-  Eyes in focus. 

In case of a harsh sunny day, move your subject into shade (if possible) so that their eyes are visible.

- Interaction with the camera/environment

A good portrait depicts a story/emotion, the best way to capture it is to depict it by interaction with the camera.

- Avoid distractions

While composing the shot you should try to avoid distractions around the subject. This highlights the subject even more.

- Give space

Give space for the subject to look into. At times very tight compositions do not work.

- Post processing

Do not use too much of black while post processing, this usually takes away the expression in the eyes. Also while changing the white balance to Sepia/BW or any other color tone, think about what feeling you are trying to project. (warmth/cold)

- Let it be natural

When asking your subjects to pose, try to keep it natural and comfortable for the subject. If it is not comfortable the expression will be lost.

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One year of full time photography

Hola amigos

Breaking news … On 9/13, I complete one year as a full-time photographer. Some of you are aware of the fact and some aren’t. There are others who still don’t have much clue about what I click. So, here is a blog about what I did in the last year .

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1. Chennai Fashion Week, published in MegaModelz magzine.
2. Shot Lakme Fashion Week for various designers.
3. Conducted a photography workshop at IIT Kharagpur.
4. Conducted a photography workshop at Unmaad, the cultural fest of IIM Bangalore.
5. Covered IIT Kharagpur’s Spring fest’2010.
6. “behind the scenes” category nomination in the “Wedding photographer of the year” contest conducted by BetterPhotography magazine.
7. Candid Wedding Photograph, featured on Kodak Weddingsutra website.
8. Article published in Times of India, Indore supplement.
9. Interview was published in IIT Kharagpur’s campus newsletter .
10. Exhibited my work as a part of “Urban Bengaluru Exhibition” at Jaaga.
11. Interview on AIR FM Rainbow, Bangalore. 
12. Panelist for AIESEC’s Youth 2 Business meet.
13. A book cover for the book named “Vinu, I am getting married” ,by Alchemy Publishers.
14. One of my wedding photograph was selected by Singapore Tourism for their destination wedding campaign.
15. 25 weddings covered and still counting … (Including a destination wedding in Thailand  ).
16. Behind the scenes shoot for music video by Remix King of Bollywood.
17. Conducted a photography workshop at IIT Mumbai.

It came to me as a sweet surprise that one of my images had been selected to be on the cover for Vinu, I am getting married, published by Alchemy publishers. And I was more than happy to get the news. One of the target from my bucket list is done.

Here is the book cover.

My image which goes on the book

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Me in AIR Studio with RJ Rashmi

Recently I was interviewed by Rj Rashmi from AIR FM Rainbow. She is amazing Rj full of life and she hosts this show called “Folks with different strokes” on every second and fourth saturday of each month.

When I received a call from her that she wants to interview on her show, I was super excited. (and nervous too as it was going to be my first live interview and I did not know the questions beforehand).

On the day of interview when I started from my house, lord Indra showed his tears and it started pouring like mad. And I had to leave my bike near coffee day on old airport road (probably one of the few CCD, which have parking). My heart started pounding too fast and then the hunt for an auto began, after getting fully drenched I finally got an auto. And managed to reach the studio in time.

A nervous fully drenched me managed to give and interview, here is the link for the same for people who were not able to hear it live.

AIR-FM-Rainbow-101.3.Interview-RJRashmi by devsphotography

P.S::I have removed most of the songs, except one.

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Creative Candid Wedding Photography Dreams

1. What should I expect from my first assignment? And what should I expect my client to expect from me?

A. Usually DVDs or printed album is the deliverable. And obviously Candid moments. As there are thousands of customs in India, you can expect a variety of clients.

2. Am I expected to take ‘contemporary or creative shots only’ or as a new-age photographer should I expect to be asked to shoot plastic shots?

A. Something that you have to be clear in the head. If you can manage both then go ahead. But if you cant then tell the client I can’t. Also some people will ask for plastic shots at the wedding. So as far as its not distracting your candid work, then go ahead and click one shot.

3. Equipment? Any must-haves you suggest. I already have a 50mm 1.8 prime along with a 18-55 3.5-4.5 standard zoom and 75-300 4-5.6 telephoto. Should I rent out a lens with a lower aperture?

A. Yes, you will need wider apertures. So rent/buy. A 1.8 aperture is good enough mostly.

4. Online I’ve always seen pro-photographers advising rookies of carrying an additional camera as a back up. Should I rent out a camera? It is my first assignment and my budget is tight, very tight.

A. Yes, having a backup is good idea. But obviously it depends on your budget. If its not falling in your budget then don’t. (a little bit of prayer should help managing with one camera)

5. Speaking of a budget, how much should I charge? I am planning to travel to Dehradun via train. Plus if I am renting out equipment, it would turn out to be an expensive affair. Considering it to be my first assignment, I was thinking of charging somewhere around the range of Rs 10-20K. Too much to ask? I am travelling half the country across to shoot this that is why.

