I am a fashion photographer with a creative mindset- I like my pictures to be clean, provoking and pleasing on the eyes.
My journey into fashion photography started in 2012 when I was stationed in Melbourne, Australia. At that time, I was more into landscapes and cityscapes. I joined a group on “meetup.com” focussed on shooting models in the streets of Melbourne. This was my first foray into fashion photography. I quickly realized that shooting people was very challenging – especially when you must make them look fabulous, capture the right expressions, and poses. Fortunately, most of the models we were shooting on the group were amateurs, this forced me to learn how to direct models, pose them and capture best angles. I also recall that at the time, I was not editing any of my pictures, and I always wondered ‘why my images did not look like those in the magazines?’… Lesson learnt: Editing is an equally important aspect of the fashion shoot workflow. This forced me to learn the little bit of Photoshop I know. For commercial work, engage a professional editor.
I started with no background and connections in the fashion industry – it was a trying journey. I moved to Sydney in 2014. There, with a friend, we started our meetup group that focussed on all things fashion. Today the group stands at 4500+ strong. Slowly we made connections with many designers, beauty pageant directors and models alike. Ours is a not for profit group, the idea is to ease the barrier and make fashion photography accessible to aspiring talent. I found people, both professionals and amateurs were willing to collaborate and contribute to the group. We organized many workshops and portfolio building shoots in general. Beauty pageants and most Sydney Runways invited our members to shoot. I am proud to say, more than the pleasure I had running the group and its activities, for me it was always the personal bonds that I developed that kept me going and actively engaged on the group.
I relocated to Delhi, India in 2018. I had no clue about, or connections in the industry here. The difference between Delhi and Melbourne was – now I had a solid body of work to show. My extreme passion for my craft and a never say die attitude have kept me going. I am slowly making my way into the industry here and connecting with wonderful people.
Just as I was getting on track in Delhi, the pandemic struck, and the world came to a halt. I am fascinated by the human spirit, the sheer will to exalt under trying circumstances. This defines who we are. Though a significant setback globally, we quickly found genius ways to adapt… virtual shoots started… online fashion shows found space… the industry adapted to the new reality. We are now recovering from the after-effects of the pandemic, I see this as a huge opportunity for every individual. Social media has taken a huge leap during the pandemic, one needs to be creative in these times to reach potential clients and deliver in this new era.
To me, every shoot has a life of its own – things that happened before, during and after the shoot – it is the human story behind every shoot that is most interesting to me. A fashion shoot is like any other project in any other field, it takes detailed preparations and careful execution. Every team member has a part to play. I remember, for one particular shoot, it took 8 months into planning. We wanted to shoot a desert theme with camels, to find camels in “Sydney” – we must be insane – the whole planning and location recce and getting the team to the location was a challenge. People often see the final pictures / video – without realizing the effort the team put in to create them. Teams brave the scorching sun, spine splitting cold and hours over hours of running around into making a location shoot happen – it is a wonderful example of how people come together to create magic.
To my fellow photographers, my two cents to you is to chase your passion. Though it is a cliche, “do what you love” this is what I do. Follow your instincts … reach out… do not be shy to ask for help.. present your work to people who can critique and help you grow. In Delhi, I have started a not for profit initiative called “Delhi-Fashion-Fotography”, this is to bring together people from the world of fashion to nurture and help aspiring talent. We owe it to ourselves, to lay a strong foundation for the next wave of brilliant designers/stylists/makeup artists/hair stylists/photographers and anyone interested in the craft of fashion. I believe we can all grow together… the more we connect and share, the stronger we will be. I encourage you to join this initiative.
Social media presents a huge opportunity, write to designers, models, bloggers and all who want to create content. Do not be disappointed if you do not hear back, keep reaching out. I say from experience, some will definitely get back to you and will want to work with you. Do not let opportunities slip by, no matter how small, they are a step towards your bigger goal.
Apart from photography, I enjoy traveling and, on every trip, I take my camera along – there is an abundance of photo opportunities everywhere. I enjoy occasionally binging on courtroom dramas. More often, I am conjuring up ideas for future shoots – it is a purely mental exercise and I find it relaxing. Contrary to the wise old saying – “too much of everything is bad”, I find myself spending significant time on social media – I need to cut this down. Although I am active on instagram; I do not fuss about the number of likes or followers I have, what is more important is to be in connect with the real people I know and my relationships with them. We all have faced (or will face) criticism on social media – take it with a pinch of salt and do not let it get to you… the strangers commenting do not know you and certainly they do NOT have your best interests at heart. Bottom line is, moderate the time you spend on social media, filter out the negativity… take healthy criticism positively and try to improve what you can.
To sum up, Fashion photography is a passion I take seriously.
I am grateful to Mr Sanjeev Jain for providing me this opportunity to share my thoughts with you. I wish all readers of Tycoon magazine the best in life.