Here's a fun task. Use a cup of tea as your primary object in all your pictures for 365 days. Sounds like an interesting challenge? Now, what if we tell you to use the cup of tea in all your pictures and not only this, you are to shoot only against a blue background and only use flat lay technique (where you shoot directly from above). Beginning to sound like a gruelling task, right? Not for Subham Swain. Every day, religiously, the 27-year-old, while he brews his morning cuppa, sets the blue stage for its tea, adorned in a white cup and saucer. Everything in the frame is constantly changing, but the tea and the blue background are the only constants. And who is the audience? His 18.1k followers on Instagram!
After pursuing his Bachelor's in Biotechnology from Gandhi Institute for Technology, Bhubaneswar, Subham made his way to Hyderabad in 2014. He held a few corporate jobs but when they came in conflict with his passion for photography, he decided to drop out of the MNC rat race in 2019 and pursue his dreams. "I started Hello Hyderabad, a community of photographers that took me two years to build. I started getting assignments for outdoor events, sports and so on," explains the Dhenkanal-born. But it was back in 2017 that he started the 365 project (where one was asked to take one picture every day) which is now his everyday project.
"As an introvert, I knew I couldn't do portraits every day and roses would be expensive to buy. In this way, I kept narrowing down my list and the only option standing was tea. I make it every day," says the youngster. And now, Subham is willing to let you in on his secrets — he started taking workshops, the first of which was in December 2020. It was a simple two-hour virtual class over Google Meet and was super relatable. "Flat lay technique is specifically useful for food and even travel bloggers. We discussed lighting, background, colour composition and laid down a few basic ground rules," he explains. Soon, he is going to start a new batch, so look out and save the date.
But how far can one work with limitations — there is no doubt about the fact that what Subham does is limiting. While explaining his approach, he shares, "If you have set limitations of your own, there are many ways you can expand it." But no matter what approach he takes, the cup of tea always takes centre stage, everything else is just background noise. But what's most important of all are the day-to-day stories he tells through the pictures he clicks on his Google Pixel 4a. "If I am watching a movie that day, it usually revolves around that. Similarly, some part of my day finds its way into the pictures," he informs. While the tea basks in natural light only, the blue background only helps play up all the elements. And once the picture is clicked, Subham downs the tea before it turns cold.
Wondering why we did not introduce any of his pictures? Here's a glimpse of what his pictures look like, in details:
Diwali bonanza
Be aware
One of those things
Phone please
For more on him check out instagram.com/zuvamart
