Luv Israni - India's leading celebrity and fashion photographer

Luv Israni, an ace photographer personifies an eccentric and inspiring spirit; untamed yet sophisticated; spontaneous yet focused; zest for life; enthusiastic and tremendously visual.
At a very young age, Luv started his journey & flourished as a kid model. He was exposed to the camera at a very early age and gathered all the confidence, strength and ability on screen. His keen eye in direction was a big plus factor when he directed two short documentary films in Mumbai ‘bomb blast’ and another ‘Mumbai 4 A.M to 4 A.M’ in the year 2005. That’s when he realized, his desire was not to be in front of the camera but his aspirations changed to be behind the camera. From that point onward he chose to be a photographer without looking back.
In 2005, Luv entered the trade and did various shoots and that’s when he started developing his career path. Luv is one of the finest and the youngest advertising, fashion and celebrity photographer in India today, shooting a number of Advertising campaigns, Film & Television Publicity shoots, Product shoots, Magazine covers, Fashion Features, Model Portfolio, Catalogues as well as Hotel & Property shoots.
Today he is a much sought after personality within the fashion, fame and glamour industry. Respected by clients and colleagues alike, Luv's masterful talent speaks volumes for itself. Luv's creativity extends far beyond the studio walls. Most importantly he has earned the respect of his peers and the public for his creativity, customer satisfaction, tireless devotion and work ethic. All one needs to do is glance through his work to see the heart and soul of a gifted artist in the prime of his life and career.Read on to find out more in his own words.

Nationality:  Indian.

Education/background: Graduate from MMK College of Commerce from Bandra.

Favorite reading material: Don't really read

1. Firstly, thank you for agreeing to be interviewed despite your very hectic lifestyle.So tell me who is Luv Israni? Tell me a little bit about your background. Where were you born? Basically a brief synopsis of your life from a child up until adulthood.

Luv Israni earlier known as Mohit was born and brought up in Mumbai. At a very young age I had joined my family business where I was a Casting Director handling all sorts of castings for films, television serials, print ads, as this has been my family business for over 2 decades now (www.modelspoint.com).

I always wanted to be a film director, I had taken admission in the London school of film making but at the last minute I decided to drop the idea. My career took off again with my family support when my dad started a magazine known as Tele Prime Time where I got opportunities to start clicking away.

2. How do you find and get clients?

Initially it was a little easier for me as I had a model in my house, my younger sister Megha..So I used to experiment with her..But yeah, I started off with shooting kids portfolios.. My mom became my business manager & started showing all her models my work & started getting me shoots.

3. Is this your full-time job or do you have other businesses as well? Please elaborate

I am lucky as I have made my passion my profession & yes this is my full time job. Along with this I also have my family business which takes up a bit of my time and is varied.My dad runs a Celeb Management Company known as Celeb 9 that handles television celebrities; their complete business. He has recently also opened an acting school known as MUMBAI ACTING ACADEMY which is a one stop shop for anyone who wants to act where acting is not taught but actors are made.

My mom handles this website www.modelspoint.com which is a portal for fresh talent & a casting agency known as Israni Communications. I have started a Wedding division which is run by my sister. She's the first wedding director in the country who covers videography & photography of weddings. 

Though all of us have our own domains I focus on my photography but I do have to sometimes over look all the other departments too.

4. What are the hardest challenges you face in running your own business?

Dividing Time - my major draw back which I am quite aware of and trying to work on is..Time Management..I wish the day had 48 hours so that I would be able to do everything as per plan...

5. Do you feel like you’re balancing your work and personal life pretty well? 

No not at all.. My sister has been complaining about this for many years now, friends too, and recently my girl friend also broke up with me because of this. I do wish to create a balance but the more I try to do the balancing act, the more it gets out of balance.

6. If you were not a fashion photographer, what would you be doing?

As a child I always use to think of studying Hotel management and would always want to be a Chef.. But today when I think about this question I have come to realize that I am happy in my current profession and can't imagine doing anything else.

7. What topics and subjects are you the most passionate about?

Pictures & People.

8. What makes you the most happy? (Work or personal)

Clicking clicking.. I can go on and on non stop without a break. all day all night

9.  Where do you and your friends like to hang out or do in your spare time? 

I am a complete Bollywood Buff - Movies is something I use to earlier try to watch once a week. Nowadays its one in a month or sometimes one in 3 months because of work pressure. But I like chilling out with friends, calling them over for a drink. I often invite them home and drink with friends and family together.

10. If someone could grant you a wish and you could choose to have any skill or talent in the world, what would it be?

Grant me a wand to travel all across the world..

11. What are your favorite websites?

I have a few minutes to spare for Facebook only

12. Who or what inspires you?

My father. He is 58 yet has so much of energy..His Dreams inspire me to work harder and achieve them all..

13.  Do you consider yourself to be a spiritual person?

I believe in God. Love visiting temples. I often go to shirdi. Pray every morning before beginning my day

14. Have you had any formal training in photography or graphic arts?

Not at all.. It's my father who has trained me and he is not a photographer himself. I have not assisted any photographer or gone to any photography school.

15. What are some of your most memorable shoots?

The last shoot I did recently in Goa. One of the most special shoots ever.

16. How would you describe your photography style?

I have always tried not to have a particular style when I shoot people. I try not repeating the same thing, my style is finding new locations, new garments, new feel so that none of my images look like the ones I have done earlier.

17. Your picture gallery on facebook shows your passion and well developed eye for fashion.What is it about fashion that attracts you as a photographer?

I love when my pictures speak. I make all my models and actors perform. A video is quite easy as u have 25 frames a second to perform. But in a still its much more difficult to have it all perfect. I direct all my talent to perform & get the image right & that's my forte. 

I always believe that I should perform better than yesterday. Each day when I shoot I tell myself I have to click better than yesterday & that's how I keep growing.

18. What advise would you give to students out there who aspire to be a part of the fashion photography industry?

Think different, work hard  and keep clicking.

19.   Are there any additional comments you’d like to add for the blog readers?

It has been 7 years now that I have been clicking away and finally I present to the world a glimpse of my work over the years. It has been a great experience capturing various Actors,Models and Brands..With great Pride and Gratitude I thank my team,my fans my faces who inspire me to do better work and God up there who makes my click better than the last..

Once again,thank you Luv (Mohit) for taking the time to answer these questions. Desert Moon wishes you all the best in your future endeavours!!!

If you wish to see more of Luv Israni's fantastic photography then visit his website or facebook page

Website: http://www.luvisrani.com/
Facebook page:  http://www.facebook.com/luvisraniphotography