Sophomore Vivek Chidurala loved taking photos since elementary with his dad’s iPhone, but always felt he wanted to do more with photography. He soon happened to stumble upon an old film camera in his garage, which propelled his interest in photography.
As Vivek progressed to taking photos of anything he found interesting on all sorts of trips, he has picked up an array of skills that have helped him refine his craft. His father, Madhu Chidurala, shares specific improvements that Vivek has made, such as a post-production process, where he edits photos to create a more professional and presentable final product.
“All his pictures have become more refined and his subjects have also changed,” Madhu said. “Also, his photo editing and composing skills have improved as he has become far more knowledgeable about his equipment as well. Overall, the key to becoming a more thoughtful and purposeful photographer is being able to use the processing software on his computer to get really good results on the photographs.”
Despite the enjoyment that Vivek gets from learning all about photography, such as editing, at certain times he encounters difficult circumstances. He identifies several challenges that have surfaced by pursuing his favorite form of photography: street photography.
“Especially with street photography, in which permission to take a photo of someone is kind of nonexistent, you just take pictures of whoever you want,” Vivek said. “But sometimes they will get mad, like when I went to Washington D.C., there were these people at a carwash and I took a picture of them and they started yelling at me and I had to kind of run away. But either way, if the photo is good, it’s worth it.”
Since the start of Vivek’s photography, his brother and ’23 alum Abhay Chidurala has been accompanying and taking inspiration from his younger brother. Abhay soon followed in his footsteps, piquing his own interest in photography.
“We kind of just bounce ideas off each other,” Abhay said. “There was this one time where he showed me what color grading was and at first I thought it was pretty stupid but then I tried it and then I was like this is pretty cool. And now I color grade everything.”
Looking into the future, Vivek plans to reach new heights with professional shoots in which he can monetize his work. So far, he has capitalized on a few opportunities through established photographers who have recommended him to their friends for photoshoots.
“I don’t know how his journey is going to evolve, but I think it’ll be pretty cool, especially with him shooting prom photos and other events like anniversaries,” Abhay said. “So he is definitely shooting a lot, especially as develops his style more and figures out more efficient ways to shoot photos, deal with editing, and sending a product to clients.”
In particular, Madhu has noticed how from time to time Vivek still has to cut down on sleep as he juggles his various hobbies and responsibilities such as school and athletics like wrestling and track and field in order to sustain a path to all his goals. However, he still values how Vivek strives to stay in touch with his passion as he learns to manage time more effectively.
“He is very passionate about photography so he would like to get better equipment to take better pictures,” Madhu said. “He is very detail-oriented and also very picky about quality which is great. He strives for perfection and I think that keeps him occupied and able to continue to enjoy his hobby.”
