Seeking change

ISSUE: 128

Uma Damle is a fashion photographer and filmmaker with a soul that constantly seeks to balance beauty with humanity

What makes a professional photographer stand apart in the digital age when everyone is a photographer?

UD: There was a time when being able to operate cameras and just exposing film correctly required expertise. That not being the case anymore, I think what sets a photographer apart from just another person with a camera is their gaze. The gaze of a photographer is informed by the culture she/he lives in, what they consume, what they find beautiful, what their politics are, and how they view themselves and the world. It’s alive, constantly changing, intensely personal and innately human. The photographer also has to have the skills necessary to will the images in his/her mind into solid reality. Anyone can do it but it does take conscious thought and effort to have a point of view and to be able to share it with the world.

What are your favourite subjects to photograph?

UD: Women, with all their loveliness, complexity, conflicts, vulnerability and strength. Given a choice I’d never shoot anything else.

What is your take on post-processing? How much is too much?

UD: Post-processing is an essential and powerful tool that if used right can help bridge the gap between what your eyes see and what the camera manages to capture. How it is wielded and to what end is up to the photographer’s judgment and whether it’s too much or not enough can only be judged subjectively within the context of their work.

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