Sharmila Shah cuts a pretty picture but the pictures she clicks are not just pretty. They have something that comes from the core of her life-loving, vibrant personality. Sharmila does not do things in half measure. She enjoys good food, travel, music, friends and everything life throws at her. She makes the most of the gifts and the challenges of being a mother, a photographer, a wife, a home maker. The fact that she has a mind of her own and a unique take on everything, seeps into her photographs quite naturally.
She says, “Photography is something I loved even before I realized that this is how I wanted to spend my life. The camera for me, is more than just a profession or a job. I guess the National Geographic magazines got me hooked on to quality photography. Then a few years ago, I mustered the courage to resign from a good banking job and started on this journey without knowing its outcome.”
She continues, “I only knew that I wanted to spend my life enjoying what I do rather than punishing myself into doing a job I had no passion for. I also knew that the whole world looks up to ‘working’ women, as if being just a woman is not good enough! I got lucky that I found a great teacher to teach me photography and the learning hasn’t stopped till now. ”
She vividly recalls her first shoot, “My first assignment was for a design magazine and I had to shoot a few products. I was nervous, excited and scared that I would mess it up but here I am. It has been five years and am doing very well.”
She did take a break for two years to nurture her baby but the hibernation did not worry her. The time off as a mother deepened her insight into life and work and she says, “I never once regretted staying at home because I knew my journey has numerous chapters to it. Am not just a wife, a friend, a lover, a mother, a daughter, or a photographer but all of it.” And no, the limiting label of a “woman photographer” never bothers her. She says, “ Women in this country are stopped from doing anything and everything so every barrier we break, no matter how big or small, will empower us in some way or the other. For my part, I believe in the credo of turning difficulties into opportunities!”
One of the most interesting assignments she has done in the recent part is to photograph the Infant Jesus Church in Bangalore. She says excitedly. “When this assignment came my way, I would have even done it for free. The brief was simple, to capture the church in the best possible way. I had to capture the vastness of the church as a building, its architectural details and the effect it has on people. So I used wide angle shots to capture the length and the breadth of the space and the essentials of what makes it a religious and spiritual sanctuary that so many flock to.”
Her favourite image of the series is that of a devotee lighting a candle and it is a personal moment but something all devotees experience including her. Perfection is boring but the struggle to get there is what keeps Sharmila going. She says, “The most difficult thing in life they say is to achieve a perfect balance. I struggle too to strike that perfect chord but life cannot be planned to the minutest details. A big project may be executed when at the back of my mind is a sick child or a family function or something else. So I try to prioritize each event as it comes.”
Her favourite assignments are the children’s portfolios that allow her to tap into her nurturing instincts even at work. She also shoots her other passions like travel and food. But what she loves most is the moment when she gets up early in the morning and realises that she no longer works for a living. And that she simply lives and it is enough.
More about her on http://www.sharmillashah.com/