Rendezvous with Rashmi Choudhary: A Lens into Passion and Purpose

Rashmi Choudhary’s journey from a techie to a celebrated photographer is a tale of passion, perseverance, and empathy. With a camera in hand and a dream in her heart, Rashmi transformed fleeting moments into timeless stories. Her brand, Rendezvous with Rashmi, epitomizes her dedication to creating memories that resonate and inspire. Rashmi, a prominent figure in Gurgaon and Delhi's cultural circles, has recently added another feather to her cap by being elected as a member of the General Council for the Sahitya Kala Parishad.

In an exclusive interview with THEWOOMAG, she shares how she turned her passion for photography into a journey of impact and creativity, and success followed. This interview might be especially useful for women who would like to take photography up as a career.

Here are the excerpts from the interview- 

TWM: What motivated and inspired you to take up photography? Why only photography?

Rashmi: My journey into photography has been very organic and led by my personal journey which goes like this-

My first love

Ever since I was a kid, the camera has been one of my favourite toys. During our travels and family functions, I had seen my father shooting with his Yashica and I loved being a part of every single frame. The romance with the camera continued through my high school and college. I always had a camera to click pictures of our picnics, get-togethers, and outings (though the camera model kept evolving with time).

My first DSLR:

I bought my first DSLR in 2008 when my first child was born. Though I did not have the technical know-how about photography back then, I used it extensively to document his growing-up years. A few months later, when I had some time on my hands, I decided to learn photography including the technical nuances. So, I signed up for a course and found myself passionately involved in the process. Very soon, I was dabbling with various genres to understand where my strengths, and interests lay. 

Through all this research and experimentation, I realized, I was deeply glued to documenting everything my eyes saw. 

The sabbatical and after

I had a short sabbatical after serving as a techie in a leading software giant and then as an entrepreneur. This gave me a window to meet and understand people and myself too. My penchant for observing people and studying human emotions drew me closer towards my passion-photography. My love for human interaction found a creative outlet in the art and capturing precious moments in people’s lives became my passion.

I feel my most important tool is ‘empathy’ which enables me to capture stories and not just clicks that people can cherish over the years and relive those moments. 

“Photographs are almost time capsules that immortalize an emotion or a moment.”

Rashmi Choudhary

TWM: What steps did you take to get going with your dream?

Rashmi: I first enrolled in a formal course to explore photography and learn the nuances. This was followed by numerous genre-specific workshops and innumerable hands-on practice and shoots. Then, I would share those pictures on my social media handles. While on one hand, a huge audience appreciated and encouraged me highly, this also helped me get some critical feedback from people already in this field, which I took very positively to fine-tune my work and skills.

Photography like any other art form is a process of continuous learning and practice. Therefore, ever since I embarked on this journey, I have been looking for avenues to reinvent myself every passing day.

TWM: What challenges did you face and how did you overcome those?

Rashmi: I started my journey from ZERO with no formal education in the field of photography (btw, I am a software engineer by qualification). However, my biggest strength was my passion. And this applies to every area of my life. Once I set my eyes on the target, I go the full hog to achieve it.

So, I went into the shoot, edit, learn, unlearn, relearn - REPEAT mode. Studying and following the works of some famous photo artists hugely helped me. Though I was very comfortable with the natural light photography, using studio strobes or blending it with the ambient light was daunting. I had to push myself out of my comfort zone and go back to school to learn this particular aspect.

I enrolled myself at The Raghu Rai Center to learn studio lighting and ever since, I upped my game while exploring creative lighting in numerous novel ways. As such every assignment comes with its own set of challenges. It helps to analyze the clients’ requirements, plan and create accordingly. In our profession, every day is a new learning day, and every shoot is unique and carries its own flavour. 

TWM: Were there any moments when you got disappointed?  

Rashmi: I am overly critical about my own work. After any shoot, I take my time to analyze what were the elements that worked or didn’t. There have been times when I felt I could have done better. And if it was a curated shoot and there was scope for a reshoot, I would do that. However, these instances have been far and few, and I have embraced the lessons quite diligently.

TWM: What’s that one hard lesson that you learned?

Rashmi: You are only as good as your work. Therefore, put your heart and soul into delivering the best you can. It is also important to set the client’s expectations right. So, I have very clearly defined SOPs with my customers. My stint at a decade-long corporate setup helped me in being structured and professional and ensuring everything was well documented and mutually agreed upon at the onset of the project.

