Showing posts with label best wedding photographers. Show all posts
Showing posts with label best wedding photographers. Show all posts

Saturday 12 April 2014

Wedding Photographs and Videos



Wedding photographs and videos represent the start of a sacred journey, a sacred mission. These provide an unending source of joy and inspiration during times thick and thin. These are invaluable assets which give you the strength to face and overcome adversity. And to this extent these can be rightly termed as beacon lights in the attainment of life’s goals.



A wedding photographer captures the sentiments, passions and emotions of a wedding event. The wedding event is perhaps the most momentous occasion in a person’s life. It is the role of the wedding photographer to prepare for the client a moment, a souvenir that will be cherished and treasured by all including the future generations i.e. by posterity.

The selection of a wedding photographer must be based on a careful search. Friends’ circle is a ready source of valuable input. Also a bit of surfing would be useful as the leading and dynamic wedding photographers would certainly have their own individual websites. A review of their sites and examination of the exhibits of photographs on each site will help to narrow down the search. Armed with this information one can easily negotiate a mutually acceptable deal.


The criteria for selection of the best wedding photographer are briefly discussed here:
•    Creativity, imagination and resourcefulness  (To be gleaned from the portfolio of the photographs 
         as well as through contacts with their previous clients)
•    Ability of the photographer to look beyond the mundane;
•    Readiness to go an extra mile to capture the finer details
•    Must have a discerning eye to sift the important scene/s subjects for photography from the trivia.
•    Experience (The age of the establishment would reveal this).
•    Staffing levels, training and skills (Ask to see results by individual photographer.)

The medium of photography will rest on your choice, length of the wedding events and costs. In general a mix of still photographs and videos (movies/films) is preferred.  It is important to consider the costs but this should not be allowed to become an overriding consideration. Short terms gain is not preferable over long term interests. The main event would certainly be covered by video and by still photographs as well. The peripheral occasions would be mainly covered by still photography. Still photography is the traditional medium. The photographs are stored in family albums. For best results the wedding photographer will lookout for the best backdrops, the best angles the best combination of light and shade. The cinematic coverage of a wedding is easily stored on CD’s or DVD’s.  While the quality of still photographs may deteriorate over time the cinematic medium is not subject to deterioration. Cinematic work requires special training and skills. At times the wedding photographer is aided by another worker who handles the light, tripods etc.

Muslim Weddings

Muslim weddings are characterized by pronounced solemnity perhaps more so than it is in case of Christians or Hindus. For Muslims it has a religious significance as well. This religious dimension means few more functions like Mehfile-e-Milad which is for devotional prayers and Nikah which is the official marriage contract or bondage.

The other pre wedding and post wedding functions are listed and briefly described below:

Mangni  (Engagement)
   
Uptan    (Bride gets beauty treatment through application of a  paste of sandalwood powder, aromatic oils etc)
   
Dholki    ( This is a popular function. Girls drawn from relations and brides’ friends get together for a      round of singing traditional wedding songs followed by a dinner)                                                                               
   
Mehndi (Described above)
      
Baraat   (The groom accompanied by his family members and  friends visits the brides’ house where they  are well received, honored and entertained) 
      
Nikah    (This is the official Islamic function for solemnizing the marriage and contains terms and condition and specifies ‘Mehar’, the monetary safeguard of the bride. Bride’s father or in his absence the closest family elder gives the bride away in the presence of witnesses and the Qazi (pastor) Both the bride and groom are asked for their consent which they must signify by saying ‘yes’ loud and clear..
     
Rukhsati (The bride leaves her home to join the groom at his House and for the groom’s home.)

Valima  (This is the dinner hosted by the groom to consummate The wedding. This is the final function.)
It does not follow at all that each Muslim wedding comprises and consists of all the above functions. For those families that are economically at the bottom rung of the scale the above ceremonies constitute luxuries that they can never indulge in. However even for such families the bare minimum functions are Mangni, Nikah and Rukhsati.
One needs to spend time and effort to locate the best wedding photographer and thus reap the benefits for all times to come. So good luck and best wishes to you!

