Surrealism of wedding memoirs

The Unparalleled Beauty

Lenses and photographers don’t just make brides look beautiful but also capture the mixed emotions she’s going through while making it a point that her cherishable moments remain close to her forever.

These moments are no less than prized possessions. And we as photographers, love to bring the mechanism of capturing such moments to life.

The Candid Portraits

A bride’s world at the time of her wedding is full of hopes, love and a haze of colours. Thus, I chose the colour maze technique to highlight the serene calms on her face.

I bought a chocolate confetti paper to give this shot that artistic feel. But that’s not enough. A photographer should have the patience to capture shots and moods of the bride between those shots. While I was pursuing this picture, I could read her eyes. She was waiting for the moment when the jewels were going to be put on her. As her hands were bent trying to squeeze the jewel in, I happened to get this shot.

What makes this picture unique is her expression, the action of coronation, the dreamy colour and of course, the moment.

Waiting for The Right Moment

To get an image where the focus was only on the Bride-to-be, I chose wide aperture with a dynamic range and a smooth Bokeh. Since my A7RII has a lightweight body, I thought of pairing it with my super light E85 mm lens so that I could choose different angles to explore the subject from. For a wedding photographer, the real deal comes with capturing the right expressions. And for such a shot the focus has to hold on to the subject. My E85mm lens comes with a customizable focus hold button, a wide and responsive focusing ring and moisture resistant design that adds to the outstanding quality.

The beauty of this shot, captured at the Leela Palace, Chennai, is that it perfectly captures those earnest moments of her getting ready. The anxiousness, the chaos, the beauty, all were synced. And I just needed my 85mm at d 1.8 to blur out the world and focus on her. Capturing her innocence and excitement, the change of moods and love for getting ready, all at the same time.

For The Love of Challenges

The biggest challenge for any photographer taking such a portrait is that he needs to hold the camera in one hand and the confetti in the other. This becomes a challenge when the paper is so delicate and the camera is so heavy that one is not able to focus.

Thankfully, I had the lightweight Sony Alpha 7R II, which helped me execute my idea in a precise manner. Talk of the Bokeh effect I created with the confetti and I will urge you to try A7RII with the easily portable E85mm f1.8. Its wide aperture helped me attain that dreamy bokeh.

Talking of dreams, a bride’s portrait is an ideal picture, where she looks no less than perfect. And this is exactly where the challenge comes. You see, the bride is always wearing good jewellery, which is not just distracting for the lens but for the lights too. This is where, my A7RII and E85mm work as a perfect pair. The double linear motor system directly drives the lens’ focus mechanism without compromising and intervening gears for precise, quiet operation that is ultimate for both still and moving shots.