PEP 2018: Stronger Together

PEP 2018 promises to be bigger than ever, with talks, workshops and a photo expo. Here’s what you can expect.

The second edition of PEP 2018 will be a six day event, starting from 15-20 March, and will be hosted at the Nehru Centre in Mumbai. This year, the conference will be divided into two parts—the PEP Summit and PEPx 2018. At the PEP Summit (16-18 March), expect to see talks presented by some of the best wedding and photography professionals like Erika and Lanny Mann, Kirsten Lewis Bethmann, Davina and Daniel Kudish, Erum Rizvi, Roberto Valenzuela and Ira Block, amongst others.

There will be an exposition that will take place from 16-18 March, at the Nehru Centre Hall of Knowledge. Various brands catering to photography, will provide learning and interactive sessions to students, enthusiasts and semi-professionals.

For those interested in attending the talks, workshops, masterclasses and exposition, visit www.pepprofessionals.com, where you can register and pay for your ticket.

Roberto Valenzuela
Robert Valenzuela describes his wedding photography style as being timeless, romantic and elegant. He has won 100 international awards, and is a member of the Canon Explorer of Light Program. Junebug Weddings declared him as one of the top 50 wedding photographers in the world.

Photograph/Roberto Valenzuela

Erika & Lanny Mann
The husband and wife duo bring a highly sought-after style of documentary photography to weddings. Their style, which they describe as being bold and simple, goes beyond creating just spectacular imagery. For Erika and Lanny, its crucial that the pictures communicate the essence of the couple, and tell stories that go beyond the obvious.

Photograph/Erika & Lanny Mann

Erum Rizvi
Erum Rizvi describes her style aesthetic as combining aspects of documentary/reportage, along with fashion. She specialises in South Asian weddings, lifestyle and portraiture. In 2014, Rangefinder Magazine included her as one of the ‘30 Rising Stars’ in wedding photography.

Photograph/Erum Rizvi

Davina & Daniel Kudish
For Davina and Daniel, the learning never ceases. In 2012, Rangefinder Magazine named them as one of the ‘Top 10 Most Sought After Wedding Photographers.’

Photograph/Davina & Daniel Kudish

Joseph Radhik
With a background in engineering and management, Joseph Radhik spent three years working along the corporate route, before finally giving it up in 2010, to pursue photography full-time. Apart from photography, Joseph has three big loves—his family, filmmaking and driving. He finds inspiration in the works of Vincent Laforet, Pete Souza, and Prabuddha Dasgupta.

Photograph/Joseph Radhik

Kirsten Lewis Bethmann
In the time that she has spent photographing (15 years and over), Kirsten Lewis has developed her visual aesthetic to include a documentary approach towards family photography. She brings her personal experiences into her imagery, and over the years, has mentored photographers to do the same.

Photograph/Kirsten Lewis Bethmann

What You Can Expect:

Workshops:
Erika and Lanny Mann will be conducting a workshop from 12-14 March. The session will focus on aspects like transforming the way you see, ways to exploit natural light, how to turn the mundane into incredible pictures, and so on. Erum Rizvi’s workshop (15 March) will specifically focus on going beyond photographing the colour and chaos of South Asian/Indian weddings. Kirsten Lewis Bethmann will cover the various facets of family documentation through her Family Photojournalism workshop (20 March). Davina and Daniel’s (20 March) workshop will target the various aspects of storytelling, and will also include a live-shoot with a real couple, to demonstrate their creative process. Roberto Valenzuela’s workshop (20 March) will focus on how to create picture perfect poses of the couple. On 15 and 20 March, Joshua Karthik will take you through the practical lessons involved in running a photography business.

PEPx:
From 16-18 March, in another part of the venue, there will be another set of talks (based on genres like fine art, travel, wildlife, landscapes, filmmaking…) catering to enthusiasts, students and semi-professionals. The speakers will include Dinesh Kumble, Dheeraj Paul, Rafique Sayed, Umesh Gogna, Amar Ramesh, Joseph Radhik, Vishal Punjabi, Ritesh Uttamchandani, Arko Dutta, Sid Sharma and Harsheen Jammu.