Monthly Archives: July 2012

Client’s promises

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I often wish that the promises made by our clients were kept. They say that the payment would be done within a week and if they were to truly release the payment within a week, my boss would be happy with my work.

But, do you know what happens when the clients do not keep their word? –
Client:  Ya Ma’am, the payment is in process. Sir/Mam has gone out of India will be back on Friday and your cheque would be ready on Monday.
Me:  Ok, I will be waiting for your call.

(Monday morning…)

Me: Hi, Megha here from Vikram Bawa’s office. Is our payment ready?
Client: No Ma’am. Sir did not come on Friday. Will be coming this week.
Me: Ok (sigh)

Now I have to deliver this news to Vikram…Just to be on the safer side, I keep his table clean and keep everything in its place. I make sure that  the hot coffee is ready before he reaches the office to cool him down! (These are the tips to make your boss a little happy before giving him the bad news)

Monday, 12noon –

Vikram Bawa: (Rings the bell) Meghaaaaaa.

Me: Ya sir
Vikram: Megha, what happened about the payment of ‘X’. You told me that we would be receiving on Monday. 
Me: Ya sir, but when I called them in the morning they said that the payment would be done next week for sure.
Vikram: (calls everyone to his desk)

  • Digital team: Kya hua..touch up kar ke hua hai ke nahin? Guys I want my work to be completed on my timelines. I don’t know but you have to complete this before 7.00 pm and mail the pictures to the client
  • CGI team: You do one thing  for now, stop ‘X’ work and start ‘Y’ work and I want it to be completed within this week
  • Films: Show me the film that you have completed. Have you got the music done?

 

Accounts: I don’t care what happens, I want my payments. Now you guys better leave me alone and don’t mess up, or I will throw you out. 

And this is what happens to us when a client keeps saying next week, and the week never comes. Till then I have to do all this Buttering and go through all the Suffering.. lol.

So Mr. X, Please make our payment.

– Megha Dave, Accounts & Adminstrative Manager, Vikram Bawa Photography

The journey…

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3 am in the morning, and I’ve just reached home from work.
I wonder what is it that drives a man to keep on going.. keep on trying.. keep on working.. to go towards the edge of reason to attain what he desires.
What is this madness that makes me work 20 hours a day, day after day, to achieve what I dream of.
Is it really that important to me. That important that the physical being is groaning, screeching, at what it has to endure.

Is it me!
Me, the human being,
me, the photographer,
or me, the spirit, which refuses to give up.

The spirit which only lives to enjoy, to soak itself into every possible reason of my existence, the existence as a photographer, as an artist, as a creator. Unrelenting!! in its pursuit of what it seeks. Seeks it does, of what, I yet know not. But find it, I shall, promises my soul to me.
Rest I shall not, till I do..

Because the journey as yet is too beautiful to not enjoy..

Editing my week away!

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I have measured out my last week with editing tools! Literally.

We have been on some really good shoots continuously for the last two weeks with Vikram, and have been editing films that we shoot with every photo-shoot these days.

We shot with a jewellery brand, Shamita Shetty and LFW designer Nikhil Thampi. While we are done with editing the films for the jewellery brand, others are work-in-progress. To give you a peek into what we shot with Shamita, and before you get to see the final film, watch Behind the Scenes with Shamita.

– Aditi Sarda, Project Manager, Vikram Bawa Films.

A Blessed Life

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What a week this has been.. so much fun n so many emotions.
Did a photo shoot with the pretty Shamita Shetty. Such a lovely simple human being. So much energy and willingness to try something new.. and to push  herself constantly to get the best out of the shoot.
A pleasure to shoot an upcoming actress as a fashion model n not as a star.
Styled by Rocky S, the ever alive designer, make up by the attractive Vinita Pujari.
Raj and Shilpa watching over her.
Should thank Anishi and Ekta from her team.
And Binita my little assistant on this shoot.
One of my most effortless shoots.

A photo shoot with the queen herself – Queenie Singh. One of  the most attractive woman I have shot. Always perfect. And an even deeper soul. A woman of many talents. And unknowing to so many what a lovely caring heart. So many she’s already touched with her love.
She’s a dream to work with. Utterly professional and superbly quick.
Must say her friend Rukshana Eisa is an extremely attractive woman. Was totally enamoured while shooting her.

The end of the week was completely wonderful.
A shoot for young upcoming LFW designer Nikhil Thampi’s collection.
To see him so excited and nervous at the photo shoot. Like a little boy trying to get everything right.
And the very creative make up artist Elton Fernandez and his assistant Sarita always on a wonderful high and keeping the energy up.
This was a challenging shoot for me emotionally. Was shooting with my long time friend and creative soul mate Priyanka Karunakaran as the model of the day. Was a challenge to live up to her expectations of me. Lol..
Even though the shoot was very simple I hope we’ve done a great job and the images help Nikhil on his journey to fame.

