Rising Stars: Meet Surya Nikhil Saripalli

Today we’d like to introduce you to Surya Nikhil Saripalli.

Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
Heya… my name is Surya Nikhil I’m from a small town in southern India called Visakhapatnam or Vizag. I’m 28 years old and I am an athlete I used to play badminton in a professional stage… fun fact I have a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering. So how did I end out in this field so here’s how; one day I decided to take my camera with me to a tournament and after I was done with all my matches I casually took out my camera which was given to me as a gift from my cousin, I started taking pictures I loved the feeling of stopping time with a camera it was like a surreal experience. So I started doing sports and landscape photography. I made an Instagram profile for photography and called it nclicks9, funny name right n stands for Nikhil. Then I changed it to ‘Suryatookthese’. I started seeing the world through the lens with my friend srinivas. It was covid time where everything was shut but we had permission to go out and photograph the city damn those were the days. We used to go hours and hours sitting near the beach ohhh yeah Vizag is a beach city taking pictures and talking about how we should come together to make a movie someday and these were all steps to do that. I started taking pictures and people started coming to come to ask if I could take pictures of them while they were playing. They loved it. I did it for free. Then I did my first paid shoot for Rs.15,000. This was a maternity shoot.

My clients loved the pictures so much that they share it to their friends and these photos became viral in their community.. and then I kept on charging for my services as a photographer and I have been doing good. Then after that I joined the press a magazine called ‘HELLO VIZAG’. There I learnt how to love nature and how to photograph landscapes cause I was given a job of covering all the tourist places in Vizag. That was my first official job as a photographer. I also had an id hahahaha. So everything was fun until one day I had a thought. I wondered if there was this much to photograph in a small city like Visakhapatnam how much more would there be in the world so I wanted to learn about lighting and different different ways to photograph something, so I looked for schools in India and outside there. I came across the New York Film Academy. They teach exactly what I want to learn. So I went on the website and applied without telling my mom and dad. I got a mail back from them and it was an application. Then I told my mom and dad about the school. I convince them. They were not happy but they’ve were convinced. So I applied to New York Film Academy in Los Angeles. So now, I am studying my master’s of fine arts and photography at New York Film Academy.

Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
It definitely hasn’t been a smooth road but wasnt boring either. I had amazing experiences since I started photography. Because I had a press ID. I was allowed everywhere in Vizag so there were not that many struggles I faced in my hometown but I didn’t know that there was a whole other world outside my city.

Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
I am a Sports Photographer but here at Nyfa we are taught fashion and I have developed interest in fashion too. So I do sports and fashion both now. I also love to film and make videos so I do that too. I am basically known for my hard work and my detailed analysis of how a shoot must be done and how the model and the photographer would enjoy their time together making art. The most proud asked. I was when I got to see how the team of Sabyasachi works and Chance to see it first hand and I learnt a lot of stuff from them. The thing that separates me from others is the way I see in a cinematographic perspective. I think that apps my Photography very much because implementing cinematography into Photography is different…

What has been the most important lesson you’ve learned along your journey?
The most important lessons I’ve learnt along my journey is always be kind and always be nice to people. Always be humble, no matter what you achieve in life and I also have learnt how to work hard and work with the team. I learnt how to see something which a normal I can disregard.

Pricing:

• 500$ for headshots
• 1000$ for a portrait shoot
• 1500$ for a reel
• 1000$ for bts
• Cabs and stay expenses should be take care of by the client

Contact Info:

• Website: Suryatookthese.com
• Instagram: https://instagram.com/suryatookthese?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y=

Image Credits
Shaily sanghvi, synicah, megha bora, jagadesh kalaga, sudha kalyani, alyssa cass, pooja dandu, nikita bav, Valenttina dias, hakon ademi, laa talar, deah tandon, ravitej maruvada, prgathika dadhich, prasad maruvada, Abraham gradillas, adam khattar