Today we’d like to introduce you to Dhir Jakharia.
Hi Dhir, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
In 2019, I travelled to Vietnam for a family holiday. I had a beginner-level DSLR; so I decided to take it with me. During my trip, I took photos of almost anything without considering anything such as the lighting or composition. My pictures weren’t that great, but that’s where my passion for photography started. Some photos turned out to be great, and my cousin asked me to start posting them on Instagram. As I got back with a fresh interest in photography, I realized lots of people do wildlife photography in Kenya. I decided to give it a shot just to see how it would be.
I visited a National Park and took some photos, and I was already in love. It’s not like I had an immense passion for animals before, but somehow I just fell in love with the idea of photographing them.
I started posting the photos on Instagram and started getting positive comments from everyone, which is what made me continue doing photography. As I started learning more from workshops and out in the field, I evolved in various areas such as understanding light, composition, editing, etc. As I got better, my supportive family helped me upgrade my camera equipment to enable my work to be of a higher level of quality. Looking back 2 years, I have come a really long way. But I still think I have a lot more to learn, and, this is just the beginning!
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Definitely not, first of all, wildlife photography is very expensive. Therefore, it is difficult for an amateur to consistently bring out quality work when they are not going on enough Safaris. In order to overcome this, I pushed my creativity in the editing process to be able to have unique styles in the photos.
Another thing is motivation. It is difficult for an artist to maintain motivation and inspiration; therefore, there are some days where I feel like my creativity isn’t sufficient.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
I started two years ago, when I was 16. I am now an 18-year-old student. I have no professional experience yet.
Is there anyone you’d like to thank or give credit to?
I am able to do this only because of my parents support. Wildlife photography is an expensive hobby, and I am grateful for my parents to have supported me to follow my passion. In the beginning, my passion accelerated when I attended a workshop with two photographers, Priyanshi and Gurcharan. They taught me quite a lot; Priyanshi (Priyanshi.wildographs) with the photography fundamentals and Gurcharan (gurcharan) inspiring me to explore my creativity in editing.
A photographer that I was inspired by the most was Harman (hshphotos). I looked up to him largely because of how much he achieved at such a young age. His editing style was unique and that inspired me to steer away from regular editing.
Another huge contribution to my journey goes to my friends. They have supported me since the beginning, they help me with ideas and keep me motivated to keep going.
Contact Info:
- Email: dhirjakharia@gmail.com
- Website: https://dhirjakharia.com
- Instagram: https://instagram.com/spotclickpost
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/dhirjakharia
