BENGALURU: Photographer Aparna Jayakumar, who has shot for Victoria Beckham and Netflix series like The Suitable Boy and Kaminey, will conduct a guided walk for photo enthusiasts at Richards Park to talk about the artistic process and challenges of street photography
A photograph has the ability to freeze time, dig deep into culture and zeitgeist to focus on the metamorphosis that connects the past and the present. Street photography steers into mind one of the most famous frames of Henri Cartier- Bresson in 1932 of a cyclist on a brick-layed street in France in an angle almost peeping over the handrails.
It is simple, stunning and handled with sensitivity, and photographer Aparna Jayakumar 0also works assiduously towards minute details. Jayakumar, in association with MAP Academy, will be undertaking a guided walk for photo enthusiasts at the Richards Park on August 13 between 4pm and 6pm. Participants will be guided by Jayakumar explaining the artistic process, sensitivities and challenges of approaching people, and the technical expertise needed to capture street portraits. “It’s a photo walk where photo enthusiasts gather, and are guided on how to approach street photography.
Since this is something that I do, I can give them certain advice and tricks and share with them my philosophy of shooting on the streets,” says Jayakumar, adding that photographers need to understand people are not obliged to shoot. She feels that photographers, during the street shoot, need to understand that there is a person on the other side of the lens who is not a prop. “You need to approach people with kindness, and give back a little bit too by showing them how they are looking in the camera.
Sometimes people just go out there and shoot as if they want to grab stuff and they don’t think about whom they are capturing on camera and how that person is feeling,” says Jayakumar, who spent 15 years behind the lens. From Victoria Beckham and to Netflix series like The Suitable Boy, movie Kaminey to name a few, Jayakumar’s portfolio is replete with celebrity shoots and also the factors that come along with it. “Celebrities are also human beings.
You need to be sensitive to their needs. Sometimes you need to be extra-sensitive to their egos, and make sure they are in a good mental space, since their jobs come with tremendous pressure. At the end of the day, there is a commission so you have to shoot based on the brief , ” explains Jayakumar. After living in Doha for six years, she moved to Bengaluru, and is looking forward to the session that will also give her a chance to explore the city with a different perspective. (Log on to map-india.org to register for the walk).