A Photographer's Perspective

Weddings in India are a grande family affair. It's not just about what the bride or the groom wants instead how rituals from two families are amalgamated. Having captured a few good clicks from a variety of weddings in India, here is my perspective on how you can save money and add elements of fun using social media tastefully:

DO'S

Do: conceptualise and make a list of ceremonies you need photographed. Indian weddings especially the north Indian style carry on the entire night and the people look very tired by the end of it. Talk to the couple and see if some of the ceremonial games can be played ahead of the 7 circle ceremony for picture opportunity? There is no harm in asking and it did help me to large extent.

Do: keep at least an hour or 30 minutes for couples shoot. Ideally it should be in the beginning when both people are looking at their best. Again coordinate with the best man or bridesmaid to get them away from the crowd against the adorned backdrop. #talk to them all the time.

Do: create a wedding hashtag and print it in your invite. We all are social and use it extensively so best idea to create a hashtag like #afewgoodclicks. The mobile generation would love to post your Instagram shots and tweet messages. Just an idea to save money on guest books and going digital.

Do: befriend the photographer on facebook and let them tag your best photos for the world to see. Let them be #selfie for you. It always look much better if you are being tagged in you "best photo" rather than uploading it yourself.

Do: have a maximum of 2 - 3 photographers to capture both families. I will tell you a very honest opinion on how me and my partner saved money on wedding photography. We both insisted on having one photographer who came with a junior photographer and a videographer despite their pitch for a team of 4-6 photographers. We worked out the timings in such a way that both the events were captured and most importantly key people in the family. This was 6 years ago and believe me we spent INR 80,000 and got good few hundred shots between the two of us. Being a nit-picker I only used top 50 shots out of the 2500. Still feel what a waste of resource...not really:-)?

DONT'S

Don't: have an arsenal of photographers. You must have heard of "Too many cooks spoils the broth"? I mean do you really need 6-8 photographers hovering around the couple all the time? Are you in dire need of thousands of pictures of people you have never met? The big bandwagon of photographers asking you to pose in the the old style or even worse is capturing your mouth full of sweets. I am not sure if that's what you will look few years down the line or print it in your wedding album...will you?

Don't: expect your photographer to copy other photographer's idea. If you are pinning a photographer then put their creative mind to work. Share your story and let them weave a tapestry for you. One of the pre-wedding shoots I did it in London was all about - the place they first met, their first coffee, the proposal, save the date invite and so on. Click on engagement photos to see the outcome.

Don't: update your relationship status at the altar. Give it sometime, be in the moment and keep it for later.

Don't: forget to let the me know if you agree or disagree with my thoughts. These are not stringent rules of thumb but a few things which could help you save money and create beautiful memories. Lastly if you like my work, please do share it with your friends or ping me on [email protected]