A Decade Down, Forever to Go, Says Canon India And Godox Mentors Nitin and Shanaya Arora

While cinema has made us believe that photography is a field of dream chasers, it often isn’t the case for many in reality. When you speak to different photographers you come across various versions of how they happened to find their interest in the field that ultimately led them to take it on as a profession. The same is the story behind the founding of Nitin Arora Photography. Soon after graduating from a journalism course in 2009, Nitin found himself in the middle of a global recession that massively hit employment sectors. He earned from a part-time job and bought a new camera at the time that introduced him to the world of the lens. Soon after, he did a basic course in photography and launched Nitin Arora Photography in 2010. 

However, for five years, while NAP did some exciting work, it was all missing from the radar of the big picture. It was when Shanaya joined Nitin in 2015, that changed the course of the future and turned NAP into the brand it is today. Shanaya brought in her expertise of over nine years in the hospitality and aviation industry, and knowledge of digital platforms to redesign and promote NAP to the world in a brand-new way. Since then, the journey has been all uphill for the couple and their team making NAP one of the top names on the list of service providers. When asked about the experiences and hard work since Shanaya says the efforts are ‘never ending’ to keep up with the competition in the industry. Making a name for your brand might be difficult, but maintaining it long enough to be recognized by big industry players is a tougher game. It was Nitin’s attention to detail and obsession with not delivering anything that is not up to the mark, and Shanaya’s creative outlook and a talent for storytelling through the lens that helped them build a name for NAP. Their core focus was and remains ‘never compromising on quality. 

Over the years, the Aroras not only built Nitin Arora Photography to be the well-known brand it is today but they also mastered its position in the industry by joining hands with big industry leaders. Nitin is the official Maestro for Canon India, while Shanaya is an influencer for the same. Additionally, Nitin and Shanaya are also the official mentors for Godox India which is a leading brand when it comes to lighting in the photography industry.

Many followers of the couple’s work have often come up with the question of how does one become a mentor/ambassador for a brand to which Nitin says, “First and foremost it’s about the quality you put out which makes the biggest impact and secondly it’s about brand loyalty.” Ever since he began his career as a photographer, Nitin has been a loyal customer of Canon and has only used their equipment which was then recognized by the brand. The same story followed with the lighting brand, Godox, that noticed NAP’s outstanding output along with the number of years they had loyally been using and promoting their equipment through their brand that led to the company approaching the couple to join hands with them as their official mentors. Moreover, the brands also took into account the efforts NAP took to understand the extent of each product’s functionality with various tests and trials using their equipment to bring out the best results while exploring their potential to go above and beyond to deliver magic.

When asked about what it takes to be a Mentors, Nitin and Shanaya’s response was pretty similar to ‘with great power, comes great responsibility.’ Being an influencer, mentor, and ambassador of any brand brings with it a huge responsibility on your shoulders to be a step ahead at all times to keep the brand name high. In terms of being an ambassador for Canon India, for instance, Nitin says, it’s his first and foremost responsibility to be completely loyal to the brand aesthetics while at the same time being up-to-date with all their latest launches and technology. The couple also gets special access to all new launches to use and experiment with every new piece of technology. 

As a Mentor, you have to think of it like being in charge of someone else’s baby and giving it the seriousness and importance it deserves. “Being the face of a company, when you are representing something it’s important that you be truthful to yourself and the brand,” says Shanaya. At no point, should you be in a position where you’ve compromised on your association and the trust that the brand showed in you?

With the ever-changing dynamics of the industry, the power couple has made it a point to be leaders and not followers. The duo has recently started their very own YouTube channel by the name of Nitin Arora Photography Academy and has also become India’s first-ever wedding photography podcast hosts “WED FM by Nitin Arora Photography. What’s next? We guess we’ll just have to stay tuned to find out!