Shoot as many photos as you can: Auditya Vanketesh

On World Photography Day, ace photographer Auditya Vanketesh shares his inspiring journey with us.

Photos always fascinated him as a kid. Today, he has travelled all over the world to capture compelling pictures. Ace photographer Auditya Vanketesh tells us about his love for documenting history, architecture and nature on the go.

A picture from Maldives showcasing incredible thunderstorms. (Photo: Auditya Vanketsh)

Question: What was the starting point of your passion for photography and how did you approach it to become the fine photographer that you are today?

Answer: In my childhood, we didn’t photograph things as much as we do today, the choicest moments would be documented and became a fun way of reliving those moments. Most of which were times when family got together or we’d travel. I used to sketch a lot younger, and was so fascinated with the medium I would sketch people and then sketch a little negative with it, staple them together and give it to people. So at some point when I wanted to figure what to do with my life, I gravitated towards photography, documenting things I love along the way. Thank you for the kind words, but it’s always a work in progress, trying to learn something new at every opportunity and then apply it when I’m making my next image.

Question: Where all have you travelled for photography? According to you, which location is a paradise for photographers and why?

Answer: I’m grateful that my interest in photography has taken me all over the world. I’ve gotten to see and experience some incredible things! It’s so tough to pick one place, there’s too much beauty out there! But some of my favourite places have been Sikkim, Gokarna, Rameshwaram, Chikmagalur, The great ocean road, Cappadocia. Like I said it’s really tough to pick one!

Question: How important is research on a photography subject?

Answer: Very important, as with anything that you want to pursue as a career or serious interest. The beautiful thing about photography though, a lot of the research is in the art of doing itself. The amount you learn from practice and repetition is incredible.

Question: Is it important to have right equipment for your subject or you think that passion for the art is enough to create a visual?

Answer: Photography is unique as an art, on the one side there’s the creative pursuit of bringing your vision to life, but on the other it’s so tightly wound with technology. So it will definitely make a difference, but that being said your vision is definitely more important. As a professional, it absolutely is easier when you have better equipment, but also as a professional, you learn how to make the best of anything you have.

Auditya Vanketesh

Question: Did you face any difficulty in any of your projects and how did you overcome that difficulty?

Answer:All the time, and they are all great learning opportunities. The toughest difficulties have actually not been photography related, but have been things that probably don’t come as naturally to me. Communication skills, learning how to be an entrepreneur, managing money, invoicing, taxes, stage fright, being able to put my vision in words to convince a client, these are things that I still find a challenge in some form or the other every day. The only way to overcome them is to constantly work on it, not be afraid to ask for help, have strong inner circle that can keep you grounded, and constant self-evaluation to make sure that you are you are on the path that aligns with your life goals.

Boats parked by the crystal clear waters of Dawki, a town in Meghalaya. (Photo: Auditya Vanketsh)

Question: What is your take on below mentioned photography myths?

•Being a photographer is so easy.

I wish it was.

•Great photos require expensive gear.

Not at all. Like I said earlier, it makes your life easier in some situations, but great photos have been made on basic devices, not so great photos have been shot on the best of cameras. It all comes down to your vision and how your choose to bring it to life with what you have.

•Shoot as many photos as you can.

Practice definitely helps, and can be a great way to learn. When I was younger and getting to grips with photography, I shot as many options of the same subject/scene as I could to learn. If you think the process is helping you improve then I see absolutely why not. But if you don’t then just take a step back to analyse why. Something that helped me when I felt like that was a neat little trick from Ami Vitale and Ashima Narian in Sri Lanka many years ago, to tape the back of your LCD on your DSLR (of course this doesn’t work with mirrorless cameras because you now have electronic view finders), and shoot as if you were shooting film. You don’t see the images till you come back home, and that teaches you to make the right choices while shooting and not rely on over-shooting without a purpose while hoping to get lucky with one image.

•You need a huge portfolio.

In my experience, for the kind of work that I do, I’ve found curating the best of your work in 15-20 images works best. And then you have an extended portfolio in case someone wants to see something specific, keep it on stand by so you can get back to them immediately.

•Manual mode is the best mode.

It gives you absolute control and helps you extract the best out of your camera.

•Avoid shooting in bad lighting.

Shoot all the time, study light at every opportunity and make light your friend. Of course, some situations will be more challenging than others but that’s the point, to constantly learn so you can make images anywhere.

•Always keep the horizon straight.

Very subjective, but I always try to.

•Don’t put the subject in the middle.

Also subjective, it entirely depends on you and what you are trying to show.

Question: Any photography advice you want to share with the photographers out there?

We’re living in unprecedented times and we’re all figuring things out, so my only advice is to pay attention to yourself and your health, both physical and mental. And don’t pressure yourself to create things you might not want to, to appease the algorithm gods.

Question: Your favourite photography quote?

You don’t take a picture, you make it.