Sometimes we don’t need time to make incredible things happen
A National Institute of Design pass out friend from school was looking for a photographer on Google. Found me after 16 years. Called. I boarded the flight within hours. Met him. He briefed. I shot. An Incredible India campaign for the World Economic Forum in Davos got created in a span of two days. Sometimes we don’t need time to make incredible things happen once we know what we want and we make the right connect.
The rejects get accepted
Sometimes the best is not good enough and to one’s utter surprise, the rejects gets accepted. Got a renowned model for a campaign for another renowned Art Director from Paris. Did the shoot. The art director went back to Paris and realized that the model looked too sophisticated for the idea. Then he got an idea. He took a picture from the test shots of one of my assistants and put it up on the billboard in France. How’s that!
Sometimes we get paid to enjoy a memorable experience
We don’t need money always to own things, sometimes, we get money to enjoy a memorable experience instead. I didn’t own a car till very recently, but one day Mercedes sent me not one but seven of its vehicles to just travel around the country and shoot them as I wished, where I wished. Here are some of the results for you to see.
Judge the genuineness of the associates around you
Beware of the disease called the ‘Yes Sir Syndrome’; this is what the MD of Audi taught me while having lunch in between my shoot at their plant in Aurangabad. You must be wondering what this disease is, right? Often people say ‘yes’ without meaning it just to please you or simply out of fear. You believe in them, and ‘no’ work gets done. So it becomes imperative to be able to judge the genuineness of the associates around you. Once you get the hang of it, you don’t even need an ‘yes’ anymore, the work speaks for itself.
Sometimes the reward for good work is priceless
Sometimes, the rewards for good work are priceless. I was shooting the then new Ford EcoSport in Goa, when Ehab Kaoud, the Chief Designer at Ford Motor Company, saw the images. He was so happy to see the car he had designed within my frames that he took a pen and sketched it for me to frame it on my wall. Priceless, isn’t it!
The realisation of humility
How often does one witness the larger than life image of a not so large person in one frame! When this happens, all that happens to you is the realisation of humility. This is what this image taught me when I was shooting with Tom Cruise for Paramount Pictures during Mission Impossible IV: The Ghost Protocol.
Gods can be humans and humans can be gods
In India, Cricket is a religion and cricketers are Gods. But, I was one of those fortunate few to see the human in the Gods while shooting the official photographs of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2011. Sachin was a child jumping with joy, after winning the prize and it was all pride in Dhoni’s eyes. Gods can be humans and humans can be Gods, all one needs is the will to win.
Greatness of stars lie in their humility
When a brand as big as this stands in front of you in the form of a person, you are only star struck. But, when the star himself tells you that his son feels that he is a bigger TV star in Japan than him, you realise that the greatness of the stars lies in their down to earthness.
God is in detail and class is in consistency
When every red sole makes every woman’s heart skip a beat, you wonder what makes it such a hit. While shooting for the setting up of their stores in Mumbai and their products, I got the answer. The way they plan the alignment of every single brick that adorns the wall with the master’s signature is nothing but meticulous and coordinated across continents to the last detail. That’s what makes you realise that God is in detail and class is in consistency.
Patience and observation become the key
When metals, metals everywhere, reflections, reflections, can put even a very seasoned photographer in despair. Sometimes, it is such challenges that pump the professional to push the envelope. Patience and observation become the key and that’s what distinguishes the ordinary from the extraordinary.
Even minimal settings can make maximum impact
It is simple to be difficult and difficult to be simple when the canvas is a large set and you are tempted to clutter the frame. In such a scenario, one needs to be focused on the purpose of the shoot. And the purpose in this case is to showcase the product and not the setting. Even minimal settings can make maximum impact.
Transform challenges into happy opportunities
When corporates don’t have the time, you got to do your homework well. I was told that I would get only five minutes. I did reccee of Bombay House one day prior to the shoot. Locked the locations. Instructed my team about the lighting in advance. And on the day of the shoot got piping hot tea the moment the gentlemen entered. They took a sip, and their tongue burnt and I took them by surprise by starting a conversation in both their mother tongues. They were taken aback by my approach and I guess, impressed too and gave me all the time in the world to get thirty-seven different options in three different locations. No person is bigger than the job and one must know where to draw the line to transform challenges into happy opportunities.
Making the prime location seem exclusive
When it rains cats and dogs on the day of an outdoor shoot, why shed tears when you can make the CEO of a Fortune 500 company dance in the rain! That’s exactly what I did by asking Mr. Maturin Tchoumi to do early in the morning at the Gateway of India. Thanks to the rains, the setting, which is crowded otherwise, was empty without another soul, making the prime location seem exclusive beyond words. Sometimes when we dare, the attitude simply takes us out of every despair.
