My love for Indian Weddings started my passionate affair with Weddings and Photography. These two words alone really excite me, and hence marrying them came naturally as an interest.
Regardless of origin or religion, all Indian Weddings have similarities: bold colours, traditional customs and memorable commotion.
Western Wedding photography is an art but Indian Wedding photography is an accomplished talent.
Here are my four key reasons.
Photographically Loud: Indian Weddings are often elaborate events involving numerous family members and close friends. Rituals take place regardless of where the photographer is positioned. A typical Indian Wedding is often crowded, blocking access for photographers, who must therefore be prepared and have the adaptability and creativity to shoot within limited space.
Symbolically Rich: Tradition and rituals form the basis of all Indian Weddings, making them a very important feature in photography. Therefore, photographers should not only have an understanding of customs but also be able to anticipate a series of events and effectively click at the right moment. Differences in customs between religions and communities add to the complexity of the task.
Challenging Lighting: Indian Weddings generally tend to be night or indoor events, which automatically remove the option of shooting in natural light. There are impacting factors such as large venues with limited lighting that usually contrast with Mandaps and backdrops adorned with colourful illumination. Added to these is the dynamics of varying skin tones and the photographer has a number of technical lighting challenges.
Indian Timing: It is commonly said that “The bride is always late” in Western Weddings. Indian Weddings are usually “run on Indian timing.” I think this makes it very difficult to put an actual time restraint on the number of hours to shoot. Flexibility is the key to capturing the essence of an Indian Wedding in its entirety.
In short, understanding these challenges and overcoming them is essential to capturing beautiful photos.
