In new light: Four visually-impaired photographers on overcoming their 'disability' and making a mark in their profession

Photography, you'd think, would be a field out of reach for the visually impaired. Well, think again. Four men are out to prove naysayers wrong with their portraits, landscapes and celebrity photo shoots.

Bhavesh Patel is one of them. Celebrity photo shoots are all about taking the model to a desired destination and shooting against beautiful backdrops. Bhavesh, who became the first visually-impaired photographer to shoot Katrina Kaif last year for a commercial, did just that, notwithstanding his visually impairment. And he was paid the same rates as any 'regular' photographer would have been.

"We are a part of society and want to be treated at par with everyone else. The last thing we need is sympathy," Bhavesh said at a gathering of visually-impaired photographers organised by Sightsavers, an NGO that aids the blind, at the Mumbai Press Club last month.

Giving a live demonstration of how he overcomes disability with his cellphone, he first gauged the height of the person who volunteered to act as model, then shook hands with him to get an idea of the best composition.

"My cellphone gives me step-by-step directions, including the brightness or dimness of light, sharpness or blurriness of the image and whether or not the face has completely been composed in the image," he explains.

The others in the quartet – Mahesh Umrannia, Shubhi Shadiza and Kailash Tandel – too are a match for 'regular' photographers, says their instructor Partho Bhowmick.

"Just because they are visually impaired does not mean that they can't take pictures. There are methods by which they can compose images," said Bhowmick, founder of Beyond Sight Foundation.

The Blind With Camera project started in 2006 after he read about a blind photographer in France. "I got in touch with him and learnt how a blind person takes pictures. I haven't looked back since and have taught approximately 500 visually-impaired individuals how to earn a living through photography," Bhowmick says.

A perfect picture is a process of trial and error, he explains. While portrait shots are done after gauging the height of the subject, a landscape image is different. "In this case, we have to describe the scenery to the photographer. It's up to them to compose the picture in their mind and take the photograph."

Bhavesh was born visually impaired, while Mahesh Umrannia lost his eyesight when he was nine. "Mahesh understands shadows, which is a very important aspect of photography. Bhavesh, however, will know if one place is shadier than another because it will be cooler in the shade. In fact, Mahesh has even put up his pictures of shadows at an exhibition," he added.

The quartet's photographs will be on show on August 1-2 at Inorbit Mall, Malad. "We will then move to Bangalore and finally, Delhi. The idea is to make the ministry of social empowerment aware of these photographers and recognise them for their work," said Amal Gupta, senior manager, brand and communications,

Sightsavers (India).