Talented Photographers right out of Indian Colleges, Best Photographers

Photography has developed massively in the last decade and has come to be widely known as an art. Art is measured by the amount of lives you can touch, and the dedication with which you pursue it. In a world crippled by likes, shares, followers and subscribers, only those who can conform to these social media metrics make it huge. Among this frenzy, there are some artists who silently work and make it big, in their own little ways.

The following profiles bring to us the idea of how interconnected art is; that when you follow one thing, it automatically takes you to another.

We all know of big-shot photographers and see their posts every other day, but this time, we bring to you some of the best photographers from colleges in India, who may not have thousands of followers, but who definitely have the required talent and passion.

1. Rayaan Sheik

Student at National Institute of Technology, Calicut, Rayaan found his passion at the tender age of five, when he saved up and bought a digital camera. He started clicking around and gained appreciation from family and friends, anad that fueled his passion even more.

Talented Photographers right out of Indian colleges — Work Sample@ Rayaan Sheik

Even though Rayaan is an Electronics and Communication student, he kept his love for arts alive and bought his first DSLR as a fifteen year old boy. Since then, he has paved his pay to even do freelance projects with ‘The Local Train’ and ‘When Chai Met Toast’. He has won several awards for photography during his schooling, which he completed from the Sultanate of Oman.

During college, his interest in graphic designing developed, as he learnt editing and illustrating and went on to become the head designer of his college magazine. As a photographer, Rayaan has captured some stunning shots of everyday frames, which prove that it takes more than a camera to be a photographer; it requires vision. He is also working as a designer for a Kochi- based lifestyle magazine and wants to pursue a career in 3D visualization and animation. Talent has many forms, doesn’t it? 🙂

Check out his Instagram– https://www.instagram.com/rayaan.sheik/
Alternate design account– https://www.instagram.com/rayaansheikdesign/

2. Arun Anoop

Don’t we assume that everyone who is associated with media is outgoing, good at networking, and perpetually high on life? Arun proves us wrong! A film enthusiast and an introvert, Arun is a perfect blend of opposites! It may seem like the storyline of a movie, but what lies behind Arun’s success is a school suspension! After he got suspended from school, he faced severe criticism from friends, family, and ‘society’.

Trying hard to change his image from ‘the boy who got suspended’, he started watching Youtube tutorials to understand the basics of editing. With this, he also started making some posters for celebrities and posting them online- which led to him getting the chance of designing a film poster! He has also worked as a cinematographer with Sreejith Vijayan.

When it comes to photography, Arun’s work has been published in MSN News, Adobe Spark, Unsplash Global Community, and other big names. In fact, one of his photographs was featured in Indonesian Times as well! Professionally, he has worked for 30+ celebrities and 3 feature films in the Malayalam film industry. Those who know Arun personally say that he doesn’t talk much, while Arun says that he let’s his work do the talking! Currently, Arun is studying Advertising and Public Relations at IIMC Delhi.

Check out his instagram- https://www.instagram.com/arunanoop/

3. Nirav Joshi

An aspiring photographer from Ahmedabad, Nirav holds a Bachelors’ degree in Commerce. ‘I was always inclined towards commerce, but once I started studying it, I realized there was something missing. I consulted a few friends and got to know about the field of mass communication and decided to give it a go.’, says Nirav.

Despite a lot of objections from parents, he joined a mass communication college that further helped him to be better with the camera. Nirav’s interest lies mostly in street photography, and has organized several photo walks for fellow photographers.

Apart from photography, he has also had experience in cinematography and has worked on various projects on college as well as professional level. Coming from a humble family, it was indeed difficult to convince his parents to let him join a media course, but when they saw that he was good at what he was doing, the questions stopped, and appreciation started flowing.

Apart from photography and cinematography, he also trains college juniors in these subjects. In future, Nirav wants to pursue travel photography.

