Prito Reza’s highlight reel

One of the most commercially successful Bangladeshi photographers, Prito Reza had to scratch and claw his way to the top, through hard work and dedication. For his endeavours, the artiste was the recipient of the Photoffee Photographer of the Year 2014 award, and the ICE Today Special Award for Outstanding Contribution in Wedding Photography Industry. The Daily Star talks to Prito about his humble beginnings, love for photography, and more.

With everything now at a standstill, do you reminisce your beginning as a photographer?

I always remember my humble roots! When I was a student in City College, I used to see a banner of a Chanchal Mahmood photography course, which I was interested in. However, it was impossible for me to enroll there, as the course fee was too steep, and I did not have a camera of my own. One day, I stumbled across an advertisement – "Learn Photography for BDT 500!" I promptly enrolled, and my teacher was Shahiduzzaman Badal from Dhaka Photographic Institute. I did not learn photography from this course, but importantly, I discovered my inner passion for the craft. I knew that this is what I wanted to do for the rest of my life. In honour of my first teacher, I take a photography course for BDT 500, once a year.

How did you turn this overwhelming passion into your profession?

I believe that the most important part was always staying in practice. I managed to buy a fourth-hand camera with my savings, and immediately started to find opportunities to take photos wherever I could. I set up booths in university functions and took photos in exchange of BDT 20 each! With time, I would go on to take photos for newspapers, and start my own wedding photography outlet, Wedding Diary. However, the most important part of my endeavor was to constantly improve myself, in whichever way possible. I always wondered, why do photography companies always hire celebrities, who are barely related to photography, as their brand ambassadors. After that, I constantly made my presence felt, talked to the right people, and worked towards a goal. Today, I stand before you as a Brand Ambassador of Fujifilm and a Photo Ambassador of Huawei – the first Bangladeshi photographer to do so.

You have been involved in Auction 4 Action, a unique and commendable initiative to provide Covid-19 relief. Talk us through the idea, and its inception.

During these trying times, I was constantly pondering over what we can do for the society, especially the less fortunate ones. When the idea of auctioning came to me, I called co-founder Arif R Hossain and asked him, "How much would you be willing to pay for Shakib Al Hasan's gloves, the one with which he made World Cup centuries?" This was when Action 4 Auction was born, as we got the likes of Shakib Al Hasan, Asaduzzaman Noor, Suborna Mustafa, Nirmalendu Goon, James, Shafin Ahmed, Mushfiqur Rahim, Mahmudullah, among many others, to join our cause. These stars will essentially put up their storied possessions for auction, and the funds will directly go to the voluntary organisations which are providing directly by working in the field to help the less fortunate during these times. I am grateful to Chisti Iqbal bhai for joining our initiative and helping our cause.