“Photography is the art of observation which has little to do with the things you see and everything to do with the way you see them and that’s what a photographer does.”
The Uncommon box is extremely happy to meet up with individuals who take their passion seriously. We also like to explore the thoughts behind their incredible work and how it motivates them in their journey.
The Uncommon Box is pleased to present its Uncommon photographer Farheen Fatima – who excels in each and every genre of photography. Whether its street, portrait or fashion, this young lady has shown her immense dedication and effort in her work.
During our discussion with this young and talented photographer we came to know many interesting facts about her life and her journey so far as a photographer.
At the very beginning :
Farheen started photography when she was 16 years old. Initially she used to mostly photograph birds and flowers as most people do.
Since she was a little girl she wanted to draw and paint but as she wasn’t very good at it so she channelized her creativity towards photography. She has always been interested in art, and she knew that she was here for a purpose. Early on,Nature was a huge inspiration. She clicked pictures of flowers, landscapes and birds. She loved taking pictures on family holidays with her point-and-shoot camera.
The Journey Begins…
She says,“I have never taken any training in photography. Like most beginners, I started by shooting on ‘auto’ mode on my Dslr. I did that for 2-3 years until I finally made up my mind to upgrade to the ‘manual’ mode which was quite a task. Here YouTube was a big help. I watched a lot of tutorials and started shooting on ‘manual’ mode.
Another challenge that I faced was learning how to use photo editing software like Adobe Photoshop and Lightroom. Here again YouTube came to my rescue. I am still struggling with camera modes and editing software but it’s important to remember that these are just tools which help you in creating art. One must not forget that the art is more important than the tools.”
Her Excellence At Every Genre
For Farheen, it’s hard to define what genre of photography she prefers. Three years ago she started clicking portraits of her friends and acquaintances and now she only clicks fine art portraits. She gets inspired by people’s faces, their personalities, by who they are. She has attempted to create several photo-series in the past three years. Clicking portraits has become a new creative outlet for her. She likes to keep her portraits very simple and the focus is usually on the emotions. It’s important for her to connect with the model personally and make him/her comfortable. She believes it reflects in her photographs. She always shoots in natural light. If she is shooting outside, she prefers to shoot when the sunlight is soft, preferably around sunset. She enjoys shooting indoors where the only source of natural light are windows.
What Makes Her Uncommon :
She says, “The thing that distinguishes me from other photographers is I pay a lot of attention to my models. My images border on dark, but dreamy. There’s a certain shroud of mystery and each photo has a story (or two) to tell. I love things that create echoes. When you try to focus on what you can’t see, that’s when it all happens. Those in-between moments where everything moves in slow motion.
“It’s all about observing and extracting the beautiful things out of the rest.”
People Who Inspire Her :
Oh, the list is never ending! Wes Anderson is one of my biggest inspirations; his work is definitely something I can relate to: the colour palettes in his movies, the depth are what intrigue me. Other than that Casey Niestat has been a sort of a creative guiding light for me. He has given me strength to move forward and to never stop creating. My other major influences are Vincent van Gogh, Egon Schiele, Amrita Shergill, Raghubir Singh, Kat Irvin, Ashish Shah, Bikramjit Bose.
Her Urge To Try New Things
As a photographer, you need to keep trying new things to grow. Throughout my years spent practising photography, I have tried every single genre of photography except wildlife because I believe that requires a lot of patience and a different skill set altogether. I have done shoots at parks, broken down monuments as well as fashion shoots only to realise the fact that portraits are my favourite medium and that is what I love the most.
“But one should always keep trying and making mistakes because without that you cannot really strive to move ahead.”
And for me all the genres are very creative as long as you are ready to submerge yourself in your art.
Her Future Goals
I don’t think about the future as much as I used to. I do have goals, I do want to work for magazines and photograph my favourite artists. But, in order to reach those goals, I need to concentrate on the present. There is a quote by Joel Osteen, which says,
“If YOU want to know what you’re going to be like in five years, listen to the words YOU are saying about yourself today.”
An Inspirational Note From The Artiste To The Budding Photographers
Shoot, shoot and shoot! The more you do it, the better you’ll get. Also, please believe in your dreams, people will criticise you, learn how to differentiate between good criticism and bad criticism. Never let them break your passion! You are special. If you don’t stand up for what you believe in, who will?
The Uncommon Box has endeavoured to capture for you the single minded dedication and determination of one soul, to serve as an inspiration for everyone who needs to be motivated to follow their dreams. Farheen Fatima’s self-assured ways are worthy of emulation. We wish her the very best in all her future endeavours.
Acknowledgements:
Content for this feature was developed by our C3 collaborator Meghna Bhattacharya, who is a promising writer herself.
You can find her on : Instagram
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