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 Photographing. . . naturally 

Daboo Ratnani aims for that natural look

Born into a family of businessmen, photography was an unusual career option for Daboo Ratnani. Clicking photographs of the most beautiful faces of the country, Ratnani has the unique talent of capturing the very essence of his subject. He has brought a much needed boost to the world of Indian fashion photograghy. Daboo Ratnani spoke to Mumbaibest on his love - photography.

My first camera ...
I acquired my first camera from my brother's friend, an amatuer photographer, who had stopped using a Minolta. I bought the camera after taking a loan. Thus began my tryst with the camera. I started shooting aspiring models such as Ravi Ansani and also, Atul Agnihotri, who happens to be my friend. Despite the disastrous results, I pursued it and later showed some of the snaps to Sumeet Chopra, who pointed out the problems. By the time I was in the twelfth standard, I had improved to some extent. Then, I joined Chopra as an assistant. It was only in 1990, that I bought a first hand camera.

How things began to roll ...
One job lead to another, and before I knew it I was shooting photographs of film stars. Agnihotri introduced me to Pooja Bhatt and on his insistence, Pooja shot with me and then those pictures got published. Once the magazine was happy with my work, Filmfare, Stardust, and other magazines followed suit, and I started shooting all the stars.

The response...
Initially it was a bit difficult as I was supposed to be an ad photographer. And since I was working with Chopra, the need to do ads was quite a lot. Film photography was somehow looked down upon and everybody said that Daboo has become another 'filmy' photographer. However, the adverse reaction from most quaters did not turn me off. Once I got the jobs, I did not want to say no to them .

Shooting outdoors ....
I figured that be it a model or an actress, the principle idea was to make them look beautiful, to make them look the way they are. I gave the photographs of filmstars a certain feel and tried to make them look like models . And that is when I started shooting models in a less glamorous way , in a much more candid fashion by taking outdoor shots in natural light, wearing casual clothes. Contrary to expectations, film stars were much more than co-operative during outdoor shoots. Shooting outdoors is fun - it suits them fine for it breaks the monotony of indoor backgrounds and gives a lot of depth to the pictures. The outdoor ambience that you find in the pictures of Sonali Brende and shots of Sanjay Dutt in the junk yard, or Pooja on the railway tracks, lends it a certain quality which is hard to find indoor . It adds a mood to the picture. On the whole, I prefer shooting outdoors.

His evolution as a photographer ...
I was the first to shoot the stars differently . The whole look of film pictures has undergone a revolution since I began shooting. When I entered the field, most of the photographs were overly glamourous with major hair dos and lots of shine in the pictures. I cut out all these. The way I look at my subjects is much more natural. I would prefer to see a person as he or she actually is. I feel I have progressively grown in terms of style. In 1994, after I left Chopra, I felt my work still resembled his. There was an earnest and conscious effort on my part to develop my own style. That was when I began to experiment in a big way. I shot free portfolios in the initial stages, charging only the material costs. It was a do-it-yourself kind of thing.

Daboo - as he knows himself
Easy going, reserved , honest, workaholic, faithful - that is how I can describe myself. A thorough workaholic, I work for some eighteen hours a day, nearly thirty days a month.

My favourite subject ...
Pooja Bhatt is my all time favourite. I did my best work with her. She is very much into photo sessions and loves to experiment . Her inputs at photo sesssions have been tremendous. She wants to look good in the pictures and wants to try out new things. She has been an active part of my career. I picked up a lot from her in the initial stages.

On photography and photographers ...
Abroad, photographers are paid ten times more than the models. The involvement of the photographer in a shoot is immense, but unfortunately this is not recognised here. Photographers, here, are treated with as much respect as technicians abroad. Some of the models shoot and just walk out of the studio without even asking the photographer's name. Here, cost cutting is always involved when it comes to the photographer. Despite this, there are photographers who do very good work. Atul Kasbekar is among the best in the country. I also like Prabudhha Dasgupta's work.

What people like to see in photographs today ...
Today, I feel people are more open to the idea of black and white photographs. It is being used in commercials and advertisements much more frequently than before. In the industry, people are very much in touch with foreign trends. They are always on the lookout for 'what's in and what's out'. The outlook has changed and this has resulted in the production of more stylised work.

Fashion photography in India ....
Fashion photography is a very small segment. It is people photograhy that is largely practised. Today when you do a Raymonds or a Siyarams campaign, it is commercial photography and not fashion photogragy. It is not fashion but the product which you are selling. Fashion photography is what you shoot for the designer garment companies. This is again very little for you can count on your fingers how many designers in Mumbai sell clothes. You cannot be wholly a fashion photograher to survive. You have to do all kinds of work and that is what I do. The bulk of my work consists of ads, porfolios, commercials, and fashion and the remaining is jewellery, product shots, interiors, basically everything to do with stills.

By: Sharmistha Chatterjee

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