TWM: Your business brand is also your personal brand “Rendezvous with Rashmi”. What do you think are important factors in creating a strong and successful business brand?  

Rashmi: Rendezvous with Rashmi is not just a brand for me, it is my baby. Over the years, I have nurtured it with the same love and compassion that one harbours for one’s children. 

From my personal experience, I believe, some of the basic tenets for setting up a successful brand are - honesty, consistency, reliability, and repeatability. Especially when you are the face of the brand, you need your customers to have trust in you. And that comes from your ability to deliver as per the requirement. Everything else comes later. Additionally, it helps to have a good physical presence, to be a people person, and communicate effectively. 

In today’s fiercely competitive world, it is vital to know and work on my competitive edge. What is that extra punch that the client will get when they engage me as opposed to 10 others? And this thought process is the game changer. For instance, when people sign me up for a portrait session, I not only shoot but also have multiple pre-shoot meetings to break the ice, make the client absolutely familiar with the mood board, the studio (or wherever we are shooting), I understand the end usage of the images and accordingly suggest the looks, outfits, locations. For interior and food shoots, I provide complimentary styling. Many times when I shoot for brands and share those images on my social handles, they get numerous conversions through my network of audience. So you see, my personal brand is not just about me but an aggregate of all my work, community, audience, and customers, and it collectively creates value for all.

TWM: What are your key achievements so far in your whole career?

Rashmi: One of the biggest achievements has been a circle of supremely loyal clientele, who are more like friends now. They come for repeated shoots and, also, recommend us. With majority of our projects, we build a relationship with the customer. This of course comes with hours of honest hard work and therefore credibility. When we see our images being used on the global platforms and clients proudly flaunting them, you know you have done a good job. 

Another important aspect is the impact made on the social sector by virtue of the photo stories and photo documentaries that we shoot and create. This helps us and eventually our customers to bring forth the cause of socio-economic issues on the forefront and spread awareness, whether it is in the field of disability or textiles and handicrafts or women empowerment or bringing spotlight to living conditions in lower economic strata of society (and therefore the much-needed reforms). 

TWM: What’s your most effective way of marketing and creating awareness about your work (other than word of mouth)?

Rashmi: I have not been very aggressive when it comes to marketing. I usually get my kind of projects through my ever-expanding network. Actually, I am pretty picky about the projects that I do. They must resonate with me.

Social media helps a big deal in showcasing my work. Since I shoot a variety of genres, my social media handles carry snippets of work from most of the segments. And then whatever is the focus area for a particular assignment, we share proof of concept specific to that genre. By virtue of the conferences and art and literary events that we shoot, we get to network with a good amalgam of prospective clients.

TWM: What things do you do that help you achieve Every Day?

Rashmi: For me discipline and planning are the key. I like to plan the road ahead and chase milestones and timelines. A typical day for me begins with my hot cup of coffee with my daily planner where I jot down the activities I plan to accomplish on that particular day. Having a positive and open mindset and attention to detail are vital to succeed, especially in my field. 

TWM: What would you like to say to your 16-year self? 

Rashmi: I would ask her to fiercely chase her dreams and build a rocking career. Everything else can wait.

TWM: Your favourite quote, Rashmi Choudhary?

Rashmi: I strongly believe in “Love what you do and do what you love. Passion is the key that opens the door to joy and abundance”. This is a quote by David Cuschieri

One-liners from Rashmi:  

I love food and travel and delving deeper into the cultural and anthropological significance of a place 

My strength comes from my honesty, integrity, and clarity of thought. I can also say that my self-confidence is my big strength too.

When I face a challenge, I first calm my mind and try to reason out/seek solutions with a balanced mind.

When somebody discourages me, I listen to my inner voice. If it calls out to me to go ahead and pursue, I do.

I let go of failure by concentrating on how best to spring back and directing all my energies toward how to succeed the next time

To unwind, I - sit back with my cup of tea/coffee and watch a nice comedy/rom-com or meet up with my inner circle of friends

How can we create an equitable society for women? - Financial independence is the key. Unless women are financially equipped and independent, they will continue to bear the brunt of our patriarchy.

The secret behind Rashmi's influence and success is no secret. It is the consistent hard work and a mix of failure and success, trial and error. And this is what life is like for most successful people. So, when you emulate their achievements, you should also be ready for some tough times with patience and perseverance.

Do you have a story to share? Do write to us at info@thewoomag.com.