At Kent State University, Sondhe studied fashion design with a minor in photography, but at graduation a professor told her: 'Nisha, please do the world a favour and go into photography and leave fashion design behind. That's where your love is. That's where you're most at home. You're cheating on fashion design with photography. Be monogamous.' Sondhe admits "He was right."
She began work at the Columbus-based Limited Brands, the women's apparel company that was parent to Victoria's Secret, and the men's fashion chain, Structure. She assisted a photographer there, and later shot promotional campaigns.
As the 1990s drew to a close, Sondhe arrived in New York. "Thinking," she says, "I'd start shooting right off the bat and get established. I thought "How am I going to make this work?' It was so daunting, because every other person is a photographer. There was so much equipment I didn't know, lighting I didn't know, and I didn't want to be caught off guard and be someone who didn't know what they were doing. I stayed as a photographer's assistant and lingered there for a while, with everything going digital. I worked with some of the best people, shooting celebrities. It was a lot of fun." Trips to Europe were frequent. One assignment with a fashion photographer involved a month in Brazil.
Image: A pan vendor in Mumbai (left) and a cigar roller in New York
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