Kesari Photography

If you’re near Chappan Bhog in Sadar Cantt, you’ve probably seen the sign for Kesari Photography. We are at 146 Makhniya Mohal, right across the street. The studio isn’t huge, but we’ve got enough space for a couple of backdrops and some lights. It’s often cluttered with tripod legs, old frames, and rolls of paper. We do a lot of passport photos and family portraits for people in the neighborhood. Sometimes a wedding party comes in and it gets really loud and crowded with everyone trying to look their best. I’ve been holding a camera for a long time now. My fingers know where all the buttons are without me even looking. We don’t do all that heavy editing that makes people look like robots or cartoons. We just take the picture as it is. Sometimes the little kids cry during the shoot, so we keep some old toys and candies around to distract them. The walls are covered with samples of work we’ve done over the years—mostly local faces you’d recognize if you live nearby. We keep the shop open until late because that’s when people get off work and have time for photos. It’s a bit of a squeeze when we get busy on weekends, but nobody seems to mind waiting on the wooden bench outside. We just like taking photos of the folks around here. It’s a simple business, really. No fancy tricks, just good lighting and a bit of patience for every customer.