HT@100 My Country My Lens| Fatima Sana Shaikh on her love for photography: You see the world differently with a camera

Fatima Sana Shaikh talks about her photography journey, not putting her work on Insta, how HT@100 My Country My Lens contest is good for budding photographers

While Fatima Sana Shaikh excels as an actor, she is also a passionate photographer. And her journey in that field actually began as an intern. “My brother used to work with these wedding photographers as an editor. I had no job then, and I started hanging out with them and said that I wanted to learn photography. They gave me an internship, so I started my journey as a wedding photographer,” shares Fatima Sana Shaikh.

Fatima Sana Shaikh(Photo: Instagram)

Talk about what excites her about photography and she says, “I love clicking people as I feel every face has something beautiful. I just love catching people in moments where they don’t even realise it, but it captures so beautifully. There was a time when I was carrying a camera everywhere with me where I was going.” The actor adds, “You see the world differently with a camera, you are more observant. You are looking at everything as a frame and it is so stimulating.”

However, Fatima doesn’t philosophises her love for photography, it just comes naturally to her. “I don’t think of photography as anything. I enjoy taking pictures, capturing moments and sharing it with the person whom I have clicked. The happiness that they get is what makes me happy. I love taking pictures of everybody on set and it makes them so happy, which in turn makes me happy. Everything I click doesn’t make it to social media, I just give it to the person I click. I am not exploring anything or even challenging myself in the field. I am not learning photography or the technicalities, I am just capturing a moment. I am not clicking for validation but for myself.”

Mention that photography can make for a good second career option for her and she quips, “I might go back to wedding photography. People will never stop spending on weddings ever, it is recession free.”

Excited about the prospect of giving a platform to emerging photographers, Fatima expresses her thoughts on the HT@100 My Country My Lens photography contest saying, “Such contests give exposure and eyes. For a budding photographer, just to know that people are watching their work gives them a sense of excitement. In the end, it is about reaching as many people as you can. That’s what an artiste wants, to capture as much in one moment without saying anything and have it reach the maximum people. Such platforms should be given to everybody.”