Pravin Talan, an Agra born Mumbai-based photographer has tried his hand at a fair few many professions before realising that photography was his true calling. He continues to quench his thirst for writing through his blog that features his work and his experiences during shoots. We caught up with Talan to find out more about what keeps him ticking through his various likes and dislikes.

How did you start photography?
This is actually my 10th profession! I have done various things before and although I have been satisfied with them all, now I am finally doing photography and enjoying it a lot more. Before starting with photography I have been an event manager, a writer, done artist promotions, worked as a brand manager, a journalist, a producer, a director, short filmmaker and more. I have also made a few music videos. When I was in college I did a lot of writing and I kept going with the flow. I did what my heart wanted and there was a point in my life when I had a lot more to do than I could manage. So I decided I will try my hand at all that I think I am capable of.

Before starting photography on a full time basis I was the President of ‘Sanchetna’ for 10 years. ‘Sanchetna’ is an NGO that works for youth empowerment. I did a lot of shows and events during that time and enjoyed it to the hilt. We aimed at erasing the divide between the large and small cities and worked on bringing about equilibrium in the availability of opportunities. It was an organisation run by the youth for the youth.

Photography to me happened by chance, I had put up my photos on the net and that put me on a roll. I started receiving calls and offers from across the globe!

Despite being engaged in full-time photography, I still manage to do a few of the things that I did before like making films, videos, writing, etc. I enjoyed it then and I enjoy it even now.

Have you had any formal education in photography?
I have had no formal education in photography. I have picked most of my skills from trial and error and reading, but moreover from experience. A lesson learnt through experience is the best lesson ever.

I had been through a lot of emotional turmoil at a certain point of time in my life and that is what pushed me to do what I wanted and I simply followed my heart. Photographs are a visual identity and for the same reason I decided to stick to photography that radiates positive vibes and shun the negativity that comes with clicking during the times of turmoil and terror. I do not want to click sad photos.

How much does the lack of formal education affect work?
I started shooting professionally only three years ago and as I had started it as a hobby I wasn’t too keen on technical details; I was shooting with my instinct and it worked for me. But this one time, I was doing a shoot after having switched my camera model from Nikon to Canon and the machine was relatively new to me. I don’t know how or let’s say then I did not know how but my aperture got locked. I had to do the shoot and so I adjusted the light settings and still managed to pull it off!

But I must say that technical knowledge is a must because when you are on job you have got get the job done and so it is best that you are well prepared. Professionalism is of key importance!

How did you acquire the necessary knowledge?
I experiment a lot. As a rule, I take five pictures a day. I read up on photography using all the sources I can find, the internet, books, etc. It’s not like I have a lot of knowledge now… I am still learning a lot and figuring out many aspects of photography.

I also like to experiment with my newly acquired knowledge once I have found out all that I need to on an aspect. I then just go ahead to create something new out of it.

What has been the one moment when shooting that convinced you of being on the right track?
It has only been three years that I have been doing photography professionally. My turning point came with my wildlife photography. I had started experimenting with the camera with wildlife photography in Madhya Pradesh after which I got a call for shooting a cover for the magazine GR8! I had to do a shoot with Roshni Chopra and Hussain who are big T.V. stars. That can safely be called the turning point of my photography career. I was intrigued by the fact that a wildlife photographer was called for a magazine cover.

I started doing cover photography before doing portfolios. Since I started photography as my experiment I had no fixed plan of action, so I just went with the flow. At a later stage I had received a call from Mandira Bedi for a photo shoot, the difficult bit was when she called and asked where my studio was, I did not have a studio of my own, then, so I had hired a studio for two days and I spent an entire day understanding the equipment available at the studio. Till that day I did not know the use of any other equipment than the camera itself. But despite that entire day that I spent at the studio, I did not use the meter during the shoot… I preferred to go with what I could see with my own eyes and shot with judgment and instinct. After this shoot, I decided not to be so callous about my work and started experimenting with light. Cars, candles, tubes, natural light all became a part of my experiment and I sharpened my skills and instinct with light through this exercise.

Till date I use 70 percent instinct and 30 percent acquired knowledge. I feel it is important to understand one’s own strengths and weaknesses and work accordingly. Good timing is of utmost importance in wildlife photography and that eventually brings about an ease of anticipation in you. It works wonders when you are clicking otherwise as well. I feel a well captured reaction makes an image.

After realising my strengths and weaknesses I decided to concentrate on my strengths. My photography is simple… moods, colours and composition; unless I have some other specific idea I stick to these three. When I am shooting people I like to push people beyond themselves, beyond their social and personal image and then one can see for themselves that there is such a vast variety within them which is a pleasure to shoot.

