BEAUTY THROUGH THE LENS

Ace Bollywood photographer Dabboo ratnani has captured many iconic personalities with his camera in different perceptive ways. Priyanka Parshurami quizzes him on how he perceives beauty in an exclusive interaction.

Dabboo Ratnani is a renowned Indian fashion and celebrity photographer known for his annual celebrity calendar shoots. His photography showcases a blend of glamour, fashion, and artistic sensibility. His compositions are known for their aesthetic appeal, use of lighting techniques and attention to detail. He experiments with different concepts, themes and settings to create visually captivating images that leave a lasting impact.

His creative vision, technical expertise and ability to capture the essence of his subjects have made him a highly soughtafter photographer. His work continues to inspire and influence the photography landscape in India.

Excerpts from the interview…

WHAT WAS YOUR INSPIRATION FOR TAKING UP PHOTOGRAPHY?

I tried joining my dad’s business, but soon realised I was not cut out for it as it was not giving me any creative satisfaction. Hence I joined a photographer as his assistant and that changed my whole world. It was this stint that landed me my first assignment of movie photography with director Sanjay Gupta. After that, there was no looking back.

HOW HAS PHOTOGRAPHY EVOLVED OVER THE YEARS?

The biggest change or evolution in photography, which I witnessed in my 26 years of career, was moving to digital photography from analog. As at the start of my career, I had experienced that equipment was only available in grey or International markets. And they were also very expensive. But now all the brands are easily accessible anywhere around the world. So, it’s a good change.

Secondly, even editing and post-production has become very easy due to technological advancement, and we get to know the final look of the image immediately, which avoids waste of time, money and energy.

WHAT IS THE ESSENTIAL DIFFERENCE BETWEEN FASHION AND BEAUTY PHOTOGRAPHY?

Fashion photography focuses more on the personality of the model, clothes and creating the mood for the collection in sync with the vision of the designer. Whereas beauty photography focuses on close-up shots, particularly of the hair, make-up and eyes.

Also in fashion photography one can play around with the lighting, which can either coincide with the colour combination of the collection or contrast it. But in beauty the lighting has to be a bit softer as the focus is very niche and particular.

WHICH IMPORTANT ASPECTS OF BEAUTY PHOTOGRAPHY SHOULD ONE ADHERE TO?

• Light is the single most important thing in photography as it makes or breaks the image. So, the photographer has to be technically sound in terms of understanding lighting for better impact.

• Beauty shoots are very specific when it comes to frames and shots as it’s either hair, beauty, nails or eyes, so the photographer has to have an eye for the same and capture the exact crux of it.

• Expressions are also of utmost importance as they convey the exact mood of the beauty shoot.

• Last but not the least, the photographer needs to be very clear in his mind about the product or beauty shoot as without that one cannot do full justice to the image.

WHAT MESSAGE WOULD YOU LIKE TO GIVE TO ASPIRING PHOTOGRAPHERS?

Firstly, I would like to thank all my fans for encouraging me to do good work. As a photographer, one has to keep on rediscovering oneself and learn from the experiences. A successful photographer is the one who always pushes his limits and continuously strives towards achieving the best. PBHJ