Botticelli With Camera

One of photography’s most familiar, original subjects has been getting a fresh ‘exposure’. The picturesque outdoors of Theni town, nestling in the foothills of the Western Ghats in southern Tamil Nadu, has long been an inspiration for nature photographers, amateur and professional. In recent years, this rural setting has been a backdrop for another genre—baby photography.

Chandini Ramesh, a 29-year-old mother who bought a camera to shoot her newborn daughter, has converted her hobby into a flourishing business. “I was surprised by the demand for baby photography in a small town like Theni. But that is the power of social media—when friends and relatives saw my daughter Akshara’s photos that I posted on Instagram, they wanted their babies to be photographed similarly, in similar settings,” says Chandini.