How can I forget my loyal assistants Sambhaji, Vikas, kailash and my team.
And the talented but extremely excitable Aditi Sarda, my project manager for my films – my bouncing board as i like to call her. Quite excited to see how the film turns out of this fashion shoot.

And a big shout out and thank you to team Vikram Bawa. Megha for keeping everyone n everything together. My digital team of Mangeshji and Kiran for putting up with my perfectionism and the grief on quality.  Subak, Rahul and Derek from CGI to keep on at it at their workstations. My two pillars Esha and Surabhi for continuously pushing the brand VB. And lastly but not the least my trusty assistant cum chauffeur Bhaskarji.

The day starts early tom again and another day and another week to conquer the world..
Adios amigos.. catch you later

Putting up a couple of images from Nikhil’s shoot..

image

CGI – The Future of Photography

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We’re helping photography evolve, and here is another new step in this direction – CGI, a.k.a. Computer Generated Imagery!

We are crossing new boundaries. We are infusing photography with CGI. It is a challenge. However, we are taking it head on. After all, we got ourselves into this!

It is a test of patience when the renders take much over 24 hours for a single frame. This unending wait has its share of emotional drama and trauma attached to it. It almost feels like a mother waiting 9 months for her baby’s birth (not that we know how that feels, but still, metaphorically).

However, once the renders are complete, and your creation is right there, in front of you, an ecstatic feeling of accomplishment overwhelms you.

We make fake look real, and real people are convinced of the fake things being real! We love it!!

– Derek D’Souza, Team CGI

Eagle Eye Boss

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Today, I completed 6 months in our company, and I think my vision of looking at life has really changed. I was under the assumption that photography was just a click of a button but here I realized that it is no piece of cake but a very difficult skill which only a chosen few possess.

I have worked at various places as a retouching artist. The experience and skill I gathered there made me feel like I was flawless at my work. However working with ‘Eagle Eye’ Vikram Bawa, who can point out the smallest errors (which are probably invisible to Human eye), I realized that I had so much more to learn.

– Mangesh Sakpal, Re-Touching Artist, Vikram Bawa Photography

Marketing with a *TING*

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They say marketing is an infinite pool of possibilities. I can name a medium, and there are a gazillion possibilities of making a mark for my brand out there. But what makes one brand stand out among many others, is what I call the *TING* factor.

What makes the Vikram Bawa brand go *TING*? It’s what separates him from the crowd, that shouts out everything that he and his team stand for, everything we are. There is nothing left to imagination. We are bold, in-your-face, and not sorry to be the way we are. Some would say Vikram is a fashion and lifestyle photographer, while some would say he is a bold photographer. We see him as a person who sees everything differently from the way we do. For him, nothing is what it seems. It goes a few notches beyond. He has an eye which we can only hope to.

For instance, we see a girl and he sees a crouched angel with closed wings, waiting for someone to rescue her. We see a woman wearing formals, and he sees a woman with a cigar in one hand, wearing a pantsuit, legs spread wide, asserting independence and clearly marking her territory. Yes, he does not think like everyone else. And that is exactly what sets him apart. This extends to not just his photography, but fashion films, CGI, 3D photography, everything.

But, all said and done, the *TING* in marketing doesn’t matter if we keep sitting and typing instead of marketing. So let’s get going!

– Esha Kak, Brand Manager, Vikram Bawa

From Shy to Shameless!

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For a girl from a “normal Indian upbringing“ and graduating in Accounts, Hasselblad, soft box, high fashion was like cheese and chalk.

On the first day of my job when I saw the picture of two men kissing, I immediately closed my eyes and tried to close the Image by randomly clicking on the mouse hoping to aim at the ‘x’ mark at the right top corner of my monitor screen.  (You can have your share of laugh but that’s where I came from)

Today after say six months in the company and observing as to what all goes behind making such pictures and films, I understand that it is art.  I want to put up one of my favorite pictures and one of the first films that I saw when I joined Vikram Bawa.

The film the show

Image

And that Vikram Bawa is not a photographer but an artist. 🙂

– Megha Dave, Accounts & Adminstrative Manager, Vikram Bawa Photography

The Boss’ Mood of the Day!

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There’s a huge problem of listening!

My one year working experience with Vikram Bawa has taught me a lot of things. One of them of course is how to understand THE BOSS’ MOOD OF THE DAY! There are various sub-topics in the same chapter –

  1. The way he wishes you in the morning. If he says, “GOOD MORNING GUYS!”, may be you can ask him in the next one hour if you can leave early. If he says, “morning”, you better finish all your work and if possible all the pending work also that day!
  2. If he smiles and says, ” There’s a huge problem of listening over here.”, you better not talk back. If you do, (which I usually do!), then either he will tap your head in a fatherly way or will find out more mistakes in your film to prove that we have actually not listened to him.

These are just a couple of many other things that are a mood determiner when it comes to Vikram Bawa.

Keep looking up for this space for more of such gossip work related and otherwise. 🙂

– Aditi Sarda, Project Manager, Vikram Bawa Films.