Henlly Phom
Dimapur, July 25 (EMN): An affair of poised yet daring elements is the central concept of the pictures of Dimapur-based fashion/portrait photographer Sentiyanger Longkumer, who is living his dream which he had been nurturing since his late adolescent years.
His technique is more towards fashion, portrait and bodyscape photography. And by default, of course wedding and events as well, the photographer shared.
‘I had always wanted to be a photographer but never got the nerve to verbalise it out loud to my parents. We were financially always struggling and photography was never considered a means of earning a livelihood. It had the tag of being, “a mere time pass” only meant for the creamier part of the society,’ Longkumer said. However, he told Eastern Mirror that he never gave up on his dream and when he was old enough to earn his keep, he did all kinds of “hajara” (manual work) and saved enough money to buy his first Nokia 5800 camera.
“With that simple camera at hand and dreams in my eyes I started my journey into photography. It was not an easy road and still it’s a task but I strongly believe that there is no shortcut to success and no backdoor appointment to talent. There is only hard work, commitment and perseverance to make dreams into reality,” he expressed.
While most of the photographers in the state venture into wedding photography, Longkumer’s interest is more on fashion and in his words: “there is a saying that any subject style that becomes so popular and so reproducible that it is taken up by many. In other words, the image loses its authenticity and originality because of so many people taking the same type of shot of the same subject. And I did not want to lose myself in the crowd so I ventured into fashion photography. Here in this area, I have more creative freedom to bring my fantasy to reality. A chance to tell my own story”.
From the profile of Longkumer’s personal Instagram account @yanger_photographer, one can find that his concepts are daring and if his concepts are to be judged by society it would be deemed as ‘vulgar, inappropriate and socially objectionable,’ Longkumer shared adding that there is hardly or no market in the society publicly for a business like his, especially with his concepts.
On his interest towards taking up daring concepts, he responded that he loves the thrill of creating new ways to see the elements of lines, shapes, colours and emotions and replicating it on the canvas of his picture as “bold with bare minimum photography.”
“It’s so therapeutic, when I can use photography to express my vision, communicate an idea and evoke some emotions and trigger a reaction from the viewers. I think this quote by Ansel Adams explains it all, “You don’t take a photograph, you make it.”
“It’s a struggle to survive without the stigma of being ‘inappropriate’ attached to it. But thanks to social media networking on national and international connections, there is less prejudice and bold fashion photography is accepted and appreciated” he said.
He also shared that as a minority (in terms of his photography subjects) in the Naga photography scenario, his work has been mocked, criticised, the models behind the picture labelled, and his work not taken seriously.
“But I have taken to strides every criticism and tried to improve my work every single day. It is not easy being a fashion photographer but I am not giving up. All I can do is work hard and pray harder and hope that I can bring about a change in the mindset of our people one bold photograph at a time”, Longkumer shared.
Longkumer said that the outlet of social media was a much needed rescue for the photographers either to scout out new models or do collaborations. But mostly in his case, the models take the first initiative to seek and contact him for the said photoshoot or for hired shoots. Since all of his shoots are consensual, there was no issue, he noted.
He shared that although for the first few seconds the models feel awkward, “but as we build an easy rapport of trust, they not only become comfortable but confident as well”.
“And of course in between a joke or two doesn’t hurt. One of the most common things I hear after a session is some iteration of, ‘Wow, I had no idea how fun that would be!’Models always gush of heightened exuberance and of overwhelming liberation.
“In advance, I run my ideas and concepts with the models so that with their consent, we can create an artistic expression without vulgarity. Discussing the concept for the shoot allows the models to elevate their imagination, ease their anxiety and be more fluid in front of the lens without fear”, he elucidated.
Photography, he said, was truly an art form in every sense of the word and pictures are a medium for expressing human emotion and therefore, he finds his inspiration from his environment. “A certain mood or feeling, never ending landscape on social media, family and friends and sometimes the most ubiquitous ones are those unexpected candid moments”, he shared.
Although he does not have tens of thousands of followers on his social media account, he said followers will not determine his success as he envisions tattooing the name of Nagaland as the unique hub of fashion photography on the arms of the world.
The young photographer is determined to not give up. “Even in my lowest days I push myself - to pick up the camera and keep on shooting. Capture, preserve, share, authenticate, express -- your subject, yourself, your art. Repeat”, he added.