A first time.
A little freedom.

I usually suggest meeting in Amalfi, but Jatin had little time and could not make the journey. He was happy to wait for me in Sorrento, so we decided to photograph him at his hotel, away from the busy streets.

What a place it turned out to be. Every corner offered something: mirrors, paintings, ceramics, beautiful chairs. We could have spent the whole session there without running out of backgrounds.

There is one moment from this shoot I will remember for a very long time. I carry an enormous backpack, and while concentrating on a photograph I caught a ceramic statue with it. The statue wobbled, began to fall, and somehow I caught it at the last second.

I have no idea what it was worth. It looked expensive enough to make me very grateful for that catch. Sometimes I get so absorbed in the frame that I forget how much is going on around me.

This was Jatin’s first photoshoot. At first he kept noticing the camera and wondering how to pose. I have a posing guide for exactly this reason, but sometimes what helps most is simply a little pause and a change of mood.

We took a short break for a drink, and afterwards something shifted. He laughed more, his expression softened, and he stopped following the camera. By the time we were out on the terraces, photographing him felt completely different.

Finding that way in is one of my favourite parts of the job. You do not need experience in front of a camera. We just need to find what makes you comfortable enough to enjoy being there.