Weddings are mini festivals of joy, love, appreciation, and making small families into big ones. However, Indian weddings are all this plus a journey of cultural and traditional rituals spread over several days. Culture and traditions form a major element of all Indian weddings. These traditions are also exclusive to wedding photographers. Wondering how? Well, Bharat Prajapat, founder of Clickography talked about the ethnic and cultural side of weddings and this is all you need to know about it.
Bharat Prajapat explained how he and his team take up weddings of different cultures. So, before the wedding photography, there is a long list that needs to be checked. As per him, “We don’t just pick up our camera and go to the wedding location on the final day. Before this, we need to get to know the families, the bride and groom, the venue, their rituals, and everything else.” The most important is knowing the itinerary. No wedding is done by a single person, so getting to know the team is very important. Also, as there are many guests, getting late is always a part and parcel of the package so squeezing out time to get individual shots of the bride, groom and families becomes a task.
Then as all cultures are different, they have their moments as well. So, understanding the culture and respecting it so that there is no scope for any mistake in the pictures is the prime concern. Then, most couples are not professional models so walking them through the shoot along with keeping their traditional identity intact in the picture is always the top priority. Also, keeping them calm and making them camera friendly is a tough yet fun job. Bharat Prajapat, founder of Clickography says, “Sometimes people are there in front of the camera for the first time. You can’t tell them that you are camera shy or the pictures are not coming properly. Rather it has to be a smooth and trust-building process so that whenever they face the camera later they feel comfortable and not scared.”
Then Pre-Wedding shoots are now a big part of weddings. Though they seem very fun and innovative which they are, they are also new and scary for some people. Bharat Prajapat, founder of Clickography expressed how in many cases couples are clueless about the venue where they want to have the shoot or the dresses, they would like to get clicked in. After looking on social media like Instagram or searching online many couples find some inspiration or have some choices but are not sure about the color combinations or execution of the image in their mind. In such cases, Bharat Prajapat and his team curate the entire plan for them. They find the best possible options in terms of dress for them concerning the location, give choices for color combinations, and most essential is the type of dress in which the couple will be comfortable. Like in snow-fed regions, the couples most likely prefer lighter shades or more neutral ones, while in colorful places like Rajasthan or South India, they prefer dark colors with little shimmer.
Bharat Prajapat, founder of Clickography vehemently believes that what makes a wedding most beautiful, and enduring is the cultural edge that it has. For him, traditions make a wedding complete by giving everyone a sense of belongingness and a journey full of love and admiration.