KOCHI: There is one thing that has become blandly mundane if you look at the works of most fashion photographers these days. The creativity has become saturated, and the compositions seem repetitive for a formulaic focus solely on the subject and what he or she is wearing. But for Kottayam-native and fashion and lifestyle photographer Down Trodden aka DT, photography goes beyond just faces and clothes.
Don’t worry, that’s not his given name. Scroll through his Instagram handle @down_trodden, and you will find several familiar faces including actress Rashmika Mandanna, blogger Aiswarya Suresh and hip hoper Imbachi but the remarkable aspect of his edgy photographs lies in his use of the architecture around. DT plays with his setting with such skill that the often unnoticed background stands bold and striking. His compositions use the clean edges of walls, pillars, roofs and doors to create an almost illusion-like effect that tests your depth perception.
An MBA graduate, DT worked in the HR department of Tata Consultancy Services in Kochi for two years. With absolutely no professional training in photography, he set up his Instagram handle and started posting a few pictures of his everyday encounters. His earnest tryst with the camera began soon after he moved to Dubai in 2016 to work for a government organisation. “During weekends I started taking pictures of my friends. That gave me a lot of joy and also made me feel cool so I started attending Insta meets and events. I went to a major lifestyle festival called ‘Soul DXB’, there I met a number of models and started collaborating and networking with them. That is how photography happened to me,” says DT.
It was when he moved to Hyderabad in 2018 that he managed to solidify his status as a photographer to reckon with. Even while on the hunt for a conventional job, DT hit the streets in the new city by collaborating with National Institute of Fashion Technology (NIFT) students on their projects. With a few thousand followers on Instagram and a feature on a prominent photography handle, DT’s breakthrough moment was imminent. “I was contacted by actor Vijay Devarakonda’s fashion label ‘Rowdy Wear’ to shoot a few pieces for their collection.
I guess one of the designers of the brand found me on Instagram.” And as luck would have it, a one-off opportunity turned into a dream appointment. “The very next day of the shoot I was called back to their office. They said they liked my work and wanted to offer a long-term position. This was last year,” says DT. Ever since, the 29-year-old has been working as the official photographer for the label while also shooting for Puma Middle East, Redbull and Fastrack. The story behind his nom de plume Down Trodden is equally fascinating.
“There is an old Malayalam film, ‘Sandesham’. It’s a political satire and there is a scene in the movie where the hero goes to meet a girl in hopes of getting married. He wants to know if she is politically inclined and stats asking random questions. He asks if she has read this book called ‘Downtrodden?’. I googled it and found there was no book with that name. But the word resonated with me as I felt pretty disadvantaged during my time in Dubai.
The other photographers I would meet had professional cameras while I had to borrow one from my friend. I put is as my Instagram id and everyone started calling me that or DT. It stuck and now, not many people know my actual name. I want to keep it that way to add an element of mystery.” Currently, in Kerala following the pandemic outbreak, DT is looking forward to capturing more people and places of his home state. He is also in the works for a video shoot with a prominent indie music group in Kochi.