A. I don’t think its too much to ask. As the amount of effort needed is a lot. And if you are planning to do it seriously, 10-20k per day will never look sufficient and eventually you will lose interest in it. If you are doing it for fun, its all bonus.

6. Lastly, presentation. I don’t know any place famous for such albums. Do you suggest me hunting for a place where they print good albums and send them a copy?

A. Canvera is a good option, but be sure to include costs of printing and designing. If you feel that album is too much of headache or its costly, tell your client straightaway.

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1. How do i play consistently in the game of life? (I know exactly what kind of life i want and i am working towards it everyday.. How do i bring in self-discipline, patience during times when things are not going my way.. and most importantly, stability of mind?)
A. I believe stability of mind is mostly disturbed by thoughts of different problems(some which we already have, some we anticipate that will happen in future). My usual idea to note down the problems (maybe on paper/else in mind). And see if it has a proper solution. If it has a solution then you already know the solution and can work towards it. This way you will at least know what problems are solvable and what are not. So whenever thought of unsolvable problem comes into your mind then you already know whether to worry about it right now or just postpone thinking about it as you know it does not have immediate solution.

Another idea is to try to postpone the problem for sometime, lets say for half an hour and maybe the need to think about it will be gone.
Like usually when I am about to go to bed in night, I always get two thoughts:
a. Have I wished everyone birthday on FB (easy task).
b. Have I delivered the pictures to all the clients? And replied to all the mails? (A little tough )
I tell myself that tomorrow morning I will wake up early and finish it all up. And go to sleep peacefully and it works most of the times.

2. My mind wanders a lot sometimes. I indulge in a lot of wasteful activities when I’m not feeling like working on my goals. How do i vent out myself constructively and be back to my goals with renewed vigor?
A. I think its human nature to be distracted. And new age also has reduced our attention span. The more we are forced to do some things at our workplace, more energy is wasted. And you can’t expect creative outputs when you are low on energy. You can challenge yourself to be away from Facebook for half an hour and keep increasing the time gradually. (Let me know how you can succeed at that )

Also a creative mind has a tendency to wander a lot. I also tend to like hundreds of things and my wishlist has lots of things to be done. But some are done, some are not.

3. Is it okay to follow somebody you aspire to be completely or you should be what you are and try to better yourself?
A. It is a very philosophical question I think. I personally do not aspire to be someone else. I try to keep comparing me with myself to keep improving and I do not try to push myself too much . I do have mentors who are much better than me and I keep seeking their guidance from time to time.

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Off late I get lots of request from people to see their work and comment on it.

So I thought I should write about some things that should be kept in mind before writing such a mail to anyone, so that you get the best feedback.

1. Introspect

First of all try to criticize your own work. Do you find some faults? How it could have been clicked better? In terms of lighting, composition, situation? If you do not find the solution, then it makes sense to ask someone.

2. Just picked a DSLR

I just picked a DSLR, I started clicking things around me. Do u think I can be a photographer/do u think I click well. The question effectively is “is my camera working fine?”, the answer is yes, so the first impression you will create is little bad.

3. Too many albums

I love all my pictures and there are just 500pics and 50 albums. Nobody in this world has time to look at someone else’s images and critique them, unless they are of awesome quality. And if you have that awesome quality then you don’t need feedback anyways.

4. Love my subject too much

I loved this sunset/bird/flower, so I clicked 10 pics of it. Repetitive images don’t please anyone (moreover it makes you look like more amateurish) , unless they have something unique in terms of composition/lighting or they create a story, if they don’t, sadly you have to remove few of them.

If you want your work to look professional in future, you can not escape right now by saying I am an amateur.

So ideally if you want constructive feedback from anyone, you should present them with about 20images and in case feedback on them is good, then you can ask them if they would like to see more.

My Bucket List

My bucket list. The idea of bucket list is awesome. And I thought I will make mine as well.

1. Pursue my passion to make a career out of it (Done in Sept, 2010)
2. Travel to Europe.
3. Do bungee jumping in New Zealand.
4. Shoot Deepika Padukone (partially done at kingfisher calendar launch )
5. Shoot a video for lady gaga.
6. Blog continuously for 30 days.
7. Act in a movie. (short movie is done )
8. Work on a play with Vinay Pathak.
9. Appear on TV (appeared on MTV Volkswagen Polo Ultimate Drive Challenge)
10. Walk on ramp in a proper professional show.
11. Write a book (photobook right now).
12. Have an exhibition on Quilling works.
13. Have a photography exhibition. (Group exhibition is done)
14. Bring happiness into life of people.
15. Have his own website.
16. Travel to valley of flowers.
17. Travel to Ladakh.
18. Create a valley of lilies, which will bloom in different seasons.
19. Have a big (at least 20×20 ft ) lotus pond in the house.
20. Click a runaway bride.
21. Learn playing flute.
22. learn swimming.
23. Help people with photography. (partially done in IITKgp and IIMB )
24. Own a persian cat.
25. Make a big wall size aquarium in the house.
26. Scuba dive.
27. Parasailing.
28. Appear on Comedy circus.
29. Make my parents proud. (Did it in 1999, but the feelings changed in Sept.2010 )
30. Make ad-spoof videos and have a television show out of it.
31. Own a Siberian Husky dog.
32. Swim with dolphins.
33. Learn sand art on Puri beach, from Sudarshan Patnaik
34. Give an interview on the Radio … (Did it in 2011, AIR FM Rainbow, Listen to it)
35. Get an image published on a book cover (Done .. Vinu I am getting married by Vineet Mishra …Cover)

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Finding your real passion

Recently I was asked few questions by some of my friends about the desire to switch from regular software job to photography. And they were at the cliff where I was standing 6months back. So I thought why not share my opinions with others. I believe that these question will apply to pursuing any passion.

