Photography uses a camera to capture light to generate an image, typically using a digital sensor or film. Photographers capture these pictures that function as representations of the natural world and alluring entranceways to other breathtaking places. We’ll now have a close look at the lives and careers of the top 10 eminent photographers in India who were pioneers in their field and captured photos that helped define the art form and how we see the world.

Raghunath Rai Chowdhry

In the village of Jhang in Punjab, British India, Rai was born (now in Pakistan). He was the youngest of four kids. Rai became a photographer in 1965; at 23, he started using a camera as a photojournalist for the daily newspaper The Statesman. His work as a photojournalist for this publication and other significant publications took him across the nation to both locations of celebration and tragedy, such as the aftermath of the 1984 Bhopal Gas Tragedy and musical performances by artists like Pandit Ravi Shankar and Hari Prasad Chaurasia. These experiences served as the foundation for Rai’s lifelong work. 

He was the first Indian photographer to be considered for membership in the elite Magnum Photos group. His distinctive black-and-white images are odes to all of humanity, featuring instantly recognizable people like Indira Gandhi, Mother Teresa, and Satyajit Ray. Rai holds a special place in the history of Indian photography after receiving the highest civilian award bestowed by the country, the Padmashree, in 1972 for his powerful photojournalism of the Bangladesh War of 1971 and the refugee crisis that followed. For me, my country is my entire world, he explains. I can feel it even when my eyes are closed.

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Atul Kasbekar

Atul Kasbekar is a renowned fashion photographer and film producer from India. He was born on April 22, 1965. He rose to fame thanks to his picture shootings for the Kingfisher Calendar and is one of the most sought-after photographers by numerous Indian celebrities. In addition to working with photographers like Dennis Gray, Ron Slenzak, James B. Wood, Jay Silverman, Jay P. Morgan, Bill Werts, and David Le Bon, he underwent training for more than a year in Los Angeles.

In 1990, Kasbekar traveled back to India from the U.S. His photographic career officially began in 1991 when he established the Negative Space studio. Bling! Entertainment Solutions is a celebrity management firm founded in 2007 by Kasbekar. Bling! Entertainment Solutions serves several famous people, including Deepika Padukone, Vidya Balan, Farhan Akhtar, Abhay Deol, and Abhishek Bachchan. To manage the identification of the senior management and spokespersons within an organization, Kasbekar founded the business Corporate Image. Ratan Tata, Vijay Mallya, and Anil Ambani are just a few of the business titans with whom Kasbekar has collaborated.

For his work on the Kingfisher Calendar, Kasbekar became the first Indian to win the coveted International Food and Beverage Creative Excellence Awards (FAB Awards) hosted in London.

Dayanita Singh

Indian photographer Dayanita Singh (born March 18, 1961) uses books as her primary medium. She has fourteen books to her credit.

Singh’s artwork expands on and reflects the various ways that individuals interact with photographic photographs. Her last pieces, drawn from her large photographic body of work, are a collection of mobile museums that enable unlimited editing, sequencing, archiving, and displaying of her photos. The museums display her pictures as interrelated bodies of work full of poetic and narrative potential, stemming from her interest in the archive. The acclaimed Museum Bhavan, in which she shows images between wooden panels in the shape of an imaginary museum that can be constantly rearranged and curated, is one example of how these works become objects that can be looked at and interacted with. We can see the recurring characters who have intrigued the artist in about a dozen photo books she has produced in partnership with the German offset publisher, Steidl. From her very first subject, the Hindustani music legend Zakir Hussain, to Mona Ahmed, a member of the hijra, or third gender, community, whom she first met in 1989 while working on a journalistic project.

Dayanita Singh, one of the best-known photographers in the world, is also a book-builder, archivist, and curator who creates collections of images that resemble books, book objects, or boxes and allows viewers to join in on the narrative. She received numerous honors, including the 2008 Robert Gardner Fellowship from Harvard University, the 2008 Prince Claus Award from the Dutch government, the 2014 Chevalier in the Order of the Arts and Letters, the 2017 Paris Photo-Aperture Foundation PhotoBook Awards, the 2018 International Center of Photography Infinity Award, the Artist’s Book Award from the Museum Bhavan, and the 2022 Hasselblad Award from the Hasselblad Foundation in Gothenburg, Sweden.

