Mastercraftsman
The masters of the craft share their insights and photographs
Preethi is a Bangalore based photographer specialising in newborn photography, maternity portraits and mini sessions for older babies and toddlers under the name of Pretty Pictures Photography, established in 2018. She is certi ied by the ‘Accredited Professional Newborn Photographers International’ and a member of the ‘International Newborn Photography Association’.
“Raised in a South Indian joint family and now a mother to a 6 year old son, I started my career with advertising and moved onto starting my own irm with my husband way back in 2008. About three years back, I took up photography as a main stream career and began photographing babies and parentsto-be under the name of Pretty Pictures Photography - a belly to baby photography studio to capture all the brand new moments of parenthood and childhood. Being a one man army, I handle my entire business single handedly” says Preethi.
With photography as a medium, she has contributed to various awareness campaigns such as normalising breastfeeding in public and infertility, and plans to do more work for the community.
Her work has been recognised and published in many publications in India as well as internationally. Website: www.prettypictures.in Instagram: www.instagram.com/prettypicturesbyps Facebook: www.facebook.com/prettypictures.in
What kindled your interest in photography? How did your journey start?
My home is filled with albums of my childhood and it’s been a pleasure to watch them over and over again as we have grown older. Documenting our lives through pictures and reliving those moments are the best ways to make a life time of memories. I love it when people look at pictures and talk about it, bringing back all those memories attached to it.
My interest in photography started way back in 2006 when D-SLRs were the talk of the town. It mainly began as a hobby to capture pictures for myself, my family and friends; not realising when it turned into a passion. Never did I imagine this would be my main stream career one day.
While taking a break from the corporate race, I wanted to pursue my passion with my long term hobby - photography. I used to photograph wildlife and landscapes a decade ago and then motherhood took priority and travels got fewer over the years. I was always known to be an artistic person and wanted to unleash this creativity within me. What better than blending the two - creativity and passion! I call this my Ikigai.
Before plunging into baby photography I even looked at options of product and food, coming from an advertising and corporate career background. But somehow, call it destiny, I tripped upon the whole concept of newborn photography….. we are talking about posing babies between 5-15 days after birth, and this was something which was very niche back then and very few photographers were certified to handle such delicate little humans. There are many baby and children photographers in India but not too many qualified to handle just born babies. So, that’s where my journey on this new path began.
The journey has been nothing but fulfilling, and while every photograph I take, becomes a special memento for me, it does
feel great when I’m featured in renowned publications and my photographs today are published in national and international magazines and bring me laurels and awards.
Why did you choose this particular genre of photography?
From the first hand experience of being a mom, I realised how important it is to preserve moments from your little one’s infanthood and childhood. They don’t remain so tiny forever and with the pace at which they grow, it is so easy for us to forget how they would laugh or cry or fall while crawling, topple while sitting and make those pout faces. Capturing these special moments of today, that are soon going to be lost memories of tomorrow, deserve to be remembered, preserved and passed down from one generation to the next; and being able to do this to other parents around me is what inspired me to take up this genre of photography.
Apart from family, maternity and newborn photography, what other genres do you enjoy?
Hailing from a family of wildlife enthusiasts and spending most of my childhood vacations in forests, capturing wildlife through my glass eye has always been an enjoyable interest to me. Apart from that, I love travelling and blogging about my escapades. Landscapes and wildlife are something that I started my photography journey with over a decade ago and they still hold a special place in my heart and I enjoy photographing them.
What gear do you most enjoy using at the time? What equipments do you usually carry with you?
I have always been a Nikon person since the day I’ve owned a D-SLR. I am still very loyal to them and I currently use a Nikon D750. My lenses are from the Sigma Art series. My in-studio shoots are with a Sigma Art 35 mm f/1.4 and for my outdoor shoots I use the Sigma Art 135 mm f/1.8. As for lighting, I’m using the Elinchrom DLite RXOne strobe with a 6ft black umbrella to give me that softness in my pictures. When it comes to outdoors, I’m a complete natural light photographer.… And of course, the most needed for every shoot is loads of patience, passion and a positively creative mind.
What is the biggest challenge you face in this genre of photography and how do you tackle it?
Newborn Photography itself is a new concept and is challenged by the cultural mindset in our society, where mothers and babies are not allowed to step out for the first 45 days. Fortunately, in Bangalore, we have a mix bag of cultures, parents are more open to adapting to newer trends, and are aware of the small window that allows for newborn shoots (even before the baby turns 15 days old).
It took me sometime to educate parents about the safety and hygiene during a newborn session and to make them aware that babies don’t remain tiny forever, they will not get this phase back once the baby grows out of it.
I also make them understand that it’s easier to wrap the baby and achieve certain poses if the photoshoot is done during the first two weeks after birth; as they are more flexible and like to be curled up in the womb position. As they grow, they like to stretch out, their bones grow harder and it becomes very unnatural and stressful for them to be posed in various positions.
While this is a problem I continue to face till date, it is less frequent now as there is greater awareness these days about newborn photography.
Another challenge that Newborn photography comes with is dealing with restless babies. It takes a great amount of time, effort and patience to deal with tiny human beings who cannot express themselves and are constantly alternating between hunger, sleep and diaper changes. To top it, first time parents are usually anxious, still learning themselves about their little ones, yet having great expectations on
how those tiny babies should look and behave at a photoshoot. Being a mother myself and handling newborns through my journey as a photographer, I have understood, tried and tested methods of calming babies (and anxious parents) to get them ready for a shoot.
I have seen mothers walk in looking apprehensive, and actually leaving the shoot equipped with a few tricks on how to make their own babies sleep!
Where do you find your creative inspiration? Any particular photographer whose work has deeply influenced you?
My inspiration comes from anything and everything around me. It could be nature, things I see, seasons, current affairs, movies, so on.
Infusing creativity into everyday life inspires me to come up with new ideas and concepts which I can use in my sessions. Meeting new people and understanding their stories helps me plan their session. Every baby is different and every photo session I create is unique.
There are many baby/child photographers across the globe who are great with their work and style, but I personally like Kelly Brown, Claudia and Elena Shumilova’s work. They have deeply influenced me.
What according to you are the most essential elements that contribute to a great photograph? How do you feel about post-processing?
An image is a package by itself. The way it is composed, the angle in which it is clicked, the colour combinations used, the lighting used to create the mood, the camera techniques, elements used in a set up and the way the main subject is highlighted or is viewed.
If the set up and posing is done right, we can get great shots. Adding that little bit of magic called editing completes that image. In my genre of photography, a little bit of post processing is necessary.
Since I photograph newborn babies, they do have baby acne, peeling skin and usually their palms and feet are more reddish when compared to the rest of the body. Some even have yellowness on their face due to jaundice. However, I like to keep my edits very simple and natural. A basic clean up and balancing of skin tones is good enough most of the time. Sometimes I do add a little bit of enhancements to give the desired mood to the picture. The main thing about post processing is to know when to stop.
What advice would you like to share with aspiring photographers?
Do what makes you happy, feel the passion and believe in the journey you have embarked. The rest will follow. Be patient and with each session you will improve. Work on your flaws and keep practising. When it comes to creativity, get inspired and stick to your own style.
Believe in supporting, helping and even learning from others. We are here to thrive, not as mere competitors, but as a community creating beautiful images.