DEEPI AHLUWALIA
PHOTOGRAPHER + DIRECTOR
Storytelling. It has the power to shift our perceptions, reveal beauty and biases, strengthen (or challenge) our core values, and resonate with us emotionally, regardless of our background, upbringing, gender or status.
I worked in advertising before becoming a visual artist, first as an account executive then as an art director. After moving to a tropical island (true story), I took a little detour and went to culinary school. Through each of my former careers, my love for crafting images kept growing and the camera became my tool for self-expression.
All three disciplines—advertising, culinary arts and photography—are rich in creativity and innovation, while also steeped in history and tradition. They've shaped who I am today as a storyteller. And what I love most about the art of storytelling is how the language of food is inherently connected to culture, people and places. Its beauty is in its simplicity—as subtle as a conversation over a shared meal—and it's the lens through which I see the world.
Bold ideas thrill me as do colour and print, drama and whimsy. I'm equally passionate about the potential of a strong, stand-alone image as I am about the creative components in a captivating film. I've created work for commercial clients plus a profusion of editorial work focused on the depth of culinary storytelling.
I'm based in Toronto + Los Angeles and shoot everywhere. Let's make some killer work together.
SELECT CLIENTS
Arrivals + Departures
Crispin Cider / MillerCoors
ICF Next
Life & Thyme
MONO
Organic India
Pepperidge Farm
Sabra
VMLY&R
Walmart
RECOGNITION + AWARDS
2021 – Chosen Winner, American Photography 37
2018 – Runner Up, Women Seen By Women, Julia Margaret Cameron Award
2017 – Finalist, Julia Margaret Cameron Award
2015 – Finalist, Julia Margaret Cameron Award
EXHIBITS
2018 – Doyennes of Photography LA, Castelli Art Space
2018 – Standard Vision Showcase + Month of Photography Los Angeles, SVLA1 Screen at L.A. Live
2018 – From Her Lens, RPA & Gallery 2525
2017 – Doyenne: Female Force in Food – Benefit for Planned Parenthood Los Angeles
2017 – The Golden Temple, Photo L.A.
2016 – Berlin Foto Biennale
BOOK
A Woman's Place by Deepi Ahluwalia, Stef Ferrari
Illustrated by Jessica Olah
Publisher: Little, Brown and Company
Publication Date: March 5, 2019