SAY CHEESE ● JAWAD CHOWDHURY
Wedding photographers are often the MVP of weddings, snapping every precious moment of your big day and encapsulating them in a tangible form, to be cherished for the rest of your life and beyond. From a quick snap of your smile when you see your loved ones to a shot of your favorite relatives dolled up and grouped together striking a pose for the 100th picture, each moment is carefully picked, framed and given life to by these photographers. Persa Sanjana Hussain breaks down how this art stills the lived moments into memory.
JAWAD CHOWDHURY
Managing Director and Key Photographer of Snapshot (BD) Limited
How it all Started: It was an encounter with an iconic photographer Sujan from Map Photo Agency, which prompted me to delve into the world of cameras and lenses. When he found me tinkering with his camera, he took me under his wing and shared his knowledge of photography with me which sparked my interest. Being from a business background, I analyzed the market and found that the wedding industry badly needed photographers with a new perspective. This is where I came in.
Most Enjoyable Part at Work: Weddings are the most memorable times for couples. I love making a bride feel like a princess and look like a model on their big day. Likewise, it is a pleasure seeing my camera capture a couple’s togetherness.
Competitive Advantage: Honestly, it is my eye. When I see a bride, I not only listen to what she says she wants, but I also observe her and try to understand what she needs, which she may not reveal. I notice her actions and take photos based on my assessment about her character – shy or demanding, spontaneous or subtle. In case of a groom, I find his comfort zone because men are not usually as straightforward as women in this aspect.
Looking Forward to: 10 years down the line, my goal is to expand our work in the wedding industry to international level. By Allah’s grace, if you need us beyond the boundaries, we will be there to help you out.
One Change to be made to the Industry: Unprofessionalism. Like any other industry, we are here to please our clients and give them our very best. It seems to me downright improper if a client suffers when working with us. I make sure my whole team is compliant towards a client as much as possible and is catering to his/her every need. To help us out in bringing this change, we request our clients to make us as involved as possible in their weddings, so that we know exactly what they are looking forward to.
Closest Moment to Heart: After we leave our families on weekends, travel through congested roads, lug around heavy cameras, spend hours trying to obtain the perfect editing style, it is a huge achievement every time a client is appreciative of our work. There is nothing that can make a photographer happier than their clients looking at our photos after 10 years and smiling at the memory. Every picture we take, that is what we aim for.
