Capturing moments naturally

Kerala-born and Hyderabad settled Jovy Thomas is reaching new echelons in the field of photography.

Jovy, who pursued Bachelor of Computer Applications in graduation lost interest in this field and wanted to pursue something creative. She enrolled herself in in MA Multimedia and informed that she had found her calling in photography.

"I pursued my PG in 2004 from St Berchmans College in Kerala. At that time in PG, MA Multimedia was a new course and it had video editing, animation, graphic design and photography. It was a mixture of different media subjects.

Initially, I was inclined towards video editing, however, post-college after wedding and kids I took a break. During that time, we used to travel a lot and I started capturing moments from our vacation on my DSLR Canon EOS 400 D. When I showed these pictures to my family and friends, they really liked them.

I used to click photographs during celebrations like Holi in my apartment and shared those photos in my community, and they were liked by many. Slowly people started asking me about my work and requested me to click pictures of their children which gave a kick start to my photography career," Jovy shares.

About her first project as a professional photographer, she says: "It was 2013 and I shot a lady's portfolio. Later, families started approaching me with their babies and asked me to click their photos, so I channelled my focus there.

Jovy specialises in outdoor and natural light photography. "I do not have any kind of studio. I invite people to the nearby park and with the available natural light, I do the photoshoot. I am comfortable with outdoor shoots more than indoors.

Sharing about challenges she says, "People, who belonged to my apartment and community were the only ones who were approaching me for the photoshoot.

My business was not going forward; it was difficult to get people who were in far off places. So, I started a Facebook page and uploaded pictures that I have captured, clients started noticing it and also with word of mouth I started getting more projects."

"Around three years back when I was putting a lot of effort to my work there were hardly a few people who were approaching me.

I thought that I need a platform to showcase my work and then I started working on the website slowly and then I took three months to complete website and then I posted my profile on it and then people started to approach me easily. I built the whole website on my own," she adds.

Explaining about the process after a photo shoot, she says: "Once I am done with the shoot I ask the client to select the photos that they like, after the election, I edit the pictures and then give them the high resolution edited version through Google drive.

Initially, I would not give hard copies, but now I am also providing them with the hard copies which are couriered in a gift box."

Did you get any negative comments for being a woman photographer? "Yes, a few of my close relatives negatively talked about my profession.

However, there is a saying if you do what you love then it doesn't look like you are working. I never feel tired of my work in any way.

It is a pleasant thing to carry on, I tried to convince all of them in my family and they are slowly realising that women are also moving forward in this field. Wherever I find a group of women photographers I connect with them which was a blessing."

About balancing professional and personal life Jovy says, "During weekends I do the photo sessions. My husband helps me out and he carries the props related to the shoot.

On weekdays I do the editing so that I can take care of my children. So, usually when they are out for school, I complete my editing work and when they are back, I help them with their homework and take care of the other household works."