As a kid Tina Dehal wanted to be a Marine Biologist. As a teenager she studied International Finance. But her heart led her to take up photography as a profession. She chose fashion to announce her arrival in the world of photography and has also mastered Advertising, Film Publicity, Lifestyle, Jewellery and Portfolios over the years. We spoke to the ace photographer to learn more about her love for fashion, the success of I-95, her restaurant in Goa and more.

What tempted you to enter fashion photography at a time when the genre was generally frowned upon in India?
I wasn’t aware fashion photography was ever frowned upon. I grew up flicking through Vogue, Glamour from the time I was four or five years old as I have elder sisters. In my early teens, I thought I would become a fashion designer but when I decided to become a photographer instead, I knew without a doubt what genre I wanted to specialize in. Initially, I even styled a lot of my shoots. I wanted to be a part of the industry in some way or the other and I am happy it turned out as a photographer.

How difficult was it as a woman photographer to change people’s perception about shooting fashion?
This is a question that I’ve had to answer time and again over the past 15 years. It wasn’t difficult! I never looked at it from the point of view that I was a female. I think the fact that I studied photography abroad and that my work had a very distinct look, at that time, helped me a lot. But honestly, the only way I saw it, was that my work should speak for itself.

As a woman photographer, do you think you have a different (perhaps better) perspective when shooting?
No, but I am sure I have a different perspective from not just female but also male photographers. One has to have their own distinct style irrespective of whether their contemporaries are male or female. And honestly this whole “female” photographer thing just doesn’t make sense to me. Let’s stop differentiating, especially in today’s day and age.

Your portraits have to look natural, whether there are conceptualized or not.

How do you manage to shoot your subjects in such natural poses?
The only time one can experiment with posing is fashion. Your portraits have to look natural, whether there are conceptualized or not. And since my work has a distinct look of fashion with portraiture and portraiture with fashion, I suppose the two spill into each other quite seamlessly.

How do you get the most out of your models?
I have a lot of interaction with them before and while shooting to gauge their comfort level. I am constantly talking to them. I let them show me what they can do for me and then I guide them. I never interrupt their natural flow because then they start holding back and that breaks their flow.

Women take centre stage in most of your work. Is this intentional or a coincidence?
Surprising! Women don’t take centre stage in my work; I work a lot with men too.

Is technical proficiency a must to develop your own distinct style?
I definitely believe so. I started out as a graphics designer at the age of 19. By 1995, I had already done publicity layouts for two major Indian films. I was trained in Photoshop and CorelDraw before I became a photographer. But my technical understanding of how film, film speeds, f stops, and shutter speeds work helped me understand how to create moods and manipulate lighting to create my images. As I have a very strong base in digital, I know how to shoot my images before they go into post production. Also being a trained printer helped a lot. While studying photography, I spent most of my spare time in the darkroom, experimenting with various kinds of printing methods.

Your personal work boasts of some beautiful nudes. What do you find so interesting about the human body?
Ha-ha…. now which human being does not find the human anatomy interesting? I see beauty in ugliness (which isn’t a nice term). I love shooting nudes. It is challenging to shoot a nude in the manner that it doesn’t look derogatory. I like to add a hint of sensuality in my images but in a way that they don’t shout cheap erotica! In my images you get a sense of the concept, setting, lighting, mood and art. I would love to exhibit these images sometime in the future.

Now that your portfolio also covers Advertising, Film Publicity, Lifestyle, Jewellery and Portfolios, how much time do you still spend on fashion photography?
I haven’t been shooting as much as I did two years ago. It was a conscious decision as I wanted to take out some more time for my personal life. But this winter I plan on doing some personal work with some artistic fashion designers to create images for my personal database. Next year I plan to go back to photography full time again.

What led you to partially shift base to Goa and open your own restaurant when your photography career had hit the purple patch?
Well, that’s a question I ask myself all the time. I guess it was a time in my life when I needed to get away from the city and spend some personal time with my family. I felt I needed to sit back and breathe a bit. It was very challenging at first. The first two years, I was constantly shuttling between the two cities every 10 days. It was only towards the end of the third year that I took a break [from running the restaurant]. This is my 4th year with I-95 and it is doing very well. Now as it is completely self run, I feel the need to return to Bombay. I guess I need another challenge like re-settling back into Bombay. Even if I am always shuttling between the two cities, Bombay will always be my home.

Can you tell us some more about the two books you are working on?
Well I’m working on a book on yoga. Goa has an ever expanding yoga culture. I was introduced to Ashtanga by a dear friend 9 years ago and I have been practicing it ever since. After moving to Goa, I have met a lot of Yoga students and teachers and it is their lifestyle and practice which makes the base of my book. The other one is a being produced by a friend of mine and it’s still in conceptual stage.

Who are some of your female peers you admire and respect?
In India, there are a lot of new photographers who are doing great work. Anoushka Menon is one of them. I personally get inspired by a lot of young talent coming out Japan and Europe. Photographers from places like Poland and Estonia. They are a new breed talent in their late teens/early twenties who have a brilliant sense of digital photography and visual conceptual.

Who are the photographers you looked up to when you started off?
Annie Leibovitz has been a great influence. She too mixes portraits with fashion. Her Vanity Fair shoots are always a delight. Aside from here, there is Herb Ritts, Ellen Von Unworth, Indira Cesarine, Inez van Lamsweerde and Vinoodh Matadin, Peter Lindberg, Mario Testino, Steven Miesel and many many more.  The list is endless...

	Quick 7: Your Favourite Camera: Hasselblad Your Favourite Shoot: Personal shoot with Yana covered by Channel V and any shoot with Sapna Bhavnani will have me inspired for months to come. Your Preferred Location: Anywhere and everywhere Favourite Photographer: Too many to list Most memorable story: My first fashion feature with Verve in 1996 with Sushma Reddy. It started at 6am and ended at 10pm. I shot it completely in experimental printing process and it was fantastic. Unfortunately I don’t have too many images of the shoot today. Current photographers you like: Prasad Naik, Xemotion, Martin Phiroda. There are many more digital artists that I like a lot. Toughest day at work: I was hit by a personal crisis of the worst kind in the morning and I had a cover shoot for Verve in the afternoon. Then the person we were shooting showed up four hours late. I had to stay normal, be motivated, keep the entire crew motivated and inspired, without letting them know what I was actually going through. All I really wanted to do was sit in a corner and cry. But the shoot turned out to be amazing. It was a very important lesson and so now I never take my personal problems to work.

Photos by Tina Dehal | Fotosocial