Blenders Pride Fashion Calendar 2012 | Pravin Talan
That was the challenge with the Blenders Pride Fashion Calendar.
By then, the Blenders Pride Fashion Tour had established a strong presence in Indian fashion, bringing together some of the country's leading designers and models. So there was already a certain visual benchmark associated with the brand.
The project was produced by Atul Pandey of Hundred Communications, with whom I had developed a strong working relationship and friendship over several years. Atul Pandey and I discussed how we wanted to approach the calendar, and one decision came quite early — we wanted to keep it firmly within the world of fashion.
I had already photographed numerous magazine covers and features for his publications with names including Jacqueline Fernandez, Anusha Dandekar, Amruta Patki and Mugdha Godse, among others. We could quite easily have explored bringing Bollywood faces into the calendar.
But we consciously decided against it.
The designers, their clothes and the models wearing them would remain at the centre of the pictures.
From Miss India Pageant Winners to New Faces
The designer line-up was formidable — Neeta Lulla, Rocky S, Wendell Rodricks, Rohit Gandhi & Rahul Khanna, Mandira Wirk and Raakesh Agarvwal, all associated with the Blenders Pride Fashion Tour.
We also had a very interesting mix of models.
Manasvi Mamgai, Femina Miss India World 2010, had represented India at Miss World. Neha Hinge was Miss India International 2010. Alongside them were working models including Priyanka Kandwal, Shweta Doli and Gurpreet Bedi.
And then there were absolute newcomers.
One of them I remember particularly well was this shy young girl, Malavika Mohanan, who had never done a proper photo shoot before.
On a high-pressure shoot, having a complete newcomer in front of the camera can be difficult. There is simply no time to teach or experiment endlessly. But just before we started, Malavika Mohanan came up to me and very honestly admitted that she was nervous.
Her father, cinematographer K. U. Mohanan, had apparently spoken to her about me before the shoot. She told me that her father thought highly of my photography and had reassured her that I would bring out the best in her. Malavika Mohanan simply asked me to guide her.
I liked her openness, and particularly the trust she placed in me. There was no pretence of knowing more than she did.
And then came the surprise. Once we started shooting, she responded beautifully to direction. The pictures just seemed to fall into place, and some of her photographs turned out to be my favourites from the entire calendar.
The photograph in the flowing white gown remains one of them. I placed her within a narrow passage of light, letting the gown catch the illumination and flow towards the darkness. There was very little she needed to do. The picture was about her form, the gown and the light.
I have a feeling this girl has a great future ahead of her.
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| Malavika Mohanan photographed by Pravin Talan for the Blenders Pride Fashion Calendar 2012. |
Styling for the calendar was by Neha Ahuja, who herself came from the modelling and beauty-pageant world, while Shane Clarke handled hair and make-up.
Creating a Fashion Photograph
Lighting has always been one of the most important elements of my fashion photography.
I have never been particularly interested in illuminating everything evenly or blowing everything into whites. I enjoy playing with light and shadow — deciding what to reveal, what to hold back and where I want the viewer's eye to travel.
There is always an interesting challenge when photographing designer clothes. Understandably, a designer wants the outfit to be seen. But I believe a fashion photograph has to do more than document a garment.
It has to make a style statement.
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| Malavika Mohanan in Mandira Wirk for the Blenders Pride Fashion Calendar 2012. Photograph by Pravin Talan. |
Fortunately, many good designers understand that.
With twelve final images in the calendar, this became even more important. I didn't want twelve beautifully dressed models photographed in twelve variations of the same light. Every picture needed its own visual personality while still belonging to the same calendar.
When Fashion Met Architecture and Light
Finding the right location was another challenge, and Vis à Vis immediately came to mind.
Its founder Amit Gupta was a childhood friend, but by then ours had also developed into a professional relationship. Being deeply involved with designer lighting and architecture, Amit Gupta had connected me with several architects over the years, and I had photographed a number of premium architectural and interior spaces through those associations.
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| Manasvi Mamgai in Mandira Wirk for the Blenders Pride Fashion Calendar 2012. Photograph by Pravin Talan. |
Amit was extremely particular about Vis à Vis. He took great pride in the way the space had been designed and didn't want it reduced to just another location where somebody placed a model against a wall and started taking pictures.
When I discussed the calendar with him, however, he loved the idea. Amit Gupta knew how I approached architecture and interiors and trusted me to use the character of the space rather than merely use it as a backdrop.
That was precisely what interested me too.
By then I had photographed enough hotels, architecture and high-end interiors to approach a designed space with an architectural eye. Fashion had taught me to look at clothes, people and form. At Vis à Vis, those worlds could come together.
The space was filled with unusual designer lights, furniture and architectural elements. Instead of treating them merely as decoration, I began incorporating them into the photographs.
Sometimes a sculptural light became an element in the composition itself. Sometimes furniture or an architectural line determined where I placed the model. Sometimes I was interested in the shadows a light created rather than the light itself.
The designer lights weren't simply illuminating the set. In many of the pictures, they became part of the set.
So the calendar gradually became a combination of things I loved working with — fashion, lighting, architecture, interiors, people and composition.
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| Priyanka Kandwal in Rakesh Agarwal for the Blenders Pride Fashion Calendar 2012. Photograph by Pravin Talan. |
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| Wendell Rodricks for the Blenders Pride Fashion Calendar 2012. Photograph by Pravin Talan. |
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| Rocky S for the Blenders Pride Fashion Calendar 2012. Photograph by Pravin Talan. |
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| Rohit Gandhi & Rahul Khanna for the Blenders Pride Fashion Calendar 2012. Photograph by Pravin Talan. |
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| Manasvi Mamgai for the Blenders Pride Fashion Calendar 2012. Photograph by Pravin Talan. |
Twelve Pictures. 48 Hours.
And somehow, all of this had to come together very quickly.
From developing the visual approach and securing the location to coordinating the clothes, models and production, we had barely 48 hours.
The theme was “Style Unfettered”, with different colours helping define the individual images. Each photograph had to work independently, but all twelve still had to belong to one calendar.
There wasn't much time to overthink.
We had some of India's finest designers, an interesting mix of experienced and completely new faces, a remarkable location and its extraordinary lights.
After that, it came down to what photography so often comes down to for me — finding the frame, watching the light and knowing when all the elements have finally come together.
Photography: Pravin Talan
Designers: Neeta Lulla, Rocky S, Wendell Rodricks, Rohit Gandhi & Rahul Khanna, Mandira Wirk, Rakesh Agarvwal
Models: Manasvi Mamgai, Priyanka Kandwal, Neha Hinge, Shweta Doli, Malavika Mohanan, Gurpreet Bedi
Styling: Neha Ahuja
Hair & Make-up: Shane Clarke
Produced by: Atul Pandey, Hundred Communications
Location: Vis à Vis, Mumbai
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