This qualified lawyer doesn't practice law but photography and undoubtedly wins each of his case. His pictures ooze with glamour and are much beyond the ordinary. After his campaigns for Provogue, Sunsilk and Kiah, ace photographer Jatin Kampani became the most valuable possession of the industry. We catch up with the star behind the lens.
10th April 1974, a star was born not the kind in front of the camera, but indeed the one behind the camera who brings the beauty of the world to you in its diverse forms. A single soul, called Jatin Kampani, who would give the world of photography a whole new name. Back then, not even God would have known what he had created, till he reached 6th grade and realized what he wanted to do for the rest of his life was no 9 to 5 job, but he wanted to capture moments and articulate himself through his pictures. He isn't just recognized for his remarkable work, but also for his individuality. Any words we use to talk about him, may not do the deed, hence we'll let our interview with him prove the point!
You gained interest in photography at a very young age. What were your Influences?
“I studied my dark room before I actually picked up my camera and started shooting. It was just the whole evolution of prints in a dark room that actually fascinated me at a very young age.”
Although he always knew what he wanted to do was photography, that wasn't exactly what he studied after finishing school.
“I studied Law, just to have something to fall back on, but I never intended to practice it and I think it's probably a hobby turned into a profession, this is what I always wanted to do!”
So after doing Law, you continued with your photography and are you content with the profession you chose?
“Yeah, I mean, since school I don't think I ever really started working. Till date, I think I'm just having fun. So, when people say they go to work I don't really see what they mean - I get confused. For me there's no difference because I take up projects which I love doing and I do not take up projects where I feel my sensibility is not going to gel with people. So that's some kind of liberty you hardly get with things so I'm pretty happy I made a good choice.” But Law must have taken 4 - 5 of your important years, right? “No I did it after my Commerce so it was only three years at that time and fortunately it was a part time college so I just had to pass.”
What was the turning point in your career?
“Well, I'm waiting for one actually. I don't think there's really been a turning point as such. I've just been really lucky - it's the best way to put it because from the time I expressed that I want to pursue this as a profession, I got the right people to deal with. I did want to go abroad and study photography but then people advised me to assist somebody. So I worked with Atul Kasbekar for about a year and a half and gained
experience on how commercially things worked and for me, things just started falling in place. After that, I branched out and kept shooting pictures with my friends - for me it was the joy of taking pictures. Some people saw those pictures and they started giving me work. I never had to call anybody and say 'do you want to check out my work'? Or anything, I was just lucky!”
Do you have a signature shot? Or a particular style in photographs that singles you out?
“Not really! People do say that and I'd like people to take a call on that. A lot of people come up to me and say 'oh we saw this picture and knew it was you.' So I guess I do have it but I'm not consciously aware of it myself. I just like to find stories in my images and before I click a picture I want to be convinced myself that I have a story in my picture. Beyond that there is no style.”
Clearly after seeing his work, one would know he's a versatile, talented photographer - but what we wanted to know was what kind of photographer he thought he was?
“The experimenting type, I'd say. Probably because my experience in photography began in the dark room, I used to experiment a lot - making prints, playing with chemicals, with the kinds of films that were available at the time. My photos are not just visuals; they are images that are put together with a lot of if! If one frame I'm shooting has not given me the content that I want, then I'll take it from somewhere else and put it.”
While he claims on being an experimenting photographer, he also says photographing people is what he enjoys the most! “I like to stage my shots; even if it's a natural moment that I have to capture, I will make sure that I've staged it. Because then it is completely my story. So, I never go and do a photo-journalist shot unless I'm feeling like a street photographer.”
What's your finest work so far?
“Umm... I'm going to do that tomorrow! I mean, I always say this in all my interviews so far. My best work is something that I'm going to do tomorrow, yet to come.”
You've won the Black and White Spider Awards, can you express what Black and White means to you? “Black and White to me is a story complete in itself. I remember watching a film, there was a blind boy who says if you really want to remember something close your eyes and listen to it. Black and White doesn't fool you around; you just have the shades of grey to play with. There is absolutely no gimmick in the picture. Not only it's classical but it actually limits your direction to a point where you see the picture in totality.
It communicates much faster than a color mix - to me it's pure, classy and those shades of grey just have so much color,” says the photographer. With an answer like that, he's not only someone who can capture moments like none other, but he can also speak well. We're sure many of you out there would be glad he chose to continue photography because Jatin Kampani surely has an eye for originality and a vision so out of the ordinary, that not only his pictures, but his words too single him out.
What struck us most about Jatin was the way he expressed himself. He said the first thing that came to his mind and surprisingly that too was well said! Unlike most people, his answers were out of the box and unexpected. His thoughts truly defined the distinctiveness behind his work. When we asked, is there something, or someone you would like to shoot, that you haven't already shot? May be a person in history?
He said, “Not really. I mean, I don't dream like that. I do dream, but I don't dream the 'what if I?’ I'm a very current and future person. For me it's about what is happening now? If I read something in the news paper I'd probably want to do something about it. So it's all about current and future for me. I don't think I'll ever go back or think of achieving something that's not around me. For me it's about what I get inspired by and I start working towards it. Whether commercial or personal, editorial or just myself - I'm not too bothered whether my clients are happy with my work or not. I'm just happy seeing pictures that I've clicked and it's more important for me to be happy. So that's what drives me, I don't think I can go back in time and wish I can shoot and make some great Images. Even while shooting celebrities I don't think I
look at them as celebrities, for me as soon as they come in - they become a great subject for me to experiment with. So I start thinking, not to be different for the sake of it, but to try and create something that is to my liking.”
So, seeing as current is what drives you, are you going to express yourself regarding the Mumbai Attacks?
“No, I don't think I'm out of the shock yet, nor do I have anything important to say right now about it.” Though he'd been approached a couple of times to come up with stories editorially and otherwise, Jatin isn't inspired enough to do something different yet. “Whatever I had to say has been spoken a lot already and I can see it everywhere. It's probably the first time where people from all genre's and all 
walks of life have come together and broken out - they've said what they had to say, and I probably have the same to say so I don't think I'll be doing that through my visuals as of now. Unless there's a bright spark and I suddenly see something, because this is something that happens everyday - it's just happened in Bombay right now, it's not so new as a subject to me.” Although having alleged that, he has done stories on social evil previously which had been acclaimed in France as well, where he'd taken three different types of subjects and done Gandhi Ji's three monkeys. "That was something I was thoroughly inspired by, so I did it.”
What has been your biggest campaign so far?
“Tomorrow!”
When taking pictures, is there ONE enduring impression you want to leave?
“I don't think of it like that, it should just be like films. You go see a movie, you enjoy it or you spit on it. The one common, consistent thing I'd like to have in my pictures is that I wouldn't want them to be in between. They should evoke a strong reaction, that's what I try to do. When somebody sees the picture they should either love it or hate it - it shouldn't be just another picture. I don't know if I achieve it all the time, but I work really hard towards achieving something close to that.”
So after Jatin had answered all our questions with answers only a law student-turned-photographer can give, I decided to save some questions for the next time, which would be after tomorrow, while we wait, eager to see the best work he's ever created.
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