I like to call myself an engineer turned into a photographer. I was in
the 2nd year of my engineering when I started photography and as soon
as I had graduated from college I knew that I wanted to pursue
photography as a career. I started with small paid projects and I still
remember my first ever paid project was a simple portfolio shoot and
then I started progressing in other niches too.
When I was just a beginner, I got a proposal to shoot for a restaurant
but they wanted to see my portfolio first! I had no pictures of food
back then. I remember going from restaurant to restaurant and asking if
they wanted to shoot and promote their business but I didn't have a lot
of luck there. One cafe finally agreed and they loved the pictures.
Later, I worked with them for many shoots.
That was the beginning of my career as a food photographer. After a
while, I started my own firm at the time and we called it the
klicker360. The 360 meant I had a vision of looking forward towards
everything in a 360 Degrees angle from all the possible ways I could
convert every possibility into opportunities. By clicking and getting
knowledge of each and every genre of photography but Food photography
was my most favourite. I used to carry my gear and lighting along with
me for every shoot that we got a booking for and that was truly an
excruciating phase. But soon enough, we grew out of it. Later, when
uber eats was just emerging in India, they were looking for
photographers to shoot restaurants and their food in mass quantities.
They approached me and I was absolutely up for the challenge. If I
remember correctly, we shot around 40-45 restaurants in just a month!
After this project was over, they offered me a job to shoot most of
their restaurants pan India and without a doubt, I took it. The pay was
good and I was free to experiment with my creativity. I soon invested
in a house in Mumbai for me and my family on an EMI basis and that was
a big step for us. Unfortunately, uber eats was losing its audience and
after a while, I had to withdraw from my job. It was quite a difficult
situation for me, since I had made bigger commitments financially and
now I had to find work actively to be able to figure it out.
I started promoting my work well and the more I worked, the stronger my
network grew and I grew with my skills and talent hand in hand. One
thing I learned during this process was that mouth publicity in this
field of industry is the most important thing. While I was working and
networking, I learned that the more I connected with people the better
I was able to understand the industry and its people and what they
wanted. To match their requirements with my expertise was quite a
challenge because it took a lot of time, but at the end of the day, it
was all worth it.
There have been some instances and experiences, when I worked for a
certain project and the work was extensive and crucial, but I didn't
get paid for any of it. Those were some times that really made me feel
quite unmotivated towards my work and vulnerable too. It made me
question myself and my work too, but to come out of it was one of the
strongest things I have done so far and that truly makes me feel very
proud.
If it weren't for the support of my family, I don't know if I would
have been able to pursue what I am doing today and the heights I have
gone to, and the high jumps that I have taken. Despite having studied
engineering, and pursuing photography instead, was not an easy thing to
accept but the way my family always supported me and believed in me,
was absolutely precious. I am a successful photographer today and I
like to give my family just as much credit. I have shot 450+ F&B brands
and they have all taught me something new every time. This experience
has been enriching.
Also During covid, I have Started my own production house called “Local
Logic Media” with 2 business partners. As soon as the idea popped up,
we started working on it. We built the website overnight and the work
we get to do makes me so happy. Along with this, we have also created
“Insight of Stars” for our wedding photography projects. Initially, it
was just us but now we are a team of 8 passionate people.
Believing in yourself and having self-confidence is the most important
thing that an artist can carry with them and they definitely
should. There will be times when you will question and doubt your work
but if you stay true to yourself and if you stay organised with your
work, you will definitely succeed and move forward. Have faith, and
keep going. It does not get any simpler than this.
