My photography journey started in 2014 when I bought a NOKIA LUMIA 720 phone. Camera phones were not very common those days and I had this itch to make the most of all the camera features on the phone. So, I started clicking pictures of
Nature, People, Events, etc. and discovered Instagram. I started posting my pictures on it and was surprised by the positive reaction from the people. Soon, I realized photography is not just a hobby anymore, it has turned into a passion and I have never looked back since. I continued the same procedure for my pictures, though phones have changed over the years and I’ve learned a lot more about the technical aspects. I started taking part in every competition that I came across. In 2017, I won my first camera - Canon 1300D in one such competition and I couldn’t have been happier. Since then, things have just got better and better.
I’m an Architecture student and sometimes managing time between your passion and academics is a little tough as the course requires time and labor. And pursuing photography along with it, is even harder to manage. Initially, It was very tough for me, but I used my leisure time to do photography. Weekends were the time when I used to go out and click photos, traveling through the city, capturing everything I could. This helped me practice my photography and gain experience. Also, being an architecture student helped me with many things. I started seeing buildings from a different perspective. Studying about them, the details and the intricacies helped me to capture the buildings in their pure essence. Architecture brought me the knowledge of perspectives, angles, focal points, shadows, and a lot more, all of which reflect in my photographs and I have never regretted choosing it for my graduation. Initially, my parents were less supportive of my photography as they thought of it as just another hobby. But over the years, I keep showing them all my work and response I keep receiving from people. After watching my work and achievements, they are proud of what I’m doing and they are willing to let me do my masters in photography and making it a full-time career. I have never been into Creative photography but lockdown helped me experiment a lot and I have discovered another side of me. My idea was to create interesting scenes and photographs while staying indoors. I used to do a lot of architectural and travel photography when I was in Delhi for my academics because of the lockdown. When I came back to my hometown
(Visakhapatnam), I was out of photos in a few weeks. I couldn’t just stay like that, hence I started creating photos at home and after some time, I used almost everything at my home. I started cutting paper and using them as a subject. If
I was not in the lockdown, I might have never discovered that side. So I believe that there’s always something positive in everything that happens. Try to see that and make the most of everything. Silhouettes are my favorite genre of photography. It gives you a big canvas to experiment on. Since I have been an architecture student and know how to sketch and cut paper as we do a lot of paper modeling for our assignments. I try to use the sun in a very creative way. Anything spherical becomes the main subject like football, volleyball, etc. After fixing a sport, I search for those particular silhouettes, sketch them, and cut them out. I have reached a stage where there are hundreds of people trying this style of photography. This has filled me with the motivation to try out newer ideas all the time. Every photograph I click is a motivation for me to learn more. Instagram has played a major role in my photography journey. I met many professionals and learned so much from them. I’m happy that people are also learning from my work.
Sharing my work and seeing the work of other people helped me develop my skills and have broadened my sphere of learning. As I look back at my first photograph and the photographs that I click now. I have come a long way and evolved myself through this journey. I believe I have learned to see the details more minutely. I have developed an eye for the perfect shot, the angles, and more creative ideas to click wholesome photographs. Through time, I have worked on my ability to notice the right moments, the views, proper frames, etc. I have learned a lot in the past five years because I never for a day stopped clicking photographs. It has become a daily task for me and I look forward to learning something new every day.
Every photographer has a unique style of work. Discover that rather than copying someone else’s work. Be original, brainstorm, and explore the creativity in yourself. It is going to help you more than anyone else.
