Stressing Out!

ok, I just found out that I'm shooting an Indian wedding tonight. The bride didn't clue me in until now. I've never shot an Indian wedding so I don't want to miss something OR do something rude. Also, it seems to be a marathon on shooting because I'll be there from 2pm until 10pm. I hurried and purchased an other 8GB of memory so I have 28GB total. She said she is going to be wearing a traditional white wedding dress and then change into an indian (pink) wedding dress for the reception. Any advice?

2 to 10? that's SHORT for an indian wedding! The last time I did I shot 22 hours within the span of 1.5 days. In total, I have no idea how long I shot but I started thursday night and finished sunday afternoon.


just shoot whatever happens as usual. It sounds like you're not covering many of the other traditional ceremonies like pithi and mendhis and such.

I have never shot an indian wedding but attended one. LOTS of colors.......very cool. Be prepared for a lot of action and color. (and some food that stinks......I am not a fan of curry)

I know they had their "rehearsal dinner" last night and the bride didn't want me to shoot that. She said she has a different outfit for that. The bride choose what she wanted me to shoot and what she didn't want me to shoot.

I'm excited to eat the food because I love curry!

curry is awesome. How could anyone not love curry?

picturecrazy wrote in post #4070481
curry is awesome. How could anyone not love curry?

Sorry yuckooo..........I scurry when I see curry!

MrsOpie,

Although I have never shot an Indian Wedding, I have done numerous Indian events, and have a fair bit of experience with Indian culture.

There are many different sub groups of Indian culture and it is important to know a little about their particular culture.

If the wedding is full of modern non traditional / open minded people then you will have a blast and it is just like any other wedding but with flare, color and spice.

It is also very important to be frank with the bride and ask probably the most important question.

- Are their any elderly / very traditional people in attendance that will not like their picture taken? (if it is a mixed wedding or a mix of traditional / non traditional it can be very difficult to get them to mix for photos).

Just be respectful of their style and beliefs and try not to get frustrated (as with all weddings). The Indian culture is very focused around family and beliefs.

Hi MrsOpie,

Christian Indian weddings are shortest; Muslim Indian weddings are longer but Hindu weddings can last several weeks.

I've only shot one Hindu wedding. Tons of opportunities for detail shots and close-ups of the bride’s makeup / body art. They put in a lot of time and money with all the little things. Those handmade dresses are very beautiful and expensive; they have lots of details too. Lots of color everywhere and ... fruits? Oh yea and I had to take off my shoes. Alternatively, you may be able to wear shoe covers inside the temple.

In my one experience, I felt like I had all the time in the world. Nobody had a problem with photography, so I could do a good bit of "in your face" shots. At one point I saw the father of the groom fall asleep for a while. I’ve heard that in some of the longer Hindu weddings, it is not uncommon for some guests to start playing cards in the middle of the ceremony to pass the time.

On an interesting side note, after the ceremony I asked the priest to briefly explain what he was saying. And he told me that he had no idea. He was just repeating a script passed on for generations. It is in a language called Sanskrit that I guess would be equivalent of Latin to us. I thought that was interesting.

Well, that’s my Hindu wedding experience.

I don't think anything I've said here helps. But don't stress. Have fun. Wish you luck.

Hey MrsOpie,

I shoot video almost exclusively for Indian weddings, Muslim, Hindu & Sikh.

You will be shooting like a documentary photographer. Finger always on the trigger. White dress sounds like either a christian wedding, or they have done the tradition religious wedding already.

Which religious background is it? Looking at the timings, it's likely a muslim or christian.

Muslim ceremony is the Nikkah. Nothing difficult here. It's just an iman say vows and prayers. The bride normally goes first in one location and then the groom goes later. Check to see if you are the only photographer. Often the groom hires his own and the bride her own. Look out for the signing of the religous papers.

Ask if there are going to be any indian tradition ceremonies. If there are, expect little things like being fed milk and sweets by close family members.

Traditionally most indian weddings seat the bride/groom on stage. Close family gather on the stage for photography. Then the guests go to the stage to get their photographs too. The Bride and Groom are normally seated. You place guests to seat beside them and others standing beside. It's quite easy, but it can be very boring if they have 300 guests and they all want the photographs taken. Whilst the B/G wont want all the group shots, the photographer is expected to take them, so as not to offend anyone.

Cake cutting is good. They normally feed one another and then immediate family feed small pieces to the B/G.

MAKE SURE your not expected to go to the bride or grooms house in between the ceremony and reception or afterward. It is often expected. Just check.

Bride leaving at the end of the reception is a major part. The bride leaves and normally cries. She says good bye to all the close family. Very important to get embraces between key family members. Embraces are long and meaningful. Plenty of emotion.

I love asian weddings. Take plenty of memory. Don't be offended if you get bossed around by guests asking you to take their photos.

Think like a photo journalist when things start to happen. I hope this helps.

All this talk of curry and I forgot the most important piece of advice...

EAT LOTS OF CURRY. Dang I love that stuff!! And when you're stuffed and can't eat anymore, eat another plate just for me, 'cause I can't be there! I'll love you for it.

O.K. ...I'll ask the question>>>> How did you just find out you were shooting at a wedding the same day?? Was there no interaction between photographer and bride to discuss details>? Was it a last minute booking? Or did she ask at the last moment if you could cover?

Good luck with the weekend, I am sure you will do well based on your past work.

Well, I just got back from the wedding. It seemed to be a mix of american and indian cultures. I ate lots of curry... maybe too much because it made me rather sick. The mago ice cream was awesome! they had a Ninja and Pirate cake topper... I'll post pictures tomorrow. The ceremony was mostly american. While at the wedding I found out they are having another reception in India. I sure wish they would fly me over there. The wedding was running behind schedule and it was pouring snow so we had to do all pictures inside. The most interesting thing is that when I took a picture of someone they said THANK YOU! They would always smile for the camera and say,"thank you so much". Fun wedding.

jcpoulin wrote in post #4072655
O.K. ...I'll ask the question>>>> How did you just find out you were shooting at a wedding the same day?? Was there no interaction between photographer and bride to discuss details>? Was it a last minute booking? Or did she ask at the last moment if you could cover?

Good luck with the weekend, I am sure you will do well based on your past work.

oh, Bride is from out of town and we only communicated by e-mail and phone. I met her 2 days before the wedding to do her bridal pictures. At the end of the wedding she asked if I would like dinner at the wedding. I told her dinner would be great. She then asked if I liked indian food. Then she told me it would be an indian wedding.