25-year-old Nongmaithem Suraj from the sleeping suburban district of Kakching in Manipur is a rookie fashion photographer who is building a career in the competitive fashion industry of London and Mumbai after a Masters in Photography from the University of the Arts, London. 

Winner of the prestigious Fabrik Carbon Award for Photography 2018, England, Suraj’s works have been featured on independent media platforms based in London like Hunger TV, Schon Magazine, Metal Magazine, Sicky magazine, MM Scene Magazine, Vulkan Magazine, Pansy Magazine, Sticks and Stones Mothership and many more. His photographs also participated in group exhibitions like Fashioned World: London College of Fashion MA19 Show Oxo Gallery, London, 2019 and ‘The Everyday and the Epic’: MA Fashion Photography Exhibition, London, 2018 

“As a student from a science background, my parents were not supportive when I first step into photography but they are now. They are supportive parents to what I enjoy doing and what I am. This is a great factor in building my confidence,” said Nongmaithem Suraj.

“Any parents want their children’s to be happy in life and I’m proud to see people appreciating and recognizing Suraj’s work,” said Col. Nabakishore, Suraj’s father while commenting on his son’s choice of Photography as a career.  “At the end of the day, people need to be happy in life and enjoy what they do. We should be happy with the profession we choose and stand out in society,” said the proud father.

Pin-pointing out the works of American photographer, freelancer and photojournalist, Steve Mc Curry as his inspiration,  Suraj rationalized his love for photography saying, “Steve Mc Curry’s perception of storytelling through a photograph is really strong and moving”.  Mc Curry is the photographer who captured the famous photo of an Afghan girl that featured on the cover of a national geographic magazine.

Right from teens, Suraj documented things during his journey and other activities. While pursuing a bachelor in Mass Media at St. Xavier’s, Mumbai, he started photographing music concerts and other public events as a hobby. Soon the hobby became his passion and landed him in London pursuing M.A in Fashion Photography from London College of Fashion.

 “To make a career out of one’s hobby is difficult but determination and continuous experiments can make any individual achieve what he wants. I never expect that I will reach this level but one has to have dreams,” said Suraj.

“A fashion photographer must visualize ideas and create something new and unique. The fashion industry is very interesting. It gives space for one’s own concept to grow. Besides one gets to work with lots of designers and collaborate with different artistes,” explained Suraj the world of fashion photography.

Suraj who wants to work with fashion designers of Manipur and explore the varied culture of the state and show it to world says, photography, as a creative industry, is growing even in  in small towns and it can be a good profession for the generations X even in the state. He adds that perseverance and experimentation are the ingredients of a good photographer who, he observed, has to read a lot and have a strong sense of design and graphic compositions.   

Just as an American photographer, Alfred Stieglitz once said, “wherever there is light, one can photograph,” Suraj argues that proper lighting of the object and a good camera is essential to produce good quality photographs.