Life Through Afeef the ‘Picturewala’s’ Lens

Afeef, who goes by the name ‘Mr. Lens Man’ on Instagram showcases a beyond imagination effect of photography which will leave any onlooker to surprise. He has 39.2K followers on Instagram and loves experimenting with different camera technologies, especially with upcoming phone cameras.

A Photography Lover Forever!

Afeef was fascinated with the camera from the age of 4 and demanded a DSLR since childhood. As he grew up, his craziness for capturing moments did not die out. He loves walking by the streets, treating children with chocolates, and capturing their happy faces in his lens. Upon completing his engineering, his friends forced him to create his Instagram account to showcase his photography skills. He started uploading pictures in 2018, and just within two years has gained fantastic success on the platform. Afeef does not go for any workshops or classes; he simply refers to YouTube videos and executes new forms of photography. He constantly gets motivated by friends and family to start specialized photography like fashion portraits or cinematography but doesn’t have a keen interest in it. However, if he gets a collaboration opportunity, he will give it a try.

Photography is Just My Hobby!

For anyone who views Afeef’s Instagram page, might find this hard to believe, but he is working in a full-time job at Reliance Jio and aiming to study MBA and says photography is just his hobby! Afeef says “My growth on Instagram is completely organic. I have got four big collaborations in two years where the brands have approached me on their own. Photography is a way for me to enjoy, stress out, and I don’t want to make it a burden on me by turning it into my profession. In today’s time, a stable job is essential, and I want to focus on my career in the corporate sector.” His sister is his biggest support as he recalls a time when she urged him to buy the S9 phone for its camera technologies and is constantly making him aware of new photography trends like ‘slow motion’ to discover and post on Instagram.

Path-Breaking Collaborations!

Afeef got his first collaboration from the brand ‘Mulo’ where he got free headphones and photographed them in return. This was followed by a collaboration with the brand ‘Skyvik Signi’ where he shot a slow-motion video for them and is regarded as the ‘slow-motion king’ by his followers. His greatest achievement was a collaboration with ‘Realme’ phones which garnered 31M views on Instagram. Now he is in talks with Fossil for his upcoming collaboration and wishes that someday Google Pixel should approach him for a project. He has even brought a second hand Google Pixel phone to experiment with its amazing camera features. Afeef’s message for aspiring photographers is “First complete your studies and then if you wish to pursue photography do a professional course and study it in depth before getting into it, otherwise just pursue it as a hobby. I have consulted a lot of my photography friends, and all of them have advised me to continue with my job as photography doesn’t have quick finances.

Nowadays, phones have such high technology cameras, and any beginner should experience photography through their phone before investing in a DSLR.” Afeef is very grateful to his parents for always fuelling his career as well as supporting his hobby of photography.