What according to you is the basic difference between shooting for work and shooting for leisure?
I think I am still shooting for leisure. Otherwise money is the only obvious difference between the two. I am still very sticky and choosy about what I take up. I recently went for a shoot in Cape Town and we had to travel in a boat and I have motion sickness, I hate boats and I also can’t swim. But work is work, I had taken up the assignment and I had to do it, plus I was going to take photographs so why should I complain?

There was this other time when I was doing an outdoor shoot in Jaisalmer and I managed to get a severe foot injury on my way but I was still game to do a shoot in the fuming sand.

I have aplenty reasons which dissolve the differences between work and leisure, one of them being if the picture or the assignment excites me the differences between work and play dissolves, it depends on what you choose to do and what you make of it. Undoubtedly a lot of hard work goes in to an image but every photographer does that, so I guess all work can be leisure.

For me, portfolios are more like work, but in that case also I feel better when I am extending the dynamic range within the person. I feel happy when I feel I am giving to the person rather than just taking pictures.

It is said that photography is an extension of the eye, your comments on this.
For me photography is when a photographer shoots not just what is obvious but can go beyond the obvious, so yes I agree in a way photography is an extension of the eye.

What is Pravin Talan doing when not shooting?
I have done many things, till date I enjoy writing and that is what I am doing when not shooting. Or else I will be studying. My social life is zero because of constant work. I am just doing what I want to do. Currently I am also compiling a book that covers the finer nuances of human expressions.

Of the genres that you work in, which one do you enjoy the most?
I shoot for portfolios, fashion, wildlife, landscapes, streets, editorials, advertising, etc. For me it is all the same, it is photography that I love and it is photography that I am doing at the end of the day. Shooting a Mithun Chakraborty is the same as shooting a tiger for me. The final image no matter what genre it falls in, it must have a character and an emotion.

Memorable shoots you’d like to share with us.
I would say all my shoots are memorable. I remember each one of them. But to quote, I’d say the time when I was shooting with Tanya, Maryan, Lyudmyla and a shoot with Mithun Da.

Let’s take Tanya first, Tanya is an awesome ballet dancer and on our way to a shoot in Madhya Pradesh we happened to cross a river and Tanya is very fond of water, so she got down to play in the water and we were getting a little late, she insisted I take pictures and I agreed. I asked her to pick a spot in the water which was relatively shallow and asked her to jump making sure she splashed enough water and the result was a brilliant picture that looks like she is dancing on the water.

In Maryan’s case I would first of all would like to appreciate her courage. We were shooting at a beach and we wanted to shoot on a huge rock, when we had gone to see the spot the sea had a low-tide but when we reached on the day of the shoot the high tide had surrounded the rock on all sides so we decided to get on board a kayoke and go till there. It was an F-TV shoot and the other crew members refused to go ahead. So just Maryan and myself carried on. After the shoot the man came to the rock to take us back and now precisely at this point a huge wave washed on the rock and the kayak toppled on top of the rock, the man managed to get it straight again and just when he was about to call us in the same thing happened this continued for a couple of times till we could finally get in to the kayoke and row back to the shore. 

Lyudmyla touched me with her gesture and so I will, remember this shoot forever. She was Miss Ukraine 2007 and four days before the shoot she had undergone a serious stomach surgery. The day the shoot took place her stitches had also been removed the same day. I was worried for her and suggested her against the shoot but she was bent on doing it. And it is times and people like these that make you fall in love with your work all over again. I was truly touched.  

During the Mithun Da shoot I was trying to take a picture of him but I needed the sunlight to be on his face, for which I had to get in to the sea and he was atop a rock. I was so engrossed shooting that I did not realize that it was a high tide it was only after the water touched my chest that it dawned on me, thank god for that or else I would have drowned. The pictures turned out to be great! (smiles)

Have you held exhibitions of your work?
I have been invited and involved in about a dozen shows last year. April 2009 onwards I will be hosting shows in London, Toronto, Caribbean and Naples as of now.

What theme will the future exhibitions have?
My pictures will focus on the concept of “Life is Beautiful”. I will look at capturing the heritage, the spirit of freedom because being born free is the biggest advantage that we have. I don’t like to take sad photos, I don’t believe in them, unless it is a work commitment I will never want to take sad photos. Even my street photos have smiling people in them.

To explain my point better, after the recent terror attacks in Mumbai I’d rather shoot the life after the attacks than go out clicking when the place was a mess, not like I wasn’t tempted to do so but I didn’t!

How do you maintain a work life balance?
I do take a time out for family, but for me life is work and work is life. It’s all inter-connected; even when I am spending time with family say watching a film, my mind is jogging of to other details in the film. Rather than the content I am looking at the use of light, how is the cinematic quality, how the imagery is being used to tell the story and all of that.

What are your thoughts on printing?
Bad printing can kill a very good image, so it is very important the picture is printed well to get the desired effect.

Photos by Pravin Talan | Fotosocial