Today we’re interviewing young travel photographer Indigo Larmour. Indy caught our attention when she became the youngest artist ever admitted to Click Pro, an application-based membership of female photographers. But, at just 12 years old, Indy is no stranger to the photography industry — she’s already won multiple awards and has created an impressive portfolio.
This year, Indigo won Young Travel Photographer of the Year (the under 18 category of the Travel Photographer of the Year competition) for the second year running. She first won this title in 2019 with a series of images captured on the streets of Kolkata, India. This year she captured her winning portfolio in the old city of Lahore, Pakistan in March 2020 in the early days of the coronavirus pandemic.
Before that, Indigo twice won the Under 18 category in the RHS photography competition, and was the runner up in the Xposure International Photography Festival’s Under 16 competition when she was just 9 years old.
Mostly though, Indigo’s just a kid who loves dancing and taking photos. Her family has traveled since she was born, and her first trip was to Oman when she was 3 weeks old. Since then she’s been lucky enough to get to see some incredible parts of the world on several big road trips that have seen the Larmours spend up to a year at a time on the road in their van. Indigo was born in the UAE and currently lives in India.
Click: Can you tell us about how you got started with photography?
Indigo: I “borrowed” one of my Mum’s cameras when she was leading a Clickin Walk, Clickin Moms’ annual photo walk, in Dubai back in 2016. (Indigo’s mother is award-winning professional photographer Kirsty Larmour.) Prior to that I’d just taken photos with my iPod. My Mum had always encouraged me to look at how I positioned things in the frame and to look at how the light was falling, but playing with that camera (a Fujifilm X100T) made other concepts like shutter speed and aperture fall into place for me. In 2018 I got one of my Mum’s old DSLRs and a zoom lens for my birthday when I turned 10.
What do you love to photograph most?
I always wanted to be a wildlife photographer but the big zoom lenses are too heavy for me at the moment! So, mostly I photograph people and the environment around me. Because we have lived for a few years in India, there’s always something colorful to catch my eye at a much closer distance than animals in the wild.
I quite like to take nature photos, too. These are fun because I can be a bit slower with them instead of capturing spontaneous moments in the street.
You recently became the youngest Click Pro. How does that feel?
It feels a bit surreal, but after I was chosen for Click & Company’s 100 Photographers To Watch list for International Women’s Day in 2020, I felt like I wanted to have a strong community of female photographers to look up to as I grow on this journey.
What do you think makes a great photo?
I love things with color and pretty light. And a person with lots of character and personality — or a scene with some interesting action happening. I’m always looking for what is going on around me.
Ultimately I want my photos to tell stories to make a difference so I am working on enhancing those storytelling skills in my photography so that I can use it to highlight environmental, social or human causes.
How would you describe your photographic style?
At the moment I guess I do more street and people photography. My photography is quite environmental in that it represents the place where I am in the world.
I love to play with different techniques and I really like slow shutter speed and panning in images to give a different feel, and tell the story I’m capturing in a more dynamic way.
Do you remember the first photo you took?
I think that was probably a blurry picture of my dolls with a VTech kids camera when I was about 3! But the first one where I really thought wow, I love doing this, is the one of the monks at a monastery in Tibet when they’d just left early morning prayers. My Mum and I had gone out at 5 a.m. to join the prayers and it was a really dull day but there was something special about that moment.
Your mom is also a talented travel photographer. Is she a big influence on your own work?
Yes, of course. I shoot alongside her all the time, and she always pushes me forward in front of her in crowds so I get a good view of what’s going on. She’s always encouraging me to look at different angles and ways of telling my stories through photos. But she likes to take photos with me and my sister in them, so her photos are often different to mine. And although I learn lots from her I want to be a different kind of photographer when I’m older.
Can you tell us what other photographers you admire?
I am so lucky to have met so many amazing photographers at conferences with my Mum. My absolute favorite is Cristina Mittermeir who I met when I was 9 and is so inspirational. Others whom I admire are Ami Vitale, Muhammed Muheisen, Vineet Vohra, Paul Nicklen and Nisha Purushothaman.
What gear do you currently use?
I shoot with a Nikon D600 and 24-85mm f/2.8-4 lens. Occasionally I use a 50mm f/1.4 lens, or I try freelensing.
What do you hope to be doing in five years? How about 10?
In 5 years maybe I’ll be at university following a subject that will give me skills to complement my photography so that I can use it to make changes. But honestly, with the pandemic it’s hard to know where I’ll be living next year, let alone what I might be doing in 10 years! Hopefully I’ll be out on photography assignments!
Anything you’d like to say to your fellow kid photographers?
Just have fun — play with a camera and figure stuff out. When I worked out how to use the aperture and shutter speed settings to create different effects in my photos that was a huge aha moment for me and opened up so many different ways of capturing what I saw in front of me.
Take all the opportunities you can to take photos, go to exhibitions and galleries and to meet other photographers because they will all help you to develop your own viewpoint and to keep evolving your photography.
Question for Indy’s mom, photographer Kirsty Larmour: Anything you want to say about your daughter?
Kirsty: I am just so proud of the young lady she’s growing up into, and of how hard she works and yet she seems to have fun doing it too. She’s developing confidence to talk to people and I love seeing her strengths develop. But most of all she’s really training her eye to see, and her ear to listen for stories too. Whether she follows a path to become a photographer or not I think these skills will hold her in good stead for her future to approach life with empathy and compassion for all the people she meets and the tales that need to be told.
Photos by Indigo Larmour
Indigo you are such an inspiration. I am completely moved by your poise and your talents. There is no mountain too steep for you!
Indigo, you are an inspiration! It’s such an honor to have you in Click Pro and get a front-row seat into your continued growth. We cannot wait to see who you are in 10 years, but, gosh, who you are RIGHT NOW is pretty dang stellar! <3 Congratulations on your recent accomplishments. May there be only more!