Check out his Instagram- https://www.instagram.com/_nirav__joshi_/

4. Deep Bhensala

What started as taking pictures of Nikon Coolpix has now turned into passion for Deep. While he wanted to pursue a course in Media after grade 12, he was faced with the tough question of leaving Gujarat, which unfortunately, was not an option back then. However, that did not dampen Deep’s spirits.

He took up a Bachelor’s in Business Administration from MS University, Baroda, where luckily he got the chance to work in the field that actually interested him- photography. After winning several photography competitions, he also got the chance to be a cinematographer for a film-making workshop, and his film ended up winning the first prize! All this while, to add fineness to his work, Deep also learned various editing softwares.

‘When I first moved away from home, I didn’t think I would be able to adjust the way I have, now’, says Deep as he recalls his recent move from Veraval to Noida for pursuing M.Sc in Filmmaking, with a specialization in Cinematography from AAFT, Noida.

He says that even though his father suggested him to look for the same course somewhere else, he never said no strictly. The support from his parents is what motivated Deep to work on refining his art.

Check out his Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/memoriesphotography__/

5. Mayank Shukla

An aspiring PR professional and an excellent graphic designer, Mayank has had the opportunity to work with the Government of Maharashtra while he was an engineering student. Active at all college and inter-college events, Mayank found his way to photography when he started covering events.

He drastically changed his field to that of mass communication and now studies at IIMC, Delhi. Mayank works as a freelancer with an event company and often covers their concerts, apart from also being an important part of the management team.

In his experience, he has handled events like Mood Indigo, Vibrance, Thathva, Echoes, etc. He recently photographed many artists at IIFT, Delhi- Benny Dayal, Anubhav Bassi, to name a few. He has also worked as a freelance graphic designer for various websites and colleges. Mayank was also an active member of the street-play club of his college, and left behind a legacy that continues through his juniors.

Professionally, he has also done many branding projects with small to mid-sized FMCG, electronics, healthcare and hospitality brands. He is famous among peers and often finds his name on people’s profile and other picture’s credits. “The only problem with being a photographer is that you take pictures of everybody, but nobody takes pictures of you!” Mayank says, jokingly.

Check out his Instagram- https://www.instagram.com/mayank_shukla21/
Alternative design account- https://www.instagram.com/mayank_shukladesigns/

6. Ankita Parvasi

A student of Financial Management, Ankita is not only a passionate photographer, but also a national level hockey player! *wohoooo!*

Her interest in photography sparked while she traveled to different states for her tournaments. In the initial years, she captured landscapes, local people, and other things on her phone. As her talent grew, she got the chance to collaborate with different food and fashion brands.

Once she started earning through these collaborations, Ankita saved up and bought her own DSLR! ‘Colours and compositions attract me to freeze it into a photograph. I believe in living each day as if it is the last, which is why I love to make memories and capture them to live them again later every time I see those pictures.’, says Ankita.

For her, photography is observing the little things and enjoying the beauty around. She intends on pursuing photography as a profession later in life, and loves being behind the camera. . She has also recently started taking interest in video editing.

With all that Ankita does- athletics, hockey, studies, photography- it makes you say, ladies rule the world!

Check out her Instagram– https://www.instagram.com/all_saints08/

7. Akash Vasava

A media student from Ahmedabad, Akash always wanted to pursue Arts, but due to personal reasons, he could not. However, after graduation, he decided to follow his passion and undertook a post-graduation course at the National Institute of Mass Communication and Journalism. “Following a media career brought in a lot of criticism from my family. They were unsure of the scope and worried about my future.”, says Akash.

Soon, with assistance from professors and friends, he did a few paid projects and found like-minded people who supported him. After two years of struggling to find his place and that for is art, he has finally bought a personal camera and now takes up event shoots. He also told us that the first wedding shoot that he did was for 1k! He has come a long way from that to covering corporate events.

He has also won various awards and certificates, the most recent one being a prize in a photography competition held at Gujarat Vidyapeeth. Akash plans on pursuing Fashion Photography later in life and also has deep interest in film-making. He has assisted direction for various short films, and is an almost regular viewer of regional cinema.