Today we’d like to introduce you to Janki Desai.
Hi Janki, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
Growing up, I’ve always been into photography and videography. I remember as a birthday gift one year my parents got me a small Hannah Montana camcorder and I would go around filming little home movies with it. As I grew up, this thing that felt more like a hobby started becoming more on the foreground of things. This concentration led me to apply to the UT Austin film program, from where I am graduating from this month. Coming into the film program, I wanted what every 18 years old wants and it was to be famous. I wanted to go to Hollywood and create the type of TV shows that keep you binging episode after episode. Once the pandemic hit, it put things into focus for me and my goals shifted. I no longer wanted to go to Hollywood and be famous. The pandemic made me want to start capturing more local stories and life events. I started doing event and lifestyle photography and videography and immediately fell in love. The exciting feeling I would get as a little kid creating home movies came back. I fell in love with the whole process of meeting new people, hearing their stories, and having an opportunity to capture their life events. The fame I was searching for at 18 shifted into something more real and beautiful. That quickly became the motto and goal for my company: Capturing your life’s most beautiful moments. Now, I just want to take pictures and videos and hope that it makes someone look back and smile.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
It has not been a smooth road. I feel like I faced a lot of internal challenges along the way. In the beginning, especially, I felt myself constantly comparing myself to all these other photographers I admire and their successes. I definitely put a lot of pressure on myself to do better or to be better to the point where I started feeling like an imposter and questioning if I was even on the right path for myself. In the end, I am grateful for all my friends and family I have because they always help ground those feelings and help me remember that we are all on our own paths.
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
I am a Texas-based event and lifestyle photographer and videographer. I am known to take pictures and videos. I do both South Asian and American events. If I am being partial to one, though, I would say I love capturing South Asian events because that is the culture that I grew up in and am proud of. My goal for any type of shoot I do is to take the time to try to get the nontraditional or more candid photos and videos that make my client’s personality pop.
I think I am most proud of the fact that not only my company has grown so much in the short time that I’ve had it but I am growing right alongside of it. I have learned so much from not only the people I meet but the other photographers in the area that I’ve worked with.
I feel like something that sets me apart from a lot of videographers in the area is that I am a female videographer. When I started out I was assisting another photographer and videographer in the area and she told me I have to stick to video because not many women do it. There aren’t that many of us and the ones I have met are absolutely amazing. I am so proud to be a new addition to the small coalition of female videographers that reside in the Austin area.
What are your plans for the future?
My plans for the future are to mainly just grow. I am looking forward to all the new opportunities I have lined up this year and showcasing all the amazing people I meet along the way. I think the biggest change will be the amount of time I now have to dedicate to my company. For the last couple of years, I was in school while also trying to grow my business. Now that I am graduating, I will be able to do it on a more full-time basis. I’m hoping with the more time I have, I’ll be able to do more networking and marketing for it to reach more people.
Contact Info:
- Email: jankidesaiphotography@gmail.com
- Website: https://www.jankidesaiphotographyfilm.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jankidesaiphotography/?hl=en
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jankidesaiphotography
