Shooting Mutahir Mahmood – founder of O'shoot photography

*Tring* the alarm bells ring in my heart. These are not the school bells which in my childhood I would joyously wait for to ring, so I could head home; these are the calls of my sub conscious. It is only when the depth of the soul is searched, that discovery of one’s true calling is made. A famous couplet by Iqbal is apt to explain the situation:

Dil say jo baat nikalti hai asar rakhti hai

(When passion streaming from the heart turns human lips to lyres)

Par nahi Taqat e parvaaz magar rakhti hai

(Some magic wings man’s music then, his song with soul inspires)

These were my feelings which prompted me to start pi studio with Hussain. Belonging to a family of accountants and other similar “acceptable” professions, I still chose the route to follow my yearning. Since then we always try to photograph people who listen to their true calling, in short people who are alive from within.

One such rare individual is Mutahir Mahmood, the founder of Original Shoots Photography or more popularly known as O'shoot photography (they have a no watermark policy). He is also a business school grad who found his true calling in photography. Selling cigarettes by day and shooting pictures at night, we truly appreciate his grit and dedication,. We invited Mutahir for a quick strobist session at Frere Hall (like a true Karachiite he loved the great yellow stoned building). The excerpts from our interview with him are:

Q. What prompted you to start O'shoot photography?

A. It was never a plan to start a photography firm. Though I was intrigued by the idea of being an entrepreneur, the discovery itself of finding my passion in photography was definitely more important. In retrospect, its never too late to find your passion, and its never to late to know what to do with it. Hence, O'Shoot was born :-)

Q. Who are your inspirations?

A. Various! From the local photographers, I really admire Ali Khurshid, Mobeen Ansari and Amean J’s work especially the way his photo agency is being run. From international photographers, I really admire Indian photographers such as Prabuddha Dasgupta. Natasha Jehangirs dreamy like work is always fresh and inspirational. Others include Richard Avedon, Diane Arbus, Sally Mann and Henri Cartier to name a few. 

Q. What is your basic style of shooting?

A. I shoot primarily weddings in addition to fashion (back-stage), travel, photo stories and product shots. The style and principles are usually the same (that is, to get the most natural shot possible) but a lot depends on my mood as well. For instance, the back-stage coverage of this years Fashion Week was in stark contrast to my earlier work and the idea was to show the back-stage as a chaotic, steamy and a larger than life environment. 

Q. What gear that do you use?

A. I use a Nikon D7000 and three lenses Nikon 35mm f/1.8G AF-S DX, Nikon 85mmf/ 1,8 D and Sigma 10-20 mm f/4-5.6 EX DC HSM. Most of my work is done with the two prime lenses at weddings and I use the Sigma for wedding groups. I usually shoot weddings in ambient light at high ISO as the D7000 gives me clean images up to ISO 2000. For lighting I use continuous light (tungsten) and a softbox.

Q.  Tell us about your workflow.

A. I generally shoot JPEG while RAW is reserved for work with studio lights. For post-processing, I use Adobe Lightroom and the good old reliable Picasa :-)

Q. Are you studying photography and what are your aspirations regarding photography?

A. Yes I am currently studying PGD photography in Indus Valley School of Art and Architecture in order to know the possibilities of the equipment and medium that I use. Plus I've always been interested in the history of photography and this program at Indus has really helped me with it. There are very few educated photographers in Pakistan and I would want to consider myself among the few who have actually invested in educating themselves. Moreover, my marketing background has really helped me in understanding my clients and establishing firm client relationships.