Originality doesn’t always come from finding a new subject. Sometimes it comes from asking a different question about a familiar one. Every major cultural event has its obvious photographs; you know, those photographs everyone wants to make: The grand entrance, the elaborate clothes, the dramatic processions, the colourful crowds, the beautifully adorned horses, the spectacle,...
How a simple branding session became a conversation about identity, upbringing and the stories we carry. A few weeks ago, Hakeem Quadri came into the studio for a branding portrait session. Hakeem is the founder of Atupa, a startup, and the brief was fairly straightforward: he needed a collection of photographs for his social media,...
In the second half of last year, in August precisely, Sukurat reached out for us to photograph her 30th. birthday photos. This wasn’t my first time photographing her as i’ve been doing that from our days in school, and I also photographed her 25th and 28th birthday photos. But her reaching out again this time...
Documentary photography trains you to pay attention. When you’re working in real environments, whether it’s on the street, at a public event or inside someone’s daily routine, moments appear without warning. There is no opportunity to repeat them or ask people to start again. Photography can be approached in many ways: some photographers focus primarily...
I’m not really comfortable in front of the camera – this is one of the most heard lines from clients during consultations Sometimes they say it with a laugh. Sometimes they say it apologetically, as if it might make the session more difficult; but the truth is, being camera shy is far more common than...
Every project begins with a brief. Which, depending on the client and other factors could be detailed, but sometimes loosely defined. But for me, the brief is never a checklist. It’s a starting point. What matters most is not just what is being asked for, but what sits underneath it. Before I think about cameras,...
Most of the work I do happens long before the camera comes out of the bag and by the time I arrive on set, I already have a sense of what I’m looking for — not in terms of poses or shots, but in terms of feeling, intention, and story. Preparation, for me, isn’t about...
They are the three pillars on which every decision I make are moulded on — often more than the subject itself. Before I think about composition or technique, I pay attention to three things: light, mood and story. Photography, for me, isn’t about imposing a look. It’s about responding to what’s already present and guiding...