Once upon a time a family portrait was not merely a photograph, it was a record for posterity. A reminisce of a time past, a treasured piece of family history and a repository of memories in black and white. Getting a family portrait was an occasion where the photographer was the star, an artist for whom making photographic print was a labour of love. And then the aim-and-shoot cameras happened followed by the cameras on our phones. Black and white assumed colour.
By the end of the 1970s colour photography became popular with 35mm cameras which could take about 36 colour photographs in one roll, and colour photo labs offered quick and cost-effective colour prints at affordable prices accelerating the popularity of the colour film.
“In the 1980s people returning from the Gulf brought with them the cameras and everything changed. It killed black and white photography, from then on there was no need to go to the studio. Until then black and white portraiture (photography) was popular. A 35mm film camera was the most coveted possession of a Gulf returnee. I started my career with a camera borrowed from a friend’s father who was working in West Asia. The advent of digital photography further democratised photography. Mobile phones killed it completely,” says photographer C Radhakrishnan. The Pune-based photographer/ad film maker is on a mission to bring back black and white portraiture.
He realises it has, in the intervening 30-35 years, become a rapidly vanishing art. “I am trying to recreate an art which always existed and disappeared for a reason and I’d like to bring it back for a reason. Krishnan Nair Studio and Ensign Studio were doing this years ago but then interest ceased.”
Radhakrishnan’s interest was piqued by a project he did for a corporate. In late 2012 he landed a project with a large corporate to create an image bank of ‘happy families’, of happy, family holiday moments. By the time he was done with the project last year, having spent four years on it away from mainstream commercial photography, he felt “Why not bring all the understanding of family, happy moments of a family, making it available to a large audience?” He photographed 300-odd families, real families - small and large.
Thus he set up Viilage Studio, a part of his Pixel Viilage (Pune), whose sole focus is black and white portrait photography. “Portraiture has always fascinated me, I love the works of legends such as Yousuf Karsh and George Hurrell. When we go to a museum, a palace, or an old bungalow, the pictures on the walls, of the people who lived there, interest us.” The return of old fashions be it hairstyles or clothes buoyed his confidence, and he wanted to give a shot at something he liked immensely.
Initially, he intended to keep it niche but decided against it. “I believe it has a larger scope. I want to make it popular, with many branches across the country to make it available to everyone.” By ‘making it available’ he means creating opportunities for young photographers contemplating a career in photography which would inevitably lead to the usual - cinematography, fashion, industrial or wedding photography. “They can come here, get trained and start. This doesn’t require somebody with 20 years experience.”
In the old days, Radhakrishnan says, “Photography was a photographer’s life. For many now it is a hobby turned profession turned compulsion; the last because he has invested money on the equipment and now has to do something about it. We are looking for those who are genuinely interested, looking to pursue a new area of interest.”
Though the photographs would be shot at the Viilage Studio, besides help in readying including selecting the outfit (even help with shopping), make-up, and such, there is a discussion with the client in order to understand their needs. “Contrary to the normal practice, we spend sufficient time with the families and shoot till we are happy with the results.”
The photographs will be treasured memories, he reiterates. “In the years to come, the clothes will go out of fashion but the emotions will remain. The promise is you will get a portrait for life.”
The official mentor for Nikon India has shot ads for leading brands in the country such as HSBC, Cadbury’s, Cipla, Sony Entertainment, Club Mahindra, Federal Bank, Dhanlaxmi Bank and others. An actor, Radhakrishnan appeared in films such as Charlie . So consumed was he by the project that he even turned down a film offer, “a full length role in a Tamil film, and refused a couple of other films too. I thought I’d stick to something I know and not spread myself too thin.”
He doesn’t encourage doing the portrait shoot outside the studio, “In the old days the photographer used to be like a doctor. Somewhere along the way the dignity got diluted. I want to bring back that respect to the job.”
