Ashutosh Khandha's photostream  

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“All of us wear masks, probably on a daily basis. And we often desire to try on new masks, or even bare our true selves......... just to tickle our fancies, to feel more alive. Capturing those desires in portraits is what I truly enjoy. ”



Short Clip of Photography Workshop

One of the photographers who attended my workshop had the brilliant idea of recording our conversations, during which I answered a lot of questions. So, if you would like to read more, the chat transcript (below) will help you all know me better. :)

Q. When did you start shooting?

A. Over a decade ago. Back then, my photography was limited to weekends, because I didn’t own an SLR, and weekends was the only time I could sneak the “lab camera” (meant to photograph cadavers !) out of the lab. Ever since then, I haven’t been able to stop “experimenting with light”!

Q. Cadavers! What kind of a lab was that?

A. I am a bioengineer by training. For the various projects I did during the master’s program, I tested spinal implants in a cadaver lab. I spent the next six years testing and designing implants for “low back pain” patients. In hindsight, I guess my position as director of R&D is what allowed me to afford photography equipment and attend photography workshops!

Q. How long have you been shooting professionally?

A. I quit my corporate job in 2010, and have dedicated a large amount of my time to photography ever since. My friends told me it’s a mid-life crisis. I tried telling them I wanted to be a photographer ever since I could remember. Even today, I am glad I made that decision. Maybe mid-life crises are supposed to be joyous. It was my first one, so I didn’t know. :)

Q. Did you go to school for photography?

A. No. I have educated myself primarily through books and workshops. The “digital” revolution essentially enabled me to pursue my passion as a career, in terms of the educational material available online, the DSLR, post processing software and the ability to connect with photographers worldwide.

Q. What kind of a photographer would you call yourself, what defines your style?

A. “Contemporary Personality Portraiture” is how I like to think of it.

Each individual, in some form or another, harbors a wish, a fantasy, of looking and feeling beautiful, in “at least 3-4 distinct, antithetic themes”, which is very “different” from how they carry or conduct themselves on a daily basis. A person who wants to look like a glamorous celebrity might also want to try a gothic, unconventional look. A man who wants a corporate portrait might also want a carefree, unshaven look with a bare upper body showing off years of gym training. A woman, who wants her “angelic motherly expression” captured in a photo, might also entertain the idea of looking alluring and sexy. The same woman, who is probably very self-disciplined and organized in her life, might also want a vibrant, easy going portrait of herself.

Each of these themes represents a clashing personality trait. Capturing “contrasting portraits” of the same individual, that’s what I love doing. And although I do shoot 6 feet tall “haute-couture” models, I am not a fashion photographer. My clients range from the ages of 15 through 50. Celebrities or not, each one of us has “personalities” (one that is dominant, and other personalities that we wish we had), and that’s what I aim to capture.

Q. How do you go about capturing different looks for the same individual?

A. Three major factors, besides lighting and the camera settings, of course.

MakeUp/Hair/Wardrobe: I think the Stylists I work with are magicians. They just make it happen.

Posing & Expression: Directing the person being photographed is probably the most challenging and the most important factors. The easiest way to instruct a person is – to have the pose and expression yourself! If they can see it, they will mimic it. And this means, the photographer needs to practice it too. An added bonus, for instance, when a male photographer has to pose as a sexy woman, is that it gets the client giggling and puts her at ease. Practicing poses is relatively easier, practicing expressions needs more work, I think. As a pastime, I was reading books about body language and recognizing “subtle” facial expressions, and that has helped me to get the expressions down myself. Yes, sounds weird, but as a photographer, standing in front of a mirror and letting it loose has worked for me !

Post Processing: With the digital tools available today, you can go crazy with altering a photo, and adding other special effects.

Q. How much do you post process, and how much time do you spend on it?

A. Now that’s an excellent question. There was a stage in my life, where I found asking myself whether I was ending up being a “photographer, or a photoshopper”. I think that’s a question that each photographer should ask himself or herself.

Some of my older editorial publications and exhibitions, for instance, were nice, but it was akin to HDR for Landscapes, i.e. wonderful art, but definitely did not look like a photograph. Rather, it looked like a painting. And the better I got at photoshop, the better a painter I was becoming.

In a sense, “digital art” and “digital photography” are used interchangeably nowadays. Not that there is anything wrong with that. At the end of the day, it is art, and if you like it, you like it, if you don’t, you don’t, irrespective of how it was created.

Even though there is always an overlap between digital photography and post processing, I have chosen to be a photographer, and not a photoshopper. I love the look and feel of a photograph more than a digital painting. Now, I spend more time getting the mood, lighting, pose and expressions right, and less time post processing.

There have been times when I have spent ridiculous amounts of time in post processing; now, it is down to 5 minutes or less, per photo. And if the client wants more post processing done, I collaborate with this amazing photoshop wizard who does wonderful work, and I make sure he gets credit too. :)

Q. Which software do you use?

A. Photoshop, Lightroom, Nik plugins and Topaz plugins.

Q. What kind of hardware do you use?

A. Canon 5D Mark II, fixed portrait lens, Canon Speedlites, Paul Buff Lights, Mola and Kacey beauty dishes, softboxes, reflectors etc.

Q. Can you name some of photographers that inspire you?

A. Yousuf Karsh, George Deloache, Dabboo Ratnani, Tom Hoops, George Favios, Oliver Prout, Emily Soto, Manny Librodo, Thomas Lavelle, Sue Bryce

Q. Random Nuggets?

A. Photography allows me to be an “amateur” of life in the true, etymological sense of that word. When I switched my approach to photography “from the arrogance of the creator to the humility of the witness” ( Amish Tripathi, author: The Immortals of Meluha), that’s when the best photographs were made. So, I continue being an amateur, following my soul, clicking photos, and living my dream. And I wish you all a wonderful journey of life.

Cheers !

Ashu (Bless you !)