We were lucky to catch up with Lakmé Iyengar recently and have shared our conversation below.

Lakmé, appreciate you joining us today. Can you talk to us about how you learned to do what you do?

Photography was where I first learnt about cameras, composition and lighting. I was fortunate to be able to take a photography class in high school, but I was also interested enough that I studied books and other photographers in my own time. This was my first exposure to terms like aperture, ISO, and shutter speed. My father also bought me my first DSLR when I was a teenager, so this was where I learnt to experiment, try new techniques and just be creative. Learning about cinematography mostly happened when I went to university and beyond. I learnt the most about the craft by shooting, seeing what I shot, critiquing it, and trying to improve next time. I still largely work that way now. My biggest educational jump was definitely when I attended the American Film Institute. That experience exposed me to a lot of new information in a short amount of time and has given me a solid foundation of technical and practical skills to build on.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

I work as a cinematographer, which means I help with the visual design of a project in regards to camera and lighting. I work on filmed content, be it narrative films, documentaries or commercials. I grew up in Australia, and became interested in photography which led to an interest in filmmaking. I got into the industry in Australia by shooting shorts and also learned to camera assist. This eventually led to me pursuing my Masters in cinematography at AFI, which is how I ended up in LA. I mostly work on narrative shorts, commercials, and stop motion projects. When I’m brought onto a project, I will primarily work with the director and talk about the story, the emotions, and visual goals. This then leads into conversations on how we want to light and shoot a project, and the tools needed to accomplish that. The most important part of my job is to communicative, be receptive to ideas, and listen. Collaboration is so crucial in this line of work and things can easily be lost or misinterpreted if you don’t have this skill. Something I’m very passionate about in my work is to continue to work on as many projects as possible that feature minority voices in front of and behind the camera.

Any resources you can share with us that might be helpful to other creatives?

One of the most challenging aspects of being someone who works in a creative industry or wants to work in that industry is learning how to navigate it and actually get work. Unlike many other jobs where there might be a more traditional and laid out path to follow, the advantage and disadvantage of being in the arts industry is that there’s no right or wrong way to go about it. It’s not that I didn’t know this earlier on in the journey, but the lack of transparency and available information on how to get that break and who to reach out to definitely made it more challenging. If you don’t have those connections and people to ask these questions to, it can feel very daunting and isolating. It took time for me to be able to get onto bigger sets and learn from experienced crew. I didn’t know that I should reach out to working cinematographers and camera assistants and try to get camera intern positions on larger projects. Things are starting to get better and I’m seeing more initiatives and programmes designed to help people start their journey in production, but I still feel that there needs to be more transparency and conversations around working in this industry.

For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?

The most rewarding part of being a cinematographer is collaborating with a team and creating a product that people hopefully respond to. Filmmaking is such an interesting art form because it is so collaborative by nature. I love being able to discuss a project in detail with a team and really work on developing the way we want to tell it. I’m always very inspired by my collaborators, and I like the discussion and the bouncing back and forth of ideas till we find an approach we’re all excited by. It’s very much the same in production as well. I love working with my crew and asking for their input and ideas. It can be an incredibly supportive environment to be in where you’re all working towards a common goal and helping each other.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.lakmeiyengar.com
• Instagram: @sliyengar

Image Credits
Karolina Bryner, Jor-El Vaasborg, Jared Hawkley