Capturing the Essence of Wedding Rituals

Weddings: As authentic as it gets down South of India

Back then in the 19th century, a Telugu wedding ceremony could last up to sixteen days, however, now it wraps up in just over two or three days. Which means, all those ceremonies–scrunched up into shorter and faster moments–become more like an instant wedding; a product of modernization.

Every single Telugu wedding ingrains the fact that marriage is rather a family union than an individual formality. Way too deep into the classic large Indian family gathering, cut through the clutter of eclectic sounds, past excited aunts and overwhelmed uncles, right across the havan and the pundit, the moment arrives when begins an interesting ritual that brings about smiles to the bride’s and groom’s faces and gets out giggles from the family members.

I am talking about the Thalambrulu ceremony, at the heart of the mandap, when the groom and the bride pour turmeric-coloured rice over each other’s head as the pundit recites mantras. However thrilling a chase it is to capture these thrills, it often tends to rush, only ending in just a couple of minutes.

My Take on Wedding Photocompositions

Continuous burst shots get all the fun rolling out for me during these defining moments. I carefully ply myself as an observant photographer and I selectively plant my Full Frame Mirrorless Sony A9 camera at an angle that gets me the freedom to get a beautiful shot.

This time around, I had paired my SEL70200GM G Master Lens with A9. Shutter speed, set at 1/2000 for this shot, is what I pay attention to get the minutest details. I could have timed my pressing the shutter perfectly, one shutter but this isn’t the 19th century and when I have a camera that makes my life easier, then why not?

A stunning–up to 20fps continuous shooting speed–performance, ample buffer and blackout-free shooting got me the decisive moment like no other camera! It’s the closest to never missing out on the best moments that you want to capture.

Of course, a high shutter speed compromises the picture’s light sensitivity and quality. However, an ISO of 1,000 for this image aptly counters light sensitivity, noiselessly and effortlessly. An aperture as wide as 2.8 easily does the trick for wedding photography here.

Framing it the right way

The Sony A9, besides having a brilliant compatibility quotient with an incomparable F2.8 telephoto zoom lens from the G Master flagship design and technology, also has 693 autofocus points spread around the display, edge to edge.

It means tracking the bride and groom during Thalambrulu fastest, even at 20fps, comes down to just pressing the shutter every laugh, smile and moment. With G Master’s extraordinary image stabilization at 20fps on Sony A9, add five more frames and you are shooting a video; it’s overwhelming for wedding photography.

Mastering the G Master

Blazing autofocus with the 70-200mm G Master lens is almost instant. It is fast enough and accurate, making your hit rate higher than other lenses. I am yet to be in a situation where a person has moved fast enough to lose track of the subject with this lens! If the bride blinks, it matters not, if she turns her head 90 degrees, it matters not, if a flurry of Thalambralu rice impedes your view of the newlyweds, it matters not!

Moreover, the 70-200mm lens complements A9 well with its unsurpassed rendering and fast autofocus for, both, stills and videos.

For the most real reflection of newlyweds, the unique G Master lens technology supresses chromatic aberration for optimized resolution and natural colours without bleeding.

Combined with A9’s enhanced BIONZ image processor, it renders a fast readout, and improved detailing, a refined, natural, lifelike texture and depiction, as seen in the shot.

The SEL70200GM G Master Lens aces at giving photographs that dreamy, memory-like look and feel that softly dissolves the background bokeh with a stunning blend of extremely high, 24.2MP-resolution imaging.

Extremely sharp focus on the subject and smooth blurs on the background, brilliant contrasts with vibrant, natural colours without any bleeding or distortion with this lens have only made my photocompositions expressive and potentially extraordinary in details.

Set up your lens and camera for a date!

Regardless of whatever it goes up to, what wedding photographers really need to know is how well their lens complements their camera to produce extraordinary images. The joy of using SEL70200GM G Master Lens is simple enough; all you have to do is spend some quality time with it, exploring its strengths, making it the best partner for your camera to come up with those brilliant shots.