“Photography has been in my family for generations. My grandfather, Charles Emanuel, was the official photographer for the Nizam, capturing some of Hyderabad’s most historic moments. My father, Lenny Emanuel, carried forward the legacy of Premier Studios, which has been known for its expertise in photography for decades. Growing up around cameras, darkrooms, and photo shoots, photography became a natural part of my life.
My father’s studio was near the Clock Tower, and as a child, I would often visit. It wasn’t just an office—it was where I learned, played, and watched professionals at work. My brother and I would run around while my father was busy with shoots, surrounded by cameras and film rolls. There was always some new equipment arriving for product photography. I would assist him whenever I got the chance, watching how he handled black-and-white and colour film printing. The darkroom fascinated me—the smell of chemicals, the process of an image slowly appearing on paper—it was something I never got tired of watching.
Even in school, I knew I wanted to be a photographer. I was always interested in the arts, but photography stood out. After my intermediate studies, I did my graduation in Animation, but by 2007, I was fully into photography. I started by assisting my father’s colleagues, working on wedding and commercial shoots to understand how things worked. I also helped my father on some of his projects, and that’s when I realised what I enjoyed the most—Industrial photography.
I was drawn to the scale of industrial shoots—huge factories, powerful machines, and workers in action. There was something about capturing industries at work that made it exciting. I began traveling across India’s industrial hubs, covering factories in Navi Mumbai, Pune, Bengaluru, Chennai, and many other cities. But what interested me even more were the shoots in remote areas—places in Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Karnataka, Uttar Pradesh where industries were set up far from the cities. Some locations didn’t even have proper roads, but we went there, documenting industries that not many people get to see.
I have had the opportunity to travel across India for industrial photography assignments, capturing manufacturing units and production lines. Visiting industries gave me a chance to see new technologies, different work cultures, and advanced production methods. It was an enriching experience, and I always bring back something new to apply to my work in India.
Industrial photography isn’t easy. The hours are long, and the schedules are unpredictable. Sometimes, you’re shooting at sunrise in a manufacturing unit; other times, you’re working through the night at a steel plant. But that’s what makes it exciting. The back-to-back projects, the chance to explore new places, and meeting different people make every shoot an experience.
Apart from photography, I was also interested in animation, editing and design. I picked up Photoshop early, and interestingly, my mother was the one who taught my father how to use it. Watching them work on images, I naturally got interested and started learning. Over time, I expanded my skills beyond just photography, getting into designing as well.
The COVID-19 pandemic was a tough time. Industrial and advertising shoots slowed down, but we managed to adapt. Now, work has picked up again, and I continue to travel across India and abroad for projects.
Photography has changed so much since the days of film, but my love for black-and-white photography is still strong. I’ve seen the shift from film to digital, and I know the effort that goes into traditional photography. Developing film in the darkroom and printing images was a different experience altogether. At Premier Studios, we’ve kept our darkroom intact, and I want people to experience what it was like. Many young photographers have never seen that process, and we believe in passing on that knowledge. Our studio is always open to anyone who wants to learn, and at the same time, we continue to learn from others too.”
- Edwin Emanuel, Photographer