Trupti Shah
Trupti Shah is a successful business owner from India. She specializes on fixing and improving pictures. She has agreed to meet with us to answer a few questions about retouching images and some thoughts on India.
What are the most difficult pictures to fix and why?
Many times our clients send us product images to be cut out and placed on a white background. Sometimes the images are of things like jewelry and bikes. Deleting the background from the wheel of a bike becomes very difficult and time consuming. I am attaching a few examples with this email. (see examples at the bottom of the article.)
What are some of the ways someone can tell if an image has been retouched?
Our work is very crisp and smooth. One will be able to make out changes only if they are able to see the before and after image side by side. However, if someone is a professional and they see images day in and day out, then he will be able to say the image has been retouched. It comes with experience. This is the reason we don’t over use the smooth technique and just remove obvious scars or marks so that the image does not look touched.
The following picture is amazing. What steps do you take to actually do something like this?
This kind of shot is quite time consuming. We first check the image in detail and see what areas we can improve on. After marking the areas, we use cloning/filters and various other methods to remove wrinkles, scars, and marks to leave smooth skin. This makes her look more stunning and beautiful.
What information would you usually need from a client before you know if you can help them with a large order?
We normally ask the client to send us 2 sample images from their batch and ask them what they want us to do on those images. We check the images; if we are able to do the job, then we do free demos on these 2 images and send the image and pricing over for clients’ approval. If the client is happy with both the aspects then we go ahead confirming the order.
What are some of the challenges you have had to overcome in building your business? How did you overcome them?
There were a lot of challenges. When I started off I did not take any help from my parents or anyone else because I wanted to start my business on my own. Whatever amount I saved from my job over a period of 3-4 years, I used as capital to start my business and renting a small office. I started with 3 people and today we have a team of 25 people and have moved to a spacious office. Initially, I could not afford a lot of staff as I was starting off. So, I used to work 14-16 hours a day and invest the amount I saved in advertising and building infrastructure. Today, I look back and I am happy I invested all that time and energy. This was the reason I have reached to this position.
What is the newest technology coming out to retouch pictures?
There is lot of new software coming into the market every day. However, only a professional person can retouch images nicely as there are many tools and actions you need to perform to get images right. There is new software available in the market which can tell you if images have been retouched or not.
Is there anything else you would like to tell our readers?
I would like to just say, “believe in your dreams, and work hard towards it and you will definitely achieve what you want to achieve in life. If you are looking for any kind of image retouching, website design or graphic design work then feel free to contact us and we will be happy to help you. You can check our websites at www.globalsolutionindia.com and www.imageretouchingindia.com for more details on our portfolio and services we provide.
***Questions about India***
Tell us about 3 traditions that are unique to India.
India is a modern country. Yet, the customs and traditions are religiously followed in urban as well as rural India. These traditions of India are what give India an individual identity and lend a mystical essence to the atmosphere.
Traditional Welcome
In India, a guest is considered as equal to God. So welcoming a guest is no less than an event. The guest is given a very warm traditional welcome in which he/she is garlanded and given a welcome drink. Then a “tikka” (vermillion) is applied on the forehead. The Indian phrase for this is “Atithi Devo Bhava”. This phrase is also used for a campaign launched by the Tourism Ministry of India to highlight the rich culture of India.
Lighting Lamp/Diya
A small lamp, which is known as “diya” is lit before the picture or idol of god. Along with the diya, incense sticks are also lit. It is lit in the early hours of morning or evening or both. It is considered to bring good luck to the house and is also considered sacred.
Wedding Ceremony
Most Indian weddings are very colorful and grand affair with an amazing display of fireworks, dance, music and lip smacking cuisines. Indian weddings are not a one-day affair, most of them continue for 3-4 days. Most of the weddings which i have attended had about 1500 guests. Few of my clients were in India when my friend was getting married. I took them along as they wanted to see an Indian wedding. They were just speechless and wished they could do their wedding ceremony in India.
I’ve heard India is the land of 1000 religions. Tell us about a few of the most interesting ones.
India known as the land of spirituality and philosophy was the birthplace of some religions, which even exist today in the world. The most dominant religion in India today is Hinduism. About 80% of Indians are Hindus. Hinduism is a colorful religion with a vast gallery of Gods and Goddesses. Hinduism is one of the ancient religions in the world. It is supposed to have developed about 5000 years ago. Later on in ancient period other religions developed in India. We also have Muslims, Jews, Christians and Buddhist.
With so many languages, how is business done across the country? What are some of the challenges?
English and Hindi is the most popular language in India and are understood in most of the cities. We have different states in India. So, within one state there might be 1-2 local language which is popular. The locals use their language to communicate and if any outsider goes to that state then he can always talk in English and Hindi. In major cities like Mumbai, Delhi, Bangalore almost every second person can speak English so you will be amazed by the number of people who can talk in English.
Am I correct in stating India’s economy is booming over the last few years? What has been causing this?
India is one of the booming economies with 8-9% growth every year. According to latest Wealth report by Knight Frank, India is to become the world’s largest economy by 2050. Since its markets were liberalized, a rapidly growing middle class of tech-savvy graduates have created a name for India in Software and services industry. The real estate industry has also done very well and the number of high rises which are coming up (50 to 100 floors each) in Mumbai could be anywhere around 500 to 1000.
Is there anything else you would like to tell us about India?
India is a very big and diverse country. From so many languages, cultures, festivals, snow mountains to sun-washed beaches, tranquil temples to feisty festivals, lantern-lit villages to software-supremo cities, it’s hardly surprising that India has been dubbed the world’s most multidimensional country. India promises to excite you and no matter where you go or what you do, it’s a place you’ll never forget. If you want to party then there are cities like Mumbai and if you want to relax/rejuvenate then there are places like Munnar.
Trupti, thank you for participating on our site.
