BENGALURU: With a 'travel, see, click and share' mantra, Bengaluru boy Auditya Venkatesh, of Audi Photography fame has secured a prominent place among the top 25 photographers on the web.
On World Photography Day, one of the most-sought after travel photographers from India, in a candid chat with City Express, talks about his journey from being a dropout to making it big in the field of photography. With over 7 lakh Facebook likes and 1 lakh followers on Instagram, his photos are an absolute visual treat.
How did you take to photography?
It all started in 2010 when I was pursuing my CA and wasn’t really enjoying it. Though initially, I wasn’t sure that photography is my thing, a few ‘clicks’ later I realised this is my place. It was a huge challenge back then because I had quit CA and had no backup plan. Back then photography wasn’t a big thing like it is now. Managing finances, switching my career plan and most importantly convincing my parents that I can build a career in this field was very challenging. It took time; but today, when I look back, I realise the efforts are worth it.
You are a self-taught photographer; how did you manage to teach yourself photography?
Well, I thought it wasn’t right to ask my parents to pay a hefty fee in an international academy to get trained in photography. Also, since they were initially disappointed about my career choice, I decided to go about it on my own. Photography is an art; but, unlike painting and other forms of art, photography requires learning the technical aspects. I went to agencies as an extra model and learnt the tricks and trades of photography. I used to watch videos on YouTube, Google, seek opinions from experts and started experimenting. Soon I learnt the importance of explaining a situation through a picture, from my perspective. That is when my photographs started narrating stories.
In photography, what do people look for most?
Perspectives. More than beautiful images, people look for perspectives. It’s all about how you treat a subject differently. Though we all go to the same place, the way we look at it is different. That is how it works with photography.
What is it that interests you most about photography?
I am basically a very shy and quiet person. With photography, I have started telling stories without having to speak much about it. This part of it interests me the most. The way I am allowed to convey so much with less or no words.
What has been the role of social media in the success of Audi photography?
I think to me it was all about being at the right place at the right time. Facebook had just come up with an option to create pages. So I used to upload my works on the page and ask my Facebook friends to take a look at it. When I started taking more assignments, the circle grew; various new sites like Twitter, Instagram came up after. People had slowly started to recognise my works on these platforms. The field was very new and social media, in a way, boosted my morale.
What is one thing you wish you knew when you started taking pictures?
During my period of struggle, I once showed my pictures to a senior photographer. He looked at it and said, “They are good. But, I can’t figure out what your style is.” That is when I realised the importance of taking a picture the way I wanted. Till then I used to click pictures from other people’s perspectives.
Also, since I learnt it on my own, I
did not have any pre-conceived notion about the art and I could easily figure out what I wanted.
How easy or difficult is travel photography?
It is a restless job and is not always commercially viable.
Lastly, which software do you use to process your images?
I use Lightroom and Photoshop on the Adobe Creative Cloud platform.