| May 2013

Work

2

photo feature

Babies with their cute, innocent smiles and mischievous eyes make for best of pictures. But framing and clicking their

pictures is not as trouble-free as it seems. In fact, it requires a lot of patience and tact. Ankit Chawla, 25, would know. In the business of photographing babies and infants, along with maternity and family portraits, Chawla creates coffee-table books through his venture

Giggles Photography. Fascinated by kids, Chawla seems to have a natural talent for photography as well as dealing with the little ones. “The most challenging part is to get the baby to let you into his world. For that reason, I am totally baby-led during my sessions. I smile a lot, cuddle, and even dance to make them comfortable in front of the camera. This is the true joy I am grateful to experience with each of my clients,” says Chawla.

The Face ofInnocenceTheir first smile, first yawn and first step... these moments are priceless. What can be better than photography to capture these moments and preserve them as memories? By Purva Bhatia

“Capturing the first smile of a newborn

is magical. It’s a special

moment that will never come back

again.”

The concept met with a lot of apprehensions when he started the venture in 2011. “At first, it was difficult convincing people since they were hesitant of getting their newborns clicked. They feared it would be harmful and some are superstitious of the ‘evil eye’,” shares Chawla. But his work is now gaining popularity with word-of-mouth publicity. Chawla uses natural light since artificial and harsh studio lights make the kids conscious and uncomfortable. Not a fan of expensive camera equipment, he uses a basic DSLR camera and of course, a lot of tact and storytelling techniques to bring out the best in the kids. “Before any shoot, we do a consultation session wherein we understand their interests, likes and dislikes. We then think of a theme around that,” informs Chawla.

Picture storiesDiscovering that the little girl in red was fond of gardens and squirrels, Chawla decided to shoot in a garden where he wove a story around squirrels to make her comfortable.

| May 2013

Work

4

photo feature

“Creating a relaxed and fun environment is very essential. For

the portraits, be it kids or maternity, I first

understand their interests, likes and dislikes and

then style them and the surroundings accordingly

to make them comfortable in front of the camera.”

5May 2013 |

Chawla especially loves photographing sleeping babies; so he always discusses their nap hours with their mothers during the pre-consultation sessions. The location is either home or anywhere outside as per the choice of the parents. A shoot can take up to one to six hours. The First-Day Photo package costs ` 6,500, while Family Portraits and Maternity or Newborn Portraits can go up to ` 15,000. The photographs are given in the form of a customised coffee-table book. “You can’t have fixed templates for photographing kids. It’s important to personalise,” concludes Chawla. •

Capturing individualityUnderstanding that each child is different, a theme is woven around what or where the child is most composed.

Below: Family portraits are easier to do as all the members are at ease with one another.