We are careful about two things
Who is allowed to see a photograph, and whether the photograph still exists tomorrow.
Permission, and the two drives
Thundi started in 2016 with one photographer and a hired second camera. There are four of us now, two women and two men, and the two things that define how the studio works were both decided in the first year.
The first is permission. Photography of women is a subject people in this country have strong and reasonable views about, and a studio that treats it casually does real harm. So the rules are simple and they are written into every quotation. A ladies function is covered by a lady photographer. Nothing from any shoot appears on our website, our social pages or in a printed sample without written permission, and for a photograph of a lady that permission has to come from her rather than from whoever booked us. Our own gallery is deliberately thin as a result, and we would rather have a thin gallery.
The second is that a photograph which only exists in one place does not really exist. Every camera we own writes to two cards at the same time. Every card is copied to two separate drives on the night of the shoot, before anybody goes to bed, and one of those drives does not live in this building. In ten years we have had four cards fail, three of them in the same bad batch, and we have never had to tell a client that their photographs are gone.
Everything else about the studio is ordinary. We shoot weddings, families, products and events, we edit here, and we deliver when we said we would.
The four of us
Ahmed Munaz
Opened the studio in 2016. Shoots weddings and events and is the one who insisted on two cards in every camera after losing a card in his fi...
Fathimath Ilham
Covers ladies functions and most of the family portrait work. She is named on the quotation whenever she is the photographer, which is how w...
Aminath Shazna
Shoots and films ladies functions and runs the studio sessions. Also the person who records speeches off the sound desk rather than trusting...
Ibrahim Nishan
Edits everything that leaves here and shoots the product work. Runs the backup routine, which is why nothing has ever been lost.
Who owns the photographs
Will our photographs be put on your website?
Only with your written permission, and for a photograph of a lady that permission has to come from her rather than from whoever booked us.
This is why our public gallery is thin, and we are content with that. If you would rather nothing at all were published, say so and nothing will be, and we will not ask again.
Do we get the raw files?
Yes, if you ask for them, on a drive you provide or one we charge for at cost. Every frame we keep is delivered rather than a selection.
The edited set is what most people actually use, at two sizes: full resolution for printing and a smaller version for messaging.
How long do you keep our photographs?
Two years, on two separate drives, one of which is not in this building. After two years they are deleted and we remind you a month beforehand so you can ask for a copy.
Deleting them is a promise rather than a limitation. Files nobody is looking after are files that eventually end up somewhere they should not.
What happens if a memory card fails?
Every camera we own writes to two cards at the same time, so a failed card costs nothing. Every card is then copied to two separate drives on the night of the shoot before anybody sleeps.
In ten years four cards have failed and no job has ever been lost. A photograph that exists in one place does not really exist.
Come and see the studio
Orchid Magu, Malé. Ask to see a full wedding set rather than a selection, which is the only honest way to judge a photographer.