Emotion, his element of style

Lovedeep Sidhu

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Born in the UK and growing up on a generous dose of Bollywood blockbusters such as Sholay, Ram Shergill’s earliest flirtation with the world of imagery was largely influenced by Hindi cinema’s opulent cinematography. So when his parents gifted him a Kodak Viewmaster, Ram’s vision got wings. The internationally acclaimed fashion photographer is currently in the news because the National Portrait Gallery of the UK has acquired his photographs of late singer-songwriter Amy Winehouse.

Recalling the 2004 shoot that was done for a British daily, Ram says it brought out Amy’s unrestrained self. “On the day of the session, she didn’t like the clothes available, so I told her to wear whatever she wanted. We went to a diner where we had milkshakes and sang songs to me while I photographed her. She loved the way I let her be herself,” he says, adding, “She was a true performer who also wanted a normal life, marriage, husband, and children.” The singer died in 2011 at the age of 27, making the yet unseen images even more special.

Though Ram has photographed the likes of Eddie Redmayne, Dame Judi Dench and Naomi Campbell, his initiation into professional photography wasn’t free of challenges. “In the UK, it wasn’t the norm for someone from a Punjabi background to be accepted as an artist,” he says. Now globally accepted, the artist looks forward to “collaborating with people from all nationalities”.

One of Ram’s career highpoints has been his association with fashion giant Alexander McQueen, whom he met after a chance encounter with fashion editor Isabella Blow. “The two led me to find a certain aesthetic in my photography and art. I was fresh out of university when I met Alexander. He showed me books and images from artists such as Joel Peter Witkin, introducing me to a macabre and dark side of art. It was a time when I learnt a lot about fashion, art and imagery,” he says.

Ram has since progressed into fine art photography and exhibited at Sotheby’s, the Victoria and Albert Museum, and the Somerset House. He is a regular contributor to the international editions of Vogue, Harper’s Bazaar, and GQ, apart from publishing his own biannual magazine, The Protagonist.

Cameras have gone hi-tech, but for Ram, the singlemost important element that makes a great picture is emotion. “I think you can take a fantastic image on an iPhone, a 10x8 plate camera, as well as on a Leica. It is not the camera, but your vision that makes the image. Technology has gone very far and should be embraced, but it is important to not get lost in it,” he says. The photographer advocates a more purist approach, preferring the simple shutter dial and the aperture. “The works of greats such as Richard Avedon, Brassai and Dorothea Lange seem to speak to the viewer.”

Now that photography is quickly gaining popularity as a profession, what advice would he give to an aspiring photographer? “I think it’s important to look at the world around you and not just into a mobile phone. When I was a child, I loved to explore nature, see new things, read, play, and be inspired. In this fast-paced world, fame is sought after in the form of ‘likes’ on Instagram pictures. I’d advice aspiring photographers to read books, travel, study a subject that they are interested in, and to open their eyes and look at the world around them,” he says.

Ram has so far had one exhibition in India in 2014, titled Kaleidoscope, on the multi-faceted personalities that people have in their kaleidoscope of life. “I’d love to exhibit in India again!” he exclaims. We hope so too.