Saturday 29 March 2014

Wedding Photographer Professional

Significance of the wedding event

For most of us wedding is the once- in- a lifetime event. It is an attitude changing and water shed occasion for men and women. The historic significance is unmatched. It is a time not only for revelry and gaiety but also a time for profound religious significance. Quite naturally therefore the occasion is to be well recorded so that it is preserved for posterity. Who better to record it than the professional wedding photographer. It is the job and role of the professional wedding photographer to capture all the important finer details of this momentous event.


Why professional photographer

Modern cameras, both still and video, are easy to handle and operate. These are designed to ensure ease of operation so as to attract maximum number of people into buying and using these. This is how the manufacturers gain through massive sales volumes. Thus we see the very large number of home videos. It is true that the works of amateur photographers have their own importance. Convenience and cost savings are the keys of amateur photography. When time is of essence we cannot run after and employ the services of a professional photographer at a moment’s notice.


However there are events and occasions that lend themselves specifically to the domain of professional photographers. Consider the example of a corporate event like the Oscar or the Filmfare award distribution programs. As another example consider various sports programmes that are telecast. A cricket test match is covered by as many as a dozen photographers/cameramen located at different points in the ground or stands. Some are posted at specially made points hundreds of feet above the ground level.  Similar is the case of a fashion show where the cat walks need to be covered through different angles. Or even the wedding functions where lights, angles and timing are of particular essence. All these events demand the employment of professionally trained photographers and one cannot entrust the task of covering these to amateur photographers.

Best Wedding photographer

Who is the best wedding photographer? This is hardly possible to decide in advance as there is no formal ranking system as such. Much depends on the reputation of the photographers in the market. However discrete inquiries from within the field workers or directly from your friends’ circle can give you much needed information. One can also scan the web where the top photographers display the results of their endeavors.  The uniqueness, individuality and creativity of the artist photographers would be evident from such sites and will help you to  narrow down the search and short list a few of them.


Cost of the wedding photographer

This will be largely determined by your budget. Obviously the best one would not come cheap. If there are any budgetary constraints then one has the choice of restricting the coverage. A sane piece of advice is not to be penny wise in the selection of a professional wedding photographer.

Still Versus Cinematic Coverage

Though there is no hard and fast rule to make a choice in this regard the rule of thumb is to go for cinematic coverage for the main event/s and go for still photography for smaller events.

Types of Weddings

All weddings have common points in that they represent the union of individuals embarking on a journey of their life time.
Christian weddings are comparatively the simplest and briefest.  Main elements on focus are the wedding dress of the bride, wedding ring followed by a dinner for the guests. The scale of these would depend on the social and financial status of the groom.
Hindu weddings are a little more elaborate. The precise date and time for the wedding is of much significance and it is worked out by the holy men. There are colorful ceremonies and home decorations.  There are three essential features and these include Kanyadaan (father of the bride gives her away), Panigrahana (holding hand before the fire) and saat phere Saptapadi (taking seven circles before the fire).
Muslim weddings are the most elaborate. Islam enjoins strict injunctions pertaining to upholding and protecting the rights of the bride. There is a wide range of functions which include the following:
•    Mangni (engagement)

•    Uptan (another bride beautification through application of sandalwood paste, aromatic oils etc


•    Dholki(Singing of wedding songs)


•    Mehndi (bride beautification by applying henna)


•    Baraat (procession of groom and his friends/relations to the bride’s house), Rukhsati (bride goes to groom’s house)

•    Nikah (official solemnization of the marriage before witnesses and through signatures and verbal pronouncement)
•    Valima (consummation of marriage and dinner for family and friends).
All of these functions are held over time which may range up to two or more weeks  and sometimes even more than this. For those who cannot afford to have such a large number of functions the bare minimum are Mangni(engagement), Nikah(marriage) and Valima(dinner)

Work of the professional photographer

No matter which wedding the professional photographer is covering he has his work cut out. And his sincere efforts will not only bring satisfaction to him but also joy to the client.