Visually-impaired photographer Bhavesh Patel wins Gold for Katrina Kaif portrait

No one of us knew that the photos of Katrina Kaif for Lux perfume soap were shot by a visually-impaired photographer Bhavesh Patel. Mumbai-based Bhavesh won Gold at the Goafest ABBY Awards for this beautiful portrait of Katrina Kaif .

When asked about how he made possible, Bhavesh said "I've been taught by Partho Bhowmick, the founder of Beyond Sight Foundation (BSF). He is the man who introduced me to the company,"

Patel added "For the first time in the world a visually-impaired photographer was engaged in a commercial shoot. The director of the ad, Sunil Sippy, was very inspiring. Being a photographer himself, he was very encouraging. I could only finish my shoot because of him,"

Bhavesh Patel clicks photographs without being able to see of what he is taking photo. "The process of shooting the ad was very challenging for me. There was this sound of a machine, which was generating air to flow on Katrina’s gown. I also had to hear her voice to capture her. So I had to listen to her voice and simultaneously filter the sound of the machine, and concentrate only on her. I was scared — this was my first big assignment, what if I failed? Also, I had to shoot her from different angles, listen to the sound of her fabric and click," said Bhavesh.

He was asked how does he feels performing certain things better than the people with vision. Bhavesh replied "While I was shooting the director told me that there were other professional photographers who were also capturing Katrina as they didn’t want the ad to go wrong. If my photos did not work, they would use photos from others. But after the final shoot, the director came to me and said my photos were brilliant, better than the sighted professionals. That was an amazing compliment. To be able to obtain something that everybody praises… it’s very satisfying."

Bhavesh Patel works as a software tester at an IT company in Mumbai, a social enterprise that creates technology for the disabled. He attended Bhowmick's workshop in 2010 while studying at St Xavier's college. Bhavesh revealed "hat was the first time I heard that a visually impaired person could take up photography,"