Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh): The advent of smart phones has turned everybody into a photographer. Yet, professional photography continues to be male-dominated.
On the eve of World Photography Day, Free Press talked with three women professional photographers from the city to know the challenges they faced. Excerpts:
Carrying father’s legacy forward
Bhawana Jaiswal was in her teens when her father Nawal Jaiswal, a well-known photographer, handed over a camera to her. With this, her friendship with the camera began 40 years ago.
“I had no brothers. Either my sisters or I had to carry my father’s legacy forward. I decided to be the one,” said Bhawana, now 55. She loved travelling and photography allowed her to visit new places. But there were challenges.
As she was the only woman professional photographer then, she had to work hard to create a space for herself and earn respect. She now works at the Women Polytechnic College, Bhopal and she has done culture, fashion, nature and wedding photography.
She has been invited for photography workshops across India. Along with her husband Neeraj Richhariya, she runs a YouTube channel, Ghumakad Deen, focused on photography and car camping.
Had to work twice as hard
Divya Sahai, 47, began her professional career from Bhopal 13 years ago. A native of Lucknow, she settled in Bhopal because of her husband’s job. She began photography as a passion but soon turned into a profession. She made wedding shoots, especially in Muslim families, her forte.
“In January 2016, I shot seven-day wedding in a Muslim family and was paid Rs 1.20 lakh,” she recalled. Brides and other women are more comfortable with a woman photographer and that became her USP.
The business grew and there was a time when she had four wedding assignments in a day. “I formed a team of around 20 people, which was called Fotomagica Photography in 2017,” she said.
She trained under Bhawana Jaiswal, Falguli Kharwa and Ashwini Neetan among others. Divya, who shifted to Dubai in May this year, also took up newborn photography.
“There is immense scope in photography and cinematography but women have to work twice as hard as men to achieve the same level of success. Maintaining work-life balance is also a challenge,” she says.
Saree wali photographer
After graduating from Allahabad University, Priyanka Sonkar (40), used to teach in a school in Bina, where her family lived, for Rs 600 per month.
On her visits to Bhopal, she would visit Doordarshan Kendra where her cousin worked. That inspired her to take up photography as a profession.
In 2013, she joined Makhanlal Chaturvedi Rashtriya Patrakarita Vishwavidyalaya, Bhopal as production assistant. She teaches production works including photography to students and also covers university’s official functions.
“Besides workshops, conferences etc, I have also covered sports tournaments, film festivals,” she says. She had to face snide comments. “I do photography wearing a saree. That also drew adverse comments. I was mocked as saree wali photographer. Professional photography is still a male-dominated field. I pay special attention to my girl students. I want them to take up photography as a profession,” she says.