Positioning rightfully
How do you make a sweet, elegant, motherly lady look like the epitome of a huge corporate house? Simple, take her to the boardroom and set up a frame that leads to her dignified yet humane poise.
Focus on the parts that matter the most
For any food shoot, be it gourmet or be it home-style, it needs to look appetising. How? Just keep an eye on the freshness and the texture of the ingredients, keeping the lighting subtle and non-contrasty and focusing on the parts that matters the most. Bon Appetite.
Key lies in simplicity in composition and freshness in content
The usage decides the setting and the styling. When people are visiting a theatre, it is the food that should pop not the frills at the food counters. So in such a shoot the key lies in the simplicity in composition and the freshness in the content. This is easily achieved by keeping everything minimal and subtle including the lighting.
Don’t just document a professional.
Have fun
When the chef is a celebrity, it is a great opportunity to think out of the box. Have fun and not just document another professional. Bring out his or her personality with a dash of quirkiness thrown in. That’s exactly what I did while shooting these portraits with the down to earth and camera friendly Vikas Khanna.
Opulence and class
Wah Taj! That’s exactly what one experiences when residing at the architectural marvel. To translate the feeling into visuals one needs to highlight the facets that give it the sense of opulence and class. While shooting the hotel I simply did just that.
Difference in mood with lighting and right framing
When shooting for a hotel group, which has hotels of different strata under its umbrella, it becomes important to illustrate each category uniquely to establish the distinction. This can be created with the difference in the mood with lighting and the approach in the framing. Adding elements in the frame that the hotel doesn’t offer to the guests is totally a no no. Right perspective and avoiding distortion is a must, hence the lensing, the angle and the level at which the camera is placed becomes elementary considerations at such shoots.
Inexplicable experiences and memories in the form of pictures
When a government takes you to their country as their guest, you get lucky to witness the happy and the beautiful side of their country quite easily. From culture to architecture, from places to people, from food to moods, you catch it all in your little black box like an infant catches’ knowledge with its curious eyes. You come back with not just inexplicable experiences but also varied memories in the form of pictures. Who knows, the government might get so impressed with the results, that they might sponsor your exhibitions, just like the Consulate of Israel did with my exhibitions titled, ‘Israel through Indian Eyes’.
Make insipid subject look interesting
When you grow up in Jamshedpur, ‘We also make steel’ becomes an integral part of you. So, when Tata Steel offers you a shoot, you tend to get emotional and your wonder years flashes back. In such situations, giving precedence to the job at hand keeping the emotions aside is what distinguishes a professional from an amateur. Seeing to it that every person in the frame is properly equipped, the visual is uncluttered, preferably graphic and most importantly establishes the mood and essence of the industry being depicted becomes crucial. How to make a not so glamorous subject look interesting is where the fun lies. So a cool head in a not so cool environment helps.
Graphic and sturdy composition is the key
Shooting vessels and containers at ports is a thrill in itself. The highlights lie in establishing the business and not get carried away by the hundreds and thousands of exciting yet distracting elements at such locations. An eye on safety and safety gears is critical both in front of the camera and behind it. Graphic and sturdy compositions become the key here, and the people at work, if they do become the part of the frame, they should be fully equipped and look involved and not independent of the other elements in the visual.
Be extra cautious and value the responsibility with utmost sincerity
When McDonald’s got paneer in India, it created a new chapter in its own history. Weaving a photo-story around it from its paneer pattée manufacturing to consumer satisfaction at its outlets was what the global McDonald’s family was waiting curiously to see. Keeping the integrity in the narrative becomes an integral part of the photo-chain documenting the process from start to finish. One needs to be extra cautious and value the responsibility with utmost maturity, as the images in such assignments become a part of history.
A thin line between life and death
To witness such an event first hand and to document it too for almost sixty hours non-stop across different locations is a test of tenacity and temperament. One has to be up-close, yet maintain safe distance, as in such situations there is a thin line between life and death. Shooting, selecting, correcting, captioning, uploading all has to go hand in hand, as the images lose their value once the news is dead. Hence, one has to be super fit and agile both mentally and physically to do justice to such assignments.
It requires patience and understanding
While shooting such sensitive subjects it is not just important to be just a good photographer but an even more sensible human being. One has to know how far one should push to get the desired images without hurting the sentiments of the delicate human emotions. It requires loads of patience and understanding and a humane touch to handle such assignments successfully.