In our lives, we all have moments when we wereon the edge and we needed something to save us, maybe a person, a book, adestination; for Aparna, it was Photography. A woman photographer built her own brandnamed “Panache Photography.”
But this is not something she dreamt aboutbecoming in her childhood days. Back in school she aspired to be an Air hostessand we all know that comes with the perk of travelling around the world, so shehad that traveller trait from the beginning.
Aparna KWarrier hails from Mumbai, a city of dreams, inspirations and million stories. Shesays “You just need to sit in a corner of a busy street & observe & youwill find so many inspiring stories, so many unsung heroes.” We say everypicture tells a story and it’s true, it is about real people, real things.
She holdsa Bachelor’s degree in Mass Media and is a postgraduate in Advertising andInternational Marketing. She started photography when she was in college,something that was supposed to be a part of academics but later became herpassion.
She qualifiedfor a job before even completing graduation and went on working in corporatefor 6 years. She lost touch with the one thing that she really enjoyed doing.She finally decided to get back to it, she took a break from her office routineand started taking up small projects.
Her first shoot was a kid’s birthdayparty. And the best part about it is she loves capturing moments with kids. Shefinds them adorable and says “they are the best subject, challenging but cute!”And these little memories are her favourite.
Five yearsago if I asked you to list 10 female photographers, it would have beendifficult to think of any spontaneously. Photography is still a male-dominantprofession but now people don’t undermine your skills based on your gender.
Aparna adds a really funny story to this. Once she got hired for a weddingshoot by the bride. On the day of the wedding, she went around capturingmoments. While she was taking pictures of the groom and his family, he wasn’taware that she was a professional photographer or maybe having a femalephotographer was not so common back then so he asked her why she was takingpictures of him and then luckily the bride walked in and clarified thesituation. So now you know being a female photographer is not a regular job.
Anotherfascinating detail about her is that she is a Tarot card reader; she did acourse when she was in her covid isolation period. She also launched a websitefor the same.
Travellingcomes with a lot of new opportunities for her. She loves exploring the cultureand local history of the places. She has been to a few parts of India and also to a few countries around the world. Each journey came with new learning.
She isinto landscape, street photography and has started clicking portraits recently.Her photographs have been regularly featured in Mumbai Mirror which is a city-based paper and part of The Times of India publication.
Therewas a phase when she had none of it, she had no camera, lens, or even a sourceof income to afford any of this. Emotionally she was at her lowest, everythingwas falling apart. But it was the constant support of her friends and familythat motivated her to get back on her feet.
She took a loan, bought a cameraand today she is a successful photographer who is currently the Director of anoutdoor advertising agency in Mumbai and does selective photography projects. Shesays “I was persistent and I never gave up on it just like how photographynever gave up on me.”
This allcame from self-learning and with a little inspiration from other photographersand creators present online. She has a message for all the aspiringphotographers “Fame is secondary, practice is important. Keep practicing yourart and don’t be deterred by failures.”