GOLDEN MOMENTS

“I can’t find my red shirt”, “Should I wear my black jacket?”, “Hurry up! We are getting late”. These were the common conversations that used to occur in those days when the entire family used to get dressed up for a family photograph. After getting ready, they go to the nearby local studio. At the studio, they are asked to wait for their turn as some other clever family has already sneaked in before them. As they wait, they observe the photos of celebrities adorning the table and the walls of the studio. When their turn eventually comes, they rush inside hastily. 

Inside the studio, the family waits impatiently for the photographer to adjust the background and the lightings. The photographer struggles to fit all of them in one frame. After a long time (which seems like eternity for the family) of adjusting with the camera sets and the lights and the people expressions, etc, he says “Say cheese”. Everyone, on the opposite side of the camera, gets nervous as the ultimate moment draws closer and CLICK. A blinding flash and everything is over. The family doesn’t realize it’s over and wants to linger for some more time in the same position, not ready to believe that the shoot is over. Some how there is a feeling that some thing might not have been correct. Hence, the request of “Once more”. The camera man finally takes one more shot, not to mention all the hassles of repeating the tiring steps all over and once more CLICK and flash, much to the satisfaction of the people who are photographed. 

The head of the family pays the studio person and highlights that the print should be good and after getting assurance that the photo would come out well, leaves the studio. In those days, since the photos used to be developed out of the negatives, the whole processing used to take 3 days. Nevertheless, during this waiting period, both adults and children used to be equally excited at the thought of looking at the photos when they come. 
When the photos finally arrive, the whole family, filled with both excitement and suspense, huddles together. The head of the family takes time to take out the photo from its envelope, handing it delicately, demonstrating to the kids how to handle the sensitive paper. The photos get passed around and everyone gets to handle them but with the strict advice that it should be touched only at the edges. During this time, it is not unusual to hear sentences like “How come my eyes are closed?”, “I look darker in the pic”, “My face didn’t get enough light”, “He didn’t shoot properly”, “Next time we will go to the other shop, who takes better photos”, etc. Finally the photos are very carefully put in a family album which is stashed away in a secure place in the corner of the house. 

Compare this 3-day ordeal and drama to the 3-second snap of the digicam’s era. The digicams today enable one to preview the shoot, then shoot. If it goes wrong, re-shoot. Today is the world of instant photography. One doesn’t need to be extra cautious, any more, while shooting. It is the world of “Click and Forget” and one is able to view the photo immediately. The long wait of excitement has now gone away. The nostalgia associated with the feel of touching the paper photos and the memorabilia attached to the bulky albums is now reduced to mere soft copies on some laptop.

Seeing all this, I couldn’t stop myself from asking the questions “Have the role of photo- studios declined?”, “Do people still need professional photographers in this era of Digital Imaging? Would the computers kill away the art and the emotions associated with human photography?”

If I am correct, shouldn’t the studios be at loss, these days? But they are not, atleast not in India. I realized that the importance of studios will still continue. Primary reason is that in India, the role of studio becomes very much essential during arranged marriages. Still today, the exchange of photos of the grooms and brides between both the families is the traditional first step for the marriage. The photos enable them to make the first level of filtering. Hence the need for a professional photographer who uses up all his imagination and photography tricks to cover up the physical abnormalities like “dark”, “bald”, “skinny”, “fat” ,etc and projects a rosy appearance of the individual. Even throughout the wedding ceremony, the photographers and the videographers are very much in demand. 

As long as marriage is considered an institution, the photographers can feel take solace in the fact that their jobs are not going to be taken away by any type of revolution in technology. Rather, the technology would only assist them.

Having said all these, whichever course, the photography takes, one thing is sure that we will miss those old golden moments of photography.