“Nothing can stop you when your passion becomes your profession,” says Bijay Kumar Agrawal. His passion for photography was catalytic in reviving photography clubs in the city. After picking up his first camera at the age of 12, gifted to him by his older brother, Agrawal began his journey to become a portrait photographer.
He fondly recalls the days when he used to arrange photo shoots for his sisters. Naturally, Agrawal’s visits to photo studios increased.
He says, “This became a win-win situation. Each time I visited the studio, I learned new techniques and the photo studio owner was happy to gain a regular customer.”
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With each passing year , Agrawal improved his skills as a photographer. His photo obsession continued well into his twenties and even after he got married. “When photo shoots occupied me till late in the night I was often asked, ‘Is this the way to treat your new wife?”
A few months later, Agrawal displayed his pictures at an exhibition in his home town in Odisha in 1978. “It was perhaps the first time that landscape and still photography were being displayed in an exhibition there. Back then, photography was restricted to passport pictures or family portraits,” he reminisces.
In 1981, he shifted to Visakhapatnam to expand his family business. But he soon got back to photography.
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His initiatives revived photography activities in the city. In the year 1983, when the first national level photography exhibition was organised by Koramandel Camera Club, it was here that Agrawal met his future mentor the late B Rajan Babu, a renowned photographer.
Under his guidance, Agrawal ventured into glamour photography. The city’s other photography club was Visakha Camera Club which held national and international level exhibitions and continues to be the one of the most active organisations in the field till date. Since the early 1980s, Agrawal has helped in organising three national and six international level exhibitions.
In 1994, Agrawal finally decided to open his own studio. At that time, when the market price for a photo shoot was ₹25, he charged ₹250.
“Every competitor questioned this pricing. They said I was overconfident. But the fact was that I was the only photographer who organised photo shoots professionally,” he says.
The customers responded positively and soon, without any advertisements, Agrawal Images became the go-to studio for future brides, grooms and models. He says, “Back in the day, asking a parent — Is you daughter interested in modelling? - was considered an insult. Today, many young girls come with their mother, sometimes even with their grandmother.” According to him, there is a jump in demand for portfolios.
Today, he says, people of all age groups can try their luck in the glamour industry because of opportunities in TV shows and advertisements. But more importantly, the cost to make a decent portfolio in Visakhapatnam is a fraction of the prices in big cities.
In the early 2000s, Agrawal’s images caused a lot of confusion for many people on matrimony sites in Andhra Pradesh. He insisted on foundation make-up and used a soft lens for matrimony portrait photography. He says, “This technique helps in reducing sharpness, as a result the person’s skin appears smoother.” Ultimately, the matrimony sites had to carry a warning saying — photographs by Agrawal Images may be misleading. Agrawal says, “The extraordinary beauty standards set by films changed expectations from your spouse. Therefore, I don’t find it troubling to use foundation make-up for portrait photography because cameras can capture details which are overlooked in plain sight.’’
Today, at 63, Agrawal conducts at least 12 workshops in a year. These vary from photo shoots for models to training sessions for photographers. Some of the locations where he has organised workshops are Araku, Bheemunipatnam, Delhi, Jabalpur, Bengaluru, Jamshedpur, Mumbai, Andaman, Thailand.
Agrawal adds, “Within 100 km radius, Visakhapatnam has all types of natural setting except snow, thus making it a truly remarkable destination for photography.”