Dabboo Ratnani

He was born on December 24, and as a young man in Gujarat, close to Kashyap Makadia’s home, he trained in photography alongside Naren Sundar. Since 1994, he has operated independently. Indian fashion and advertising photographer Dabboo Ratnani is well-known for his yearly calendar, initially released in 1999. 

In Indian cinema, Ratnani specializes in celebrity and portrait photography. His introduction to the world of photography mostly happened by accident. Ratnani’s career in film began with editorial work, which led to model portfolios and, eventually, advertising. His work has been included in movie promotional and commercial campaigns.

He served on the Miss India contest jury in 2006.

Ratnani served as a mentor for the MTV India program India’s Next Top Model. Additionally, in 2020, Ratnani was listed among India’s Top 10 Fashion Photographers by N4M.

The most famous creation of Ratnani is his annual calendar. In India, he has contributed to the rise of the collectible celebrity calendar trend that started with the Pirelli Calendar. He is one of many photographers whose calendars have received extensive media attention.

Sooni Taraporevala

In 1957, Taraporevala was born in Mumbai to a Parsi family. She received her education at Mumbai’s Queen Mary School. Indian screenwriter, photographer, and director Sooni Taraporevala wrote the screenplays for Mira Nair’s 1988 films Salaam Bombay!, The Namesake, and Mississippi Masala, all of which received Oscar nominations. She also modified the book ‘Such A Long Journey’ by Rohinton Mistry. Her most recent film, Yeh Ballet, a Netflix Original, was written and directed by her in 2020. In the spring of 2007, she produced and directed her first film, Little Zizou, an ensemble piece set in Mumbai, from a screenplay she wrote. The issues that the Parsi community to which she belongs are examined in this movie.

In 2010, Little Zizou won the National Best Film on Family Values Award. In 2014, she received the Padma Shri honor from the Indian government. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences includes her as a member. Both the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York and the National Gallery of Modern Art (NGMA) in Delhi have permanent collections of her pictures.

Rathika Ramasamy

Rathika has always had a solid connection to the drama of nature. She was born in the village of Venkatachalapuram, which is close to the town of Theni in Southern India. She currently resides in Chennai. An MBA/Computer Engineer, she was inspired to pursue a profession in photography in 2003 at the UNESCO-designated Bharatpur Bird Sanctuary. With 20 years of expertise, Rathika is one of India’s top wildlife photographers. She is an expert in bird photography and is passionate about birds. She uses a blend of technical prowess and an engrossing narrative to visually document birds and other animals. She is a member of Nikon Professional Services (NPS).

She is the founding member of R.R. Foundation for Wildlife Conservation (RRFWC).

She has visited some wildlife reserves in Africa and most of India’s national parks and wildlife sanctuaries. Her love of wildlife photography extends beyond mere passion to an excellent tool for connecting with and protecting the natural world. She contributed to the 2007 Jawaharlal Nehru University calendar, which showcased New Delhi’s campus birds. In 2008, “Birds of India” chose her as one of the best bird photographers in India. In October 2009, Doordarshan recognized her as the country’s first female wildlife photographer and published an article about her work in D.D. National. 

Rathika received the prestigious Sathyabama University’s “Inspiring Icon Award” in February 2015 from Chennai. She received the ICF (The International Camera Fair) award in June 2015 for her exceptional performance and accomplishments in wildlife photography.

She received the “Inidhu environment award” in October 2018.

Rathika earned the Literary category Sakthi award from Chennai’s Puthiya Thalaimurai TV company in February 2020.

Arjun Mark

Indian photographer Arjun Mark (born in 1980) is renowned for his bold and cutting-edge approach to capturing fashion and beauty. Arjun Mark is well-known for his work shooting celebrity-filled advertisements. He executed his favorite advertising photography project with Farah Khan successfully. He constantly reinvents his photographic approach since he doesn’t want to be associated with any one particular photographer. He prefers that his subjects live and feel the theme rather than posing for the camera.

