With photographs published in magazines such as Vogue, Cosmopolitan and Elle, and with clients among the top fashion designers in India and the world, it may be surprising that Hemant Khandelwaal says he entered the field of photography purely by chance. After working for several years in his family’s hardware business, Khandelwaal says, he realized that lock and handle sales were not his true profession. After exploring many different media in the arts, he “found his calling in photography,” and went on to study at the Triveni Kala Sangam, a well-known art institute in Delhi. Romantic and sensual, Khandelwaal’s portraits are ultimately concerned with beauty and not only that of the stunningly attractive women who are the subjects of most of his pictures. Dramatic lighting, vibrant colors, the rich texture of the fabric that the women wear- every detail contributes to the lushness of Khandelwaal’s photographs. Even the images that are not expressly portraiture capture the style, personality and grace that are elemental to his work and natural to his models. Khandelwaal has traveled all over the world for his photography-from places like Paris and Rome to Sri Lankaand Bali. He says his photographs are meant to conjure a “sense of freedom” and “embody a spirit of adventure and abandon.”
