Magic picture

Each time an aspiring model walked in to my studio for a portfolio, and agreed on my fees (which was expensive), I get down to work, ignoring all the economics involved. I would keep shooting till I got what I called the ‘magic picture’.

And, my ‘magic pictures’ always did the magic, whether it was Vidya, Simran or Diya.

Here are those few magic pictures.

Vidya

She was someone who could set a ramp on fire. She visited me when she sought to graduate from modeling to films. We shot for three days in a row, but to no avail. I was unable to get the magic picture.

I got this picture on my second day of the shoot.

We thought it was good enough to be noticed by a Telugu film director. But it was still not my ‘magic picture’.

On the third day as we were packing up after a shoot, I walked past Vidya who was sitting on a rock at the location. Right that very moment, I observed the sun setting behind her and I knew there was a magic picture in waiting. I asked her to stay put, called for my camera, emptied a bottle of water on her, and shot this picture. That was it. Not only did she get a movie offer, but the director of that film used the very same picture for the publicity of the film.
.

Diya Mirza

During her college days, she often hung around my studio with her friends. My studio was in an interesting location. I ran a jewelry store, a boutique, a gallery that I let out for exhibitions and a small eatery where we made pizzas.

On one typical day, when she was at my eatery, I invited her over, shot a portrait of hers and gave her a copy of the same. The next day, her mother called on me and requested a blow-up of it. She hung it in their drawing room. This it…it did the magic.

Simran
Now here’s a model who had it all. Grace, patience and a good heart. It was a pleasure shooting her, for a portfolio of my designer friend Tanu. Incidentally, this was my first shoot as a fashion photographer.