Photographer shoots with models across the world through FaceTime

American musician Willie Nelson once said, “I think most art comes out of poverty and hard times.” Living in the time of a global pandemic is a highly stressful and hard time. Many creative people are freelancers and with projects either cancelled or delayed there is added stress. Inspired by an Italian photographer, who was continuing his shoots during lockdown via a webcam, city-based artist/photographer Vasanth Kumar decided to do something interesting. “I improvised on that and did some quick research to figure out that FaceTime had better clarity and made it easier to shoot. It also provided a new platform for me to create art globally without any boundaries whilst leaving a minimal carbon footprint,” Vasanth said.

Vasanth pioneered FaceTime shoots and it took off to become the new normal all over India for photographers as this immediately erased geographical and even economic limitations. Now, young amateur photographers in Chennai are shooting models in Europe. I wondered if this will leave a lasting impact on photography and fashion as an industry and Vasanth concurs, “Post this pandemic, there will be a drastic change in perception of the methods that we currently use to shoot. I’m pretty sure there will be apps that will help us access DSLRs remotely. This will open up a lot of doors globally and minimise our travel footprints.” American novelist Toni Morrison once said that in times of dread, artists must never choose to remain silent. Vasanth has truly led the way for a wave of artists to express themselves whilst bringing people closer while being physically distant. Vasanth is a great artist and over the years, I have enjoyed thought-provoking conversations and this one was no different. He said, “Time and again, we realise that creating art has never been about the materialistic boundaries but the ones in our head. I like the idea of being in lockdown and creating art at the same time.”