“I come from a progressive family of doctors. I am a dental surgeon by profession for the last 18 years and have been a commercial photographer for the last 8 years.

I have started photography as a hobby 15 years ago while recuperating from an illness. I took a short break from my clinical practice and that’s when I felt it was a good time to pick up a hobby and do something productive with my time. Well, I did not pursue any professional course but was instead self-taught through a few websites and books related to photography.

Those days, I used to go out and shoot anything and everything. I would wake up early in the morning, drive up 20 km in the outskirts of Hyderabad, shoot sunrise, birds, whatever I could and that’s how I learnt actually. As a child, we had a reel camera. Our family photos were all shot on film but learning the art of photography was on digital.

In the period between 2010-12, social media started booming so I used it extensively to just post my work there. People would see the work I put up and I slowly started getting requests for commercial shoots. And that’s how I started photography commercially. I started doing portfolios for friends and families. One thing went to another and I started getting requests for projects, weddings, events, etc.

One of my projects was to shoot old architecture in Hyderabad and I did it purely for myself. People viewed that work and I got the request to document the making of the Hyderabad Metro by L&T. It was one of the memorable projects of my photography career.

I have also been featured by the Fearless Photographers India, a forum that highlights the work of the best wedding photographers from across the world. To date, I shot more than 100 weddings, including badminton star Saina Nehwal’s wedding apart from several other international projects in Malaysia and Bahrain.

When I started my journey into photography, I wouldn’t say that it was completely understood or completely accepted by my family and friends. It was very far from what I was doing as a clinical professional, however, I have managed to gain their support gradually with my projects which got recognition across India.

Combining my passion and profession, I have established an integrated company, Capture Life, where my three business verticals, a dental clinic, photography services and fine art print services, operate from under the same roof here.

Of course, as my confidence grew and when I started Capture Life, I evolved into a completely different person. I think it’s a hidden reward that came from running the company and it took everything together.

My team and I have recently designed a book of memories ahead of actor Nagarjuna gurus 60th birthday. It was a prestigious project for us and we felt extremely happy when we received positive feedback from Mr Nagarjuna himself.

Over the years, I have been part of many projects in photography however I believe there’s always a scope for improvement and one must constantly adapt to the changing trends.

Finally, on the occasion of World photography day, my advice to the youngsters is to explore the world and transform their hobby into a passion for taking photographs. For me, it’s been transformative and I believe photography has the power to change your life for the better!”