There comes a time when any work
one does feels repetitive and uninspiring. It was precisely this need and
hunger for inspiration that led me to pursue photography in the first place.
Over the years I have done a wide array of photo shoots and in the last few
months I had been stuck in a creative rut.
Recently, taking photographs felt
like routine work and I was not “feeling” my camera like I did in the past.
Even though my gear has grown substantially and our studio members have increased, but
I felt an unexplainable emptiness inside me. I had grown technically, but I felt
that I had morphed spiritually inside.
On one such dark day I got a call
from a client to shoot a family portrait. So I booked the shoot for a Saturday
and set off to their house with Shumail, our Pi Studio member. I only took one
continuous light, one external flash, one camera body and a couple of lenses.
This was a very trimmed down version of gear we usually use for our routine
shoots such as weddings which usually involve a lot of equipment and manpower.
The shoot was planned to be shot in the afternoon inside my client’s house and in its outer courtyard. The house was beautifully constructed by the Pakistani architect Mr. Ali Alam.
When I reached there and started searching for frames, I felt the inspiration
return back to me. The patterns of light and the beautiful architecture gave me
ideas to photograph the family. The father of the children shared a great idea, thus we ended up photographing the family on the roof as well.
The family kitten "Buffon" playing with the son's shoelaces
As I started shooting, my heart
started to melt at the love and affection the family had for each other. The
way their children were playfully laughing and the love the parents had for
them was profoundly heartwarming. The love and laughter shared by the family
melted my heart and brought back the photographer in me.
I got reminded that what
photography was really about and why I had started shooting in the first place.
The love which we share with other human beings as a photographer is what
shooting is really about for me. Moreover, the joy of capturing the most
intimate moments of humans and preserving them for future generations is the
ultimate joy in shooting.
