The wedding industry in India is worth more than a 100 crore and counting. There is the cultural perspective that’s tied with weddings but mostly it is the various aspects of wedding planning that makes this industry boom. Earlier, wedding photographers were either good or bad. Now, services in weddings are so bespoke that a lot of aesthetics go in clicking the right photographs. We have seen brides panic about the photographers being late. To avoid any kind of dissatisfaction, an organized approach is required. The following steps if followed to the word would ensure that brides don’t turn into ‘Brideculas’ after they go through their wedding albums.
Choose a Theme for Your Wedding Photography: or don’t! But you must keep some themes in mind. Indian weddings are always bright and colorful and yet have room for more. Whether you are opting for pre-ceremony portraiture or post-wedding reception, the style of photography has to be kept in mind. While a lot of people want black and white or sepia filters in their photographs, the timing for these is an art in itself. The question you need to ask is whether photographers are capable of portraying this art.
Meet the Potential Wedding Photographers and See Their Work: Do not be emotional when choosing your wedding photographer, which means a lot of your friends who are amateur wedding photographers will have to be rejected. Judging a great portfolio starts with the variety that they are able to shoot. Some photographers keep clicking all the time but ultimately use massive amount of filters and editing to make pictures look good. Talk to photographers about the various aspects of the ceremony and how you want it to be shot.
Connection with the Photographer is Important: It is quintessential for the photographer to connect with you so that they know when you want a picture to be clicked by just an eye movement from your end. The photographer should also be given creative liberty. Different weddings call for different frames and rituals to be captured.
Ask for a Demo: Do not hesitate in asking for a demo from the wedding photographer. You can have him/her click a few pictures both in good and bad lighting, outdoors and indoors, to get a sense of how the photos will finally come out.
Finalize on the Photographer: Do make sure to book a photographer whose work you’ve seen. Sometimes big studios will show you their best work and send you their junior photographers for the wedding. This trick is easy to pull-off for studios but is quite stressful for the couple being wed. So, you need to be sure about the person who will shoot your wedding. They might charge you extra for a senior photographer but it is worth it, if the wedding photographer is good.
Choose Your Package: Speaking of payments, studios have different packages for the ceremonies, based on time, number of pictures and of course as discussed before, the shooter. Ceremonies such as Mehendi in Punjabi weddings or Gaye Holud in Bengali weddings may be included. Some may even include variations in terms of the quality of pictures i.e. the camera being used to shoot.
Rights on Photographs Needs to Be Understood: Sometimes packages cost more if you want to own the rights of your photographs. This means that the studio or the photographer cannot use these pictures to promote their work or make it a part of their portfolio. Some photographers even add a watermark denoting their rights to the photographs. As a customer, it does not affect you very much unless you want to keep the pictures private to your family. But in the age pf Instagram and Snapchat such situations are least likely.
Date of receiving Wedding Album: For good image editing and amazing wedding albums, one might have to be a little more patient than usual. However, you should be aware of the dates, that you are about to receive the files along with the printed copies. You can discuss with your photographer whether you will receive raw copies or processed ones or both.
A wedding photographer’s commitment is equally important to the wedding as is any other aspect of the ceremony. Make sure you have a memorable wedding experience where each and every precious moment is not just etched on your heart forever but also captured in the form of beautiful pictures and videos.
