Photographer Interview - Sachin Khona
The photographers we get to work with at Post Partner are our biggest inspiration. They're artists and friends and we want to share their talent with everyone. Today, we're chatting with our new friend Sachin Khona.
Sachin is a full time wedding photographer, runs ARC, an interview based website for creatives, and in October is going to be hosting Experience ARC, a 3 day conference in Vancouver. He is the epitome of someone who is passionate about what they do, and is looking for anyway to include people in that process. We have SO enjoyed getting to know Sachin over the last few months. He is the nicest person you'll ever come across, and truly lives out community over competition. We're a huge fan of his, and know that you will be too!
Hey guys, Jen here!
We're so excited to be teaming up with Sachin this October for ARC, The Experience. As a company we believe in this community of photographers and artists. Even more, we believe that when we put time aside to be inspired and build connections that our art can be taken to a whole new level. Because of this, we are so excited to be offering a FREE ticket to The Experience. We're going to be sharing details at the bottom of this post on how to enter the competition!
Q1. Tell us a bit about yourself. How did you become a photographer?
Sachin Khona: I've always been fascinated by photographs from a young age. Growing up my parents would take my brother and I on a lot of trips to India and around Europe. I caught the travel bug and after a backpacking trip around Europe and a year long trip around the world after university I was addicted to travel and photography.
I shot mostly film but not in the cool, hip way everyone does now. I shot colour Kodak film and the camera was set to auto (no regrets).
When digital cameras came out in 2003 my learning naturally advanced a lot .. but it wasn't until a trip back to India for a friends wedding that I really fell in love with it. I captured some his ceremony and everything around their wedding with my camera and gave them an album of their time in India the way I saw it.
From then on I was hooked. And wedding photography was very appealing. Photography, travel and getting paid. That was definitely better than a life in finance (I was working at a firm as an auditor at the time).
I ended up second shooting for 2 years for various photographers in Vancouver, transitioned out of my job in finance and I've been a full time wedding photographer ever since. Happy days.
Q2. Originally from the UK and now based in Vancouver, how do these two very different landscapes and cultures influence your work?
Sachin Khona: When I first started, the UK was more documentary/photojournalistic in their approach.
In North America, I felt couples were more into portraits and creativity around this part of their day.
Personally I like to be as documentary as possible on a wedding day but love to spend a decent amount of time on portraits so that they are relaxed and it also allows for creativity.
Q3. Photography is constantly evolving and styles changing. How do you find balance between growing as an artist, staying current and remaining true to your individual style?
Sachin Khona: Great question.
I think this is something that is quite hard for me to balance. I'd like to think that I stay current but I'm not one to pick up and run with the latest wedding photography trends (textures were huge when I first started and more recently prisms, double exposures, ring of fire etc). For sure these things excite me and I'm curious to try them but when it comes to weddings, I want my images to be as true to the day as possible without my influencing it.
I enjoy getting more creative with portraits and other creatives shoots however and who knows, maybe one day I will merge it with wedding photography .. Never say never.
To grow as an artist (and a person), I try to travel as much as possible, capture the streets and connect/meet interesting people and generally experience cool shit.
Street photography continues to bring out the best in me as a photographer, creative and a human. You can see my latest work from Cuba HERE!
Q4. How did you land on your editing style?
Sachin Khona: I've always been a big fan of photographers Ed Peers and Erik Clausen's style in terms of editing. They shoot well in camera and let the images do the talking.
My images have been in some ways getting darker lately/punchier lately.
Q5. Describe your editing style in 3 words.
Sachin Khona: Clean. Real. Film-influenced.
Q6. What's your favourite editing tip?
Sachin Khona: Keep it simple. Don't over do it. If you're unsure, walk away and work on something else. Come back after a while and take a look again with a fresh perspective.
Above all, keep it consistent.
Q7. You run ARC and in October are hosting your first 3 day conference The Experience. What is ARC and why create a conference for photographers?
Sachin Khona: ARC started off as an interview based website. I enjoy reading interviews and digging a bit further into artists as a person, learning about their style and why they do the things the way that they do. I asked a few photographer friends (Nirav, Nando Esparza, Sandy Phimester, Ross Harvey) if they would like to be involved in an interview series I'm starting and they all said yes .. That was a year ago.I've been to a few different conferences in Canada, the US and the UK and wanted to see something different in Vancouver both educationally and experientially.
I love running events and I threw my first party when I was 15 back in London at a local hall. That turned into then running open-mic hip hop nights in my town, to throwing bigger parties at huge London nightclubs.
Finally, I'm also very passionate about education (I taught Maths in a school briefly during University).After going to a street photography conference in NYC with Alex Webb, my eyes were opened to a different way of being educated as a photographer. A key takeaway being, "why aren't different genres represented at wedding + portrait conferences?"
Blending these two passions (education + events) along with photography and the interview site came naturally to me.
Photography. Music. Education. Creatives. Vancouver. Coffee. Local Beers. Whisky. Banter.
Good times.
I can't wait for The Experience // ARC in October!
Q8. Why is community so important and how has it helped your grow as photographer?
Sachin Khona: Community is huge for me. I've always been passionate about getting to know others and I'm so happy the Vancouver community is so strong and full of awesome creatives that have become good friends since I arrived 4-ish years ago.
They have helped me grow in many ways in terms of the advice they gave me, especially at the start and continue to give me now.Working as a solo photographer is tough and can be a lonely existence in many ways. Surround yourself with interesting people that will challenge and inspire you. You won't regret it.
Q9. What's the best advice someone has ever given you?
Sachin Khona: Meditate. Twice a day.
Q10. With running ARC, creating a conference and managing a full time photography business, how do you find balance in your life?
Sachin Khona: Lately balance has been tough but I've been doing the best I can. Prioritizing family and health as much as I can and outsourcing my editing to Post Partner has been a weight off my mind.
Meditation, silence, breathing .. Connecting with good friends for mellow hangs
And the occasional concert thrown in. I'm looking forward to seeing Sigur Ros next month!
Q11. Finally. tell us 3 things about yourself.
Sachin Khona:
1. Yoga
2. Soul Music
3. Falafels
3 things I need more of in my life.
Sachin! Thank you so much for taking the time to invest in photographers and creating an amazing opportunity for photographers to take part in.
ARC GIVEAWAY
Starting next Tuesday, September 13, we will be doing 3 giveaways including our main ARC ticket giveaway. Each day will hold it's own giveaway. You must enter each individual giveaway you want to be a part of on Instagram. Make sure you're following both Post Partner and ARC to have your name included in the contest.
