The Hindu : Andhra Pradesh / Hyderabad News : Photo studios still click in digital age

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Monday, Nov 03, 2008
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Andhra Pradesh

Andhra Pradesh - Hyderabad

Photo studios still click in digital age

Yogendra Kalavalapalli

Photography business still continues to be lucrative contrary to perceptions

HYDERABAD: If you presume many photo studios have shut shop with the influx of digital cameras into the market, you have got it wrong. They might not be doing roaring business, but at the same time are not loss-making ventures either. In fact, some studio-owners have managed to steer their businesses into successful enterprises.

“People still turn to us for passport photographs and it’s an evergreen business,” says Nagesh, a photographer at Sri Jyothi photo studio, Ameerpet. With many going abroad and their number increasing by the day, the demand for passport photographs has only soared over the years.

Sensing this demand, studios too have jacked up their prices. While regular passport photos cost around Rs. 60 for 32 photographs, the country-specific passport photos are priced anywhere between Rs. 100 and Rs.150 (depending on the country) for a set of four to five copies. “Only the dimensions vary yet they charge exorbitantly,” says M. Vidya Sagar, who has applied for an Australian visa.

For laminations, prints, digital mixing and re-working of images, many are thronging to the photo studios as they are not conversant with the technology and software. Professional photographers are still in demand for photo-shoots, outdoor photography and for events like weddings etc. Most studios also offer video services that earn them an extra buck.

“The business continues to be lucrative contrary to what some people think. No event is conducted without our presence and the gains could vary anywhere between 50 and 75 per cent,” says a veteran photographer. The margin of profit is said to be dependent on one’s skill sets and computer knowledge.

Digital cameras too are embraced by the studios. “In fact, thanks to digicams, the input costs have lessened. They give us the liberty to click as many snaps as we want without worrying about the extent of film being exposed,” says A. Prakash Rao who has been in this profession since 1982.

Mr. Rao does, however, admits that it was not all that rosy when the digital cameras were introduced few years ago and some of the elderly photographers unable to keep pace with technology had to shut shop. Enamel and recopy workers were also left out in the process, he adds.

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