Here is a small checklist,

1. Do I have all the equipments already. If not, Where will the money to buy/rent that will come from?
2. Have I decided what I want to click?
3. Can I immediately get work (or at least enquiries) when I leave the job?
4. Am I just running away from my current job? (I just want a holiday/break from my job. )
5. Do I have people which will help me connect to others?
6. Do I have dependencies in family or any other financial burdens? (parents, wife, kids, drinking … etc etc)
7. How important money is? (When the cash flow stops it becomes a tough thing and not everyone can handle it)

These are the questions I came up with, for which there is no perfect answer as such. But they can be just food for thought.

So now coming to the questions that were asked to me.

1. I have the finance Which could probably last me 6 Months without a Job.
A. Sounds great. But I believe there has to be some money flowing from photography already. I would always prefer to not touch my backup money. Also when I calculate backup money, I also have to consider some hidden costs for equipments.

2. I am not too sure If I am good enough
A. I wish there was a medical test to tell ok now you are good enough to be a photographer. Sadly there is no such test. And only way to know is to show to some professionals and to review things yourself. Just ask that what makes this picture different from others. Can this picture be easily taken by someone else? What am I doing differently?

3. I am quite Mercuric in nature, so dunno for sure What is good for me.
A. Every artist is Mercuric, they like some things at one time and hate it other time. I don’t think that it can be answered by anyone. (sounds too philosophical .. but can’t help that)

4. how could One Identify the true passion ?
A. I wish there was one medical test for this too. The way I would do it will be to ask myself following questions, the answers to which can not be a perfect yes/no
a. What I enjoy most (currently )?
b. Can it pay me, if not immediately then in future? (with onion prices fluctuating randomly, you would want to earn well immediately)
c. How good I feel I am at it compared to the competition in the market? (identifying competition is the biggest challenge here)
d. Do I have people to help me with my decisions?

These questions can decide feasibility of a passion. Like when I was doing theater I liked it a lot, but it failed at b,c.
So when I decided to quit my job, I can tell you my condition,
a. 100% yes.
b. 75% yes. (I was confident that I can take out my monthly expenses out of photography)
c. I had no clear answer to this, as I did not really know who my competition was. I just wanted to take a break and try out things.
d. 100% yes. At various stages of my life, I had friends who questioned my decision to quit my job. But when I decided to quit, my Brother-in-law and my sister were biggest support. My parents never opposed my decisions, they questioned it but still they did not force me to take decisions. Also I had people from fashion industry who had noticed/liked my work. So I had HOPE of getting work from there.

5. One thing I know is : Praise gives me happiness, even if doesn’t earn money. but then again Money is Necessary, One can not live off Pure fame.
A. Praise gives happiness to everyone. I think the answer to this question is done in 4th question.

6. Can i start part time and see how the response is with the time and when i gain confidence i can quit my regular job and go pro?(I seriously think of this ALL the time )
A. Obviously confidence and part time work go hand in hand. On one fine day I can not just say that I wish to be a photographer. For some people time to gain confidence takes time, for some it never comes.

7. For how long this business would survive?
A. Business?? What business?? I am just following my passion. Well, When you quit your day job and start something on your own then it does become a business. I have never done a course on business management. So I am still getting a hang of “How to get more business”. And frankly I do not know how long this will survive. I do ask/think about questions like, what if everyone becomes a photographer tomorrow? You might get such dreams too . (I still keep getting dreams about the theft of my old camera )

So unless your business is something that is necessity of people, and will keep growing, it can end any day. Also one thing I would like to mention is that people might/might not get you business, but they would surely get you thousands of ideas .

8. What if it didn’t worked out for me after some time say a year or so?
A. You need to think about getting an alternate job, which is not an impossible thing. When I had quit my job, I had given myself a timeframe of 1 yr. And post that I would have joined another software job (I would have hated myself and others too , for it).

I still think I would become Papa in one of Ekta kapoor serials in case photography doesn’t work for me . (I will Just try)

9. Should i have some backup plan too in parallel of this?
A. Everybody would love to have more money. So if I have cash flow coming from somewhere else. I would be more than happy. I would have loved to have the software job which would just take 3/4 hours a day and rest of day would be for me only. But sadly there is no such provision.

I think the final answer always lies within you. That should I do this or not?
So I hope this solves some of the questions. In case you have more questions, feel free to ask me.

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