In March 2010 and again in March 2011, Arjun Mark won the coveted “Award of Excellence” at the Communication Arts Best in Photography competition. Arjun Mark was recognized and named as one of the 200 Best Ad Photographers in the World, Volume 2012/13, by Luerzer’s Archive. Arjun Mark has received nine “Honorable Mentions” at the IPA 2010, recognized as the most important and prestigious award in photography for his outstanding fine art and portraiture.

Arjun Mark of India was presented with the 6th Annual Black and White Spider Awards Nominee title in the Portrait category of PhotoShow, watched by 40,000 online viewers who logged on live from 154 countries to witness the culmination of the industry’s most significant event for black and white photography.

Prabuddha Dasgupta

In September 1956, Prabuddha Dasgupta was born in Kolkata. Prodosh Das Gupta, his father, was a sculptor and the National Gallery of Modern Art (NGMA) curator. At the Everest advertising agency, Dasgupta began his work as a copywriter before deciding to pursue photography full-time in the late 1980s. He worked as a fashion photographer for more than three decades and was well-known for his black and white photography. Women (1996), a series of portraits and nudity of metropolitan Indian women, was one of his books.

In 1991, he filmed the first KamaSutra condom commercials with models Pooja Bedi and Marc Robinson. The commercials were a success and made K.S. the most popular condom brand in India. Dasgupta worked for Harper’s Bazaar, GQ, Harper’s Elle, and Vogue. In addition to Women (1996) and Ladakh (2000), which included landscape pictures of Ladakh, he also published Edge of Faith in 2009, which featured portraits of the Catholic population in Goa.

He was honoured by having “Grace” as the topic of the second Delhi Photo Festival (2013), which was motivated by a speech Dasgupta gave at the festival’s first iteration in 2011.

In September 1956, Prabuddha Dasgupta was born in Kolkata. Prodosh Das Gupta, his father, was a sculptor and the National Gallery of Modern Art (NGMA) curator. At the Everest advertising agency, Dasgupta began his work as a copywriter before deciding to pursue photography full-time in the late 1980s. He worked as a fashion photographer for more than three decades and was well-known for his black and white photography. Women (1996), a series of portraits and nudity of metropolitan Indian women, was one of his books.

In 1991, he filmed the first KamaSutra condom commercials with models Pooja Bedi and Marc Robinson. The commercials were a success and made K.S. the most popular condom brand in India. Dasgupta worked for Harper’s Bazaar, GQ, Harper’s Elle, and Vogue. In addition to Women (1996) and Ladakh (2000), which included landscape pictures of Ladakh, he also published Edge of Faith in 2009, which featured portraits of the Catholic population in Goa.

Gautam Rajadhyaksha

One of India’s top fashion photographers, Gautam Rajadhyaksha (September 16, 1950–September 13, 2011), lived in Mumbai. He was one of India’s most well-known celebrity portrait photographers, having captured nearly all of the industry’s giants on camera. 

Rajadhyaksha began working for the advertising firm Lintas India Ltd (now Lowe Lintas) in 1974 after earning a diploma in advertising and public relations. He finally rose to the position of department head. His first experience with fashion photography was in 1980 when he had the chance to photograph Jackie Shroff, Tina Munim, and Shabana Azmi, who was a fellow college student. His coffee table book, Faces, published in 1997, had 45 film personalities, starting with Durga Khote, one of India’s first women to appear on the Indian screen, and concluding with Aishwarya Rai, the former Miss World and currently the leading actress in Bollywood. He authored his first screenplay in 1992 for the movie “Bekhudi,” which established the career of actress Kajol. He presented his first picture exhibition ever in 2000 in Pune, showcasing 20 years of his photographic work.

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Sudhir Shivaram

Wildlife photographer Sudhir Shivaram is from India and was born in 1972. Shivaram was born and raised in Karnataka, and in 1993 he developed an interest in wildlife photography. He now works as a full-time instructor of wildlife photography. 

Shivaram advocates for the preservation of wildlife. He represented Canon as a brand ambassador. He was a founding member in India Nature Watch, a nonprofit photo-sharing website.

National Geographic Traveler India’s September 2013 cover featured Sudhir’s image. They earned the Yellow Border Award for the best cover across all 14 language versions of the magazine at the 2014 Worldwide Editorial Awards ceremony in Washington, D.C. He also received the 2012 “Wildlife Photographer of the Year” award from Sanctuary Asia.

Conclusion

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