A photograph of my hamster on Facebook has 201 ‘likes’. The maximum ‘likes’ that any of my profile pictures has ever fetched is 31. It just does not make sense. How can a snap of a camera-ignorant animal that does little other than chewing carrots can be more popular than all my made-to-look-thin photographs?
“That’s because animals are more honest to the camera than humans,” says 25-year-old pet photographer Eshita Prasanna. Eshita wanted her profession – photography – to mirror her love for animals and that led to the launch of Tailshots six months ago. “Pet photography is popular abroad,” says Eshita, a student of photography. Eshita has shot many dogs and cats. “I’m likely to shoot a hamster, which is a huge challenge because it is extremely difficult to make it stand still. I also want to expand and go various places across the country to shoot pets and spread awareness about this kind of photography.” Like humans, every animal has a unique character. And therefore, Eshita does some research and closely watches an animal before settling down for a photo shoot. Animals can be unpredictable at times and it requires patience to deal with them. “I talk to the owners first and ask them to share stories about their pets. I play with these animals and in the process get to understand them. And then I click away,” she says.
She is impressed by people’s depth of knowledge about their pets. And their boundless love for these animals has encouraged her to offer them special packages.
Says Eshita: “A collage poster of the pet and a professionally designed photobook are special packages. If the client wants more, I also design custom-made merchandise like T-shirts / mugs etc with the images of the pet.”
