Women's lens stories

They have been making a mark and carving a niche for themselves

Surbhi Kaushik

Somya Sood

Surbhi Kaushik photographing the migratory birds at Yamuna Ghat in Delhi.

Photography allows you to capture moments in their truest sense and a feminine gaze adds a unique perspective. Women photographers have been making a mark in the industry.

Metrolife spoke to a few of these talented women and got them talking about their experience in this field.

Amrita Samant, founder of Mommy Shots, is a maternity and baby photographer who has been capturing precious moments for the last seven years. She says that her interest in creative arts began with her being introduced to performing arts at the age of four. Since not many creative options were encouraged, she took the safe option of studying management while the itch to do something creative always persisted. "I explored 10 different creative career opportunities while working my full-time job, to seek my creative calling. A job that would satiate the artist in me, yet sustain me," she says.

"As a third child, I never had too many baby photographs of myself. My parents had lost the enthusiasm of taking pictures by then. Today, I create memories for thousands of babies and encourage moms to do the same. Every shoot gives me such joy and serves as a conviction that I made the right choice to switch," she says.

Amrita says that during her initial days she had to make appointments with relevant doctors to understand a newborn’s anatomy, their growth, and the safety aspects on how to handle them. "I have attended countless workshops and courses to upskill myself. While I always make it a point to allocate some time to review my images every fortnight, I have a whole list of things I want to improve and try out," she adds.

Surbhi Kaushik, director and co-founder of GoodShotz, is a travel photographer and loves that her job essentially pays her to travel. “As a child, I was heavily passionate about painting and creating something new. Nature, travel, and colours were always a source of inspiration for me. I was equally drawn to photography from an early age. I continued exhibiting my artwork till the final years of college and after I started work, I experienced a shift in the way I wished to create art," she says.

She bought her first camera at the age of 23 and today she seeks artistic inspiration from landscape, nature and travel photographers like Bobby Joshi, Ilhan Eroglu and admires the way they work with light. "I was completely intrigued by the idea of viewing things with a different perspective. The fact that different people standing in the same place with the same device could capture it in their own unique way was very fascinating to me," she says.

She says the creativity in this field are endless. "I used to think that after visiting a place once, I would no longer wish to photograph it again. But I’ve realised over time that I want to visit the same places again. Either to do better than I did or to capture them in another season or light," she adds. According to Surbhi, creating a photograph is not just about clicking the shutter of a professional camera. It's a combination of visualization of the place or subject, being able to plan the shoot at the right time, composition, and the way you enhance light during post-production. "Minimising the gap between your visualisation and the final output is the result of all the learning that makes you a good photographer," she adds.

Somya Sood, a family photographer and founder of Somya Sood Photography says that she found her calling while trying to capture her son's fingers and toes. "Dissatisfied with my 9 to 5 job, I began looking at alternatives. I started my own home accessories brand but after having my son, my enthusiasm for the home decor venture started to fizzle out. However, around the same time, I started photographing my baby with the shiny SLR and here we are today," she says.

It's a challenge to excel in any field when you are a working mom. Mastering the art of balancing time between work and home is very important, says Somya. "It surely helps to have a supportive husband with a sound job. But the challenge is to decide how much to hold back and push ahead given the circumstances. It’s equally important to own your choices fully and without any regrets," she says.

"I don't wish to change anything about my journey. Every challenge has added to my growth and self-discovery and I am grateful for it. So, there's nothing I wish I knew before. It was scary to take this plunge but I did it anyway and I am braver for it," she adds.