Artist bio
Ankita Asthana works as a freelance lifestyle photographer traveling around Mumbai, Delhi and other major cities in India.
An architect by profession and a dreamer by nature, Ankita Asthana, joined photography design at NID to channel her passion and curiosity for the world . From architecture to photography, the fire that keeps her going is her urge to create. She loves exploration and experimentation to beget something distinct, as seen clearly in her work. She uses colours to emote. She chooses to photograph subjects that she feels deeply about, like music, nature conservation, dance, architecture, people… because she believes that you are what you feel and you can only make a difference if you truly care.
She has completed her post graduation in photography from the reputed National Institute of Design (NID), Ahmedabad. Part of her training as a photographer was conducted in the University for the Creative Arts (UCA), Farnham in the United Kingdom(UK). Her photographs have been frequently published in Books, Magazines and Newspapers. She has won many distinctions and awards. Her work has been exhibited in various major cities like London, Brazil, Ahmedabad, Gandhinagar, Dehradun and Nagpur.
She has an esteemed clientele and delivers great quality of work with utmost professionalism. Ankita is also an avid blogger and loves to write about her travel experiences.
Education
2010 – Exchange program, MFA photography at University for the creative arts (UCA), Farnham, UK
2009-10 – Post Graduate Twin Certificate course in Photography Design (PGCPD) at National Institute of Design (NID), Ahmedabad in collaboration with University for the creative arts (UCA), Farnham, UK
2004-09 – Bachelor of Architecture (B.Arch.) at Visvesvaraya National Institute of Technology (VNIT), Nagpur
2002-04 – 85.8% in CBSE XIIth (10+2) at Maharishi Vidya Mandir & Junior College, Chennai
2000-02 – 90.6% in CBSE Xth (10) at Maharishi Vidya Mandir & Junior College, Chennai
Work Experience
2008 – Present – Freelance Photographer
2011 – Worked as an architect/designer/photographer at Pradeep Sachdeva Design Associates (PSDA)
2010 – Employed by the Press Information Bureau (PIB) under Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (I&B) as the Press Conference Supervisor for Press Operations during the Commonwealth games (CWG) in Delhi
Job profile: Managed the print and photographic media, organised the press conferences and delegated tasks to volunteers
May 2010 – Interned with eminent artist and photographer Shri. Jyoti Bhatt in Baroda, Gujarat
June-August 2008 – Practical training at Mathew and Ghosh Architects Pvt. Ltd., Bangalore under Ar. Soumitro Ghosh
August-December 2008 – Practical training at Aakrati Consultants, Dehradun under Ar. Inndu Gupta
Exhibitions
May 2011 – ‘Travelling light show’ by University for the creative arts, UK in Farnham
October 2010 – Invited by the Photography and Movie Making Club of DA-IICT to exhibit in the guest section of their annual exhibition in Gandhinagar, Gujarat
August 2010 – ‘Beyond picturesque’ by photography design students of NID batch 2009-2010
April 2010 – ‘Ahmedabad Mirror Art show’ at Amdavad ni gufa showcasing artists, sculptors, designers and photographers’ perspective of 600 years of Ahmedabad
March 2010 – UFMG collective body, an international photography collaborative, ‘Corpo Coletivo’, Brazil
January 2009 – Photography exhibition by club capture
Technical Proficiency
Equipment: Use of analogue 35mm, medium and large format cameras like Hasselblad, Sinar, Use of digital single lens reflex cameras like Nikon D7000, D90, D60 and an extensive lens kit
Lighting: Studio and location Lighting; flash and natural
Photography Genres: Travel, Fashion, Lifestyle, Architecture, Product, Wedding, Nature, Documentary, Events
Colour and B&W darkroom developing and printing
Making photograms, cyanotypes, salt printing
Digital editing, scanning and printing
Softwares: Adobe Photoshop CS5, Adobe lightroom, Photomatix pro3, Autodesk AutoCAD(-12), Autodesk REVIT(-09), Google Sketch-up, Corel Draw, MS office(03-07), Sony soundforge, Sony vegas, Windows movie maker, Adobe InDesign, Adobe Illustrator