Photo-artist Lucky Malhotra’s pictures speak a thousand words. He connects with every subject that he shoots with and that’s why his images not just capture the essence in its whole, but also brings out the character and expressions that can touch any onlooker’s soul.

A name to reckon with in the professional fashion and lifestyle photography field for over two decades, Lucky Malhotra has been blessed with shooting across the world with some of the leading brands and famous personalities. His portfolio is as diverse as his imagination. From the latest fashion portfolios to also talking of subjects related to social causes that are close to his heart, he has created images and stories to satiate his thirst of delving deep into his innermost thoughts.

Lucky is not the one who is always compelled to work for commercial reasons. He has gone beyond just clicking stunning images. Lucky likes to keep it simple and instead of shooting a photograph of a glamorous person or a landscape just because it’s stunning, he feels he would rather create a visual story around it.

Ask him how it all started and he says, “I think I was just drawn towards it since my childhood. I picked up my first camera that was lying around at home when I was hardly seven years old and started playing with it. And then I was still in school that I worked on my first paid shoot. My parents didn’t know of it then. I bought a roll in those days from the pocket money I got and also used it for printing and developing the pictures. That’s how it all started and I’m happy that I took this path that I’m really passionate about.”

Lucky has shot leading national and international publication covers with film stars like Chiyaan Vikram, Yana Gupta, Allu Sirish besides others and has also worked with some of the biggest corporates like the Embassy Group, Prestige Group, Samsung and others. He has created campaigns with uber-luxury brands like Christian Louboutin, Swarovski, Paul Smith, Louis Vuitton, Jimmy Choo, and many more. He has shot across the world in various scenic locations. Recalling one of the moments that he will never forget, he shares, “I had gone to Italy for a shoot and almost lost my camera bags once on the train platform there. This happened when I was helping unload luggage for others at the station I had to get down at. I first kept my bags down and went back inside the train to help others with their luggage, when the doors closed and I got stuck inside. Luckily one of the clients was outside with my bags and I had to rush back by cab once the train stopped at the next station which was a few minutes away, but all that while, my heart was in my mouth. On another trip to Russia for the shoot of an IT firm’s head’s short film video, we had back to back shoots. I wanted to go around for sight-seeing also, but fortunately for the video we were shooting in all the popular places there like the palaces, churches and other monuments, so I got to do my work, while soaking in all those marvellous sights.”

The sought-after photographer in the fashion, lifestyle and hospitality industry known for his clean and classy work is also known for his food shots for the Chef Post annual calendar, where he shoots the star chefs from all the luxury hotels who get styled and shot by him every year. What cameras does he use and any advice he has for the budding photographers, we ask and he states, “I have been using Canon primarily from the last many years. The only advice I can give those entering this field is – do not get disheartened looking at the numbers on social media. It’s the talent that matters and your work should speak for itself. Focus on what you’re good at. There’s too much information on the net and you may get distracted, so try and keep that focus and keep going at it.”

To see his work log onto www.luckymalhotra.com. On Instagram, Lucky is on @shotbyluckymalhotra