
[You will have to talk about the topic for one to two minutes. You have one minute to think about what you are going to say. You can make some notes to help you if you wish.]
Model Answer 1:
My favourite photograph is the one which hangs in my bedroom that of me and my entire family – my family which consists of my parents, my kids and my spouse. This photograph was clicked on the eve of an auspicious festival of India which goes by the name of Diwali. The photograph was taken around two years back at our house by a professional photographer we hired from our area.
The reason why I would term this photograph as my favourite is that it is on this occasion that we all had the opportunity to be in the company of one another. It is so because I am a working executive and I generally remain busy on my tour jobs and get too little time to spend with my entire family. However, on this particular occasion, when this photograph was clicked, fortunately, I was available in my hometown to spend the entire weekend in their company.
I like to look at this photograph very often and this gives me a delighted feeling. This is one of the prominent souvenirs of our family bonding and the reminder that family comes first. The happy moment of family members and their smiles in the photo reminds me how blessed and privileged I am to have such a happy and contented family life.
Sample Answer 2:
Very recently, I have discovered an old photograph while checking some old documents. Now, this has become the most favourite photograph for me. I have started loving the photograph since I discovered it. It’s quite a pleasant surprise for me to have the opportunity to talk about this picture.
The photograph shows a newlywed couple. They are standing with a simple pose. In fact, the couple is my mum and dad. The photo was taken immediately after they got married. Besides, the background of the photo is also awesome. I think the marriage might have taken place beside a river or at any open space. This was a black and white photo and some of its parts have been damaged with the passage of time. the photo also shows some other people are standing behind my parents and everyone in the photo were looking cheerful. Besides, the photo is black and white. I think that was the age when black and white photographs were leading the time.
The photo was taken by a professional photographer of that time. The photographer has created a magical environment on the photo with some of the simple techniques. The photo looks wonderful even today and I admire the photographic sense of the photographer. The photo was taken marking the marriage of my parents. This is the first photo of my parent’s marriage and I think this one is the remaining one. In fact, the number of photos of their marriage is limited. In those days, capturing a photo was troublesome and expensive as well. Hiring a professional photographer was also an expensive issue to consider. Besides, the number of photos was also limited. So, I think they have not captured numerous photos as it is done in the present day.
The photo is about 30 years old. It is printed on a special paper. I have never seen black and white images in a printed form before. So, it was an interesting experience for me. My dad is in his 60s while my mum is around 52 years old. I am their youngest son. And thus I had a fascination to know about their marriage. In fact, I am planning to get married and thus wanted to get some tips from them about the marriage preparation, especially the photography. My mum laughed at me when I asked about the photography of their marriage event. Actually, I did not have any idea that photography was in the initial stage during the day they were married off.
However, this is the ideal photo for me. it shows how the marriage ceremony took place in the past days. Moreover. I came to know about the decoration of my parent’s marriage. It was a mystery to me. I always wanted to know about the background of my family and marriage of my parent was an important aspect here. Besides, the photographer has clicked the photo with the right angle and all the components are equally present in the photo. I am amazed at the sense of composition in the photo. I, in fact, is in love with this old piece. Despite being old, this photo bears charm and I feel glad whenever I look at it. So, this is my favourite photograph.
Part 3 – Details Discussion:
Q. When do people use cameras in your country?
A. Well, I guess professional journalists and photographers carry their cameras most of the time. But ordinary people generally use a camera whenever they visit a new place as they want to capture the landscapes and take their own photos there. People also use cameras whenever they meet old friends, colleagues and relatives and take a few snaps of the group. Parents often take pictures of their children, and finally, in my country, I have noticed that people use cameras on different festivals and occasions.
However, these days most of the people have smartphones that come with powerful built-in cameras. This is why mass people do not carry cameras too often and take photos or selfies using their mobile phones most of the time.
Q. How do you think someone can take a good photo?
A. Well, I am not a professional photographer and do not know much about the professional aspects of taking quality photos. However, as a layman in the world of professional photography, I can say that it takes a good camera, a great passion, proper lighting, angel and a great object to take a good photograph.
Sometimes an expensive camera that has good features is quite helpful in taking a nice shot. Moreover, a passion for taking good photos is also required. Lighting is another aspect that accentuates the objects of a photo and probably this is why professional photographers often wait several hours to take a single shot. Furthermore, the angle of the object or scenery, the way they are captured in the frame and the object itself is important to capture an impressive photograph.
Q. Why selfies are so popular these days? Do you like to take selfies?
A. I believe “selfie” is a comparatively new trend and it refers to the process of taking our own photographs using a mobile phone’s front camera. People, especially young ones, love to take selfies primarily because they can instantly see how they look from those selfies and can also share them on their favourite social networking platforms. They can take selfies without any support from others and it virtually cost them nothing. They also love to find out what their online friends think about their photos. I firmly believe social networking websites and affordable smartphones have made selfies so popular. I am not a huge fan of selfies but this does not mean that I hate taking a few selfies of my own once in a while.
Q. How new technology has enhanced our skills as a cameraman for taking some nice photographs?
A. Well, I believe technology has revolutionised the way we use our cameras and take photographs. We now have powerful DSLR cameras and anyone without professional training can take good photos these days. Moreover, the powerful zooming system, night-vision and online photo editing features enable us to take great photos, edit them instantly and share them on our favourite social networking websites like Facebook and Twitter.
Besides, our smartphones come with powerful cameras and let us take photos whenever we want and as many as we want. Cheap memory cards have replaced the photo-films entirely and we have much freedom of taking pictures than our previous generation. I can recall some of my childhood memories when we had to hire a professional cameraman to take out photos and wait for more than a week to get those pictures printed. On the contrary, we no longer need to print our photos these days as we can instantly see and share them with the help of our smartphones and computers. Thanks to modern technology – photography is no longer is a sophisticated domain, it is, in fact, everybody’s hobby nowadays.
Q. Storing pictures has become much convenient on the Internet. What are some advantages of this? Do you use any digital photo sharing or storing service? Which one?
A. Yes, I agree that storing pictures is far more convenient on the Internet than to print them and preserve them like the old method. In the past, people used to save photo-negatives to print the photos at a later time and it was expensive. But with the advancement of technology, photo storing is easier than ever before. We can save a great number of photos on several reliable photo-storing services for free, share them with friends and family, edit them and customise them the way we like. Unlike printed photos, online photos do not get damaged over time and they have the digital quality which means a far better resolution and image quality.
I use Facebook and Instagram to share my photos with my friends or family, but use Google drive and Flickr to store photos so that I can access them whenever I need to.
Q. With the advancement in camera and technology, anyone these days can take quality pictures? Do you agree? Why?/ Why not?
A. This question is a bit challenging I guess, and it has drawn my attention before. Well, to answer it – I do not agree with the fact that anyone can become an impressive photographer just because he or she has an expensive and modern camera. No doubt, technology has enhanced the photo capturing devices like a camera to a great extent but clicking some quality pictures is not as easy as we think it is. Photography is an art and a good photographer needs an aesthetic sense for that. Aspects like composition, framing, background selection, sense of perfect lighting are keys to a perfect photograph. So, if someone, who has no sense and skill in photography, just gets the latest camera, can’t progress much.