I am just about to complete shooting for my wedding book ‘Traditional Weddings in Modern India’. It is time of editing and selection. Heading down to Madurai in south India next week for another wedding that would be the last to go into the book. I must have close to 20,000 images to select form but some images will surely make it to the final selection. There are of course many others but here is a short selection of images that I like so far.
A traditional make-up for a Bengali bride. Maxima was definitely one of the most beautiful brides I've photographed. I simply loved how happy she was and how her face shined in this picture. A simple shot, and such a happy one. (Maxima and Abhijit's Bengali wedding in Delhi)
During a wedding in Chennai, I could see the bride was going to cry so I picked up my second camera with 35mm lens and waited for this shot to happen. A split second later she wiped the tear and was smiling again. (Nitya & Sharath's Tamil-Brahmin wedding in Chennai)
A quiet moment in the dressing room. A Rajput bride just before the wedding ceremony. Rajputs are instructed by the family members not to show any sign of happiness during their wedding and behave in a 'Royale' manner. There was not one smile during the entire wedding. (Kanupriya & Ravindra's Rajput wedding in Gwalior)
A bride waiting for her husband-to-be behind a veil during a wedding in Andra Pradesh. I had to pick up the veil and almost go in with her in order to get this intimate picture of solitude. (Sameera & Pradeep's wedding in Visakhapatnam)
A baraat procession during a Hindu punjabi wedding. I wanted to get the shot of the people carrying the lamps and had to work without a flash for that or I would have changed the image completely and loose the entire feel of the night lit by the lanterns. The light falling on the bridegroom and his horse came out just the way I had hoped. (Karishma & Rishabh's wedding in Delhi)
I loved the tired face of the couple waiting for the photogrtaphers to finish harassing them. A photo session like this takes place before the wedding and could sometime last close to two hours! The couple is seated on a podium and the entire family and guests come up to great them and have their picture taken. It was otherwise, a very happy wedding indeed. (Karishma & Rishabh's wedding in Delhi)
The ultimate close-up of an Indian bride's hands during the wedding ceremony. (Karishma & Rishabh's wedding in Delhi)
During a Kashmiri Pundit wedding I saw the priest holding a plastic miror in his hand. I had a feeling it was going to be used for the bride and groom to look at each other so quickly positioned myself just behind them and was ready as the priest held his hand out just for a second in front of the couple. It is one of those shots that one can never get unless you wait for them to happen. (Anuradha & Nikhil's Kashmiri Pundit wedding in Delhi)
A muslim bride signs the Nikha in front of the mulah. The bridesgroom signs the Nikah separately and then the couple are pronounced married. The entire ceremony took one minute and the wedding was over. (Aashti & Zahid's Muslim wedding in Delhi)
No wedding in India is complete without Hijras. One cannot anticipate when or where they will show up so cannot plan to photograph them, but I needed pictures of this 'ceremony' for my book. I finally got 'lucky' outside the gate of a large farm house where a Sikh wedding reception was taking place. Shot with available light under the street light. I absolutely love the colors and the feel of this image.
For more images of Indian weddings, please visit FotoWala | Wedding Photography in India | Sephi Bergerson
Outstanding work!
2nd pic. tears in bride’s eye- awesome moment captured. kudos.
Great photos, all of them. Really hard to click good wedding photos in Indian weddings… what with those blinding video lights and all…
Absolutely stunning photos, your blog is such a candy store!! :)
beautiful choices, Sephi. I really enjoyed looking through these.
Great stuff! its nice to see these kind of wedding photographs here, Similiar to the kind of journalistic/documentary style used worldwide.
hi, the 2nd picture with the bride in tears is my favorite of the 10.
Bravo Sephi
Awesome stuff! This book’s going to be on my coffee table for sure!
Sephi, I love these. Can’t wait to see the book. Now you need to go up to Kashmir and shoot the wedding Wazan. Truly spectacular wedding feast. But as a vegan, it might turn your stomach, 7 to 15 courses of meat!
photo 6, 7, and 8 is what i liked.
some thing different composition. in all the above three 8 th is the best.
Congratulations. Your images are truly stunning!
Absolutely delightful work!
Wow! wonderful :) CLAPS.
Second picture is simply awesome, a rare moment that’s obvious to any bride.
Third picture felt so cruel on that marvelous lady.. Wish her a happy life out of fake pride.
Which made me moved most is Anuradha and Aashiti.. both have a dense feel on their faces that is simply awesome.
I am in wait of your book as a heart waiting for glimpse of its love one. :D
A very congratulation to you on success.
Stunning!!! Fantastic clicks especially the second one, bride wiping her tear..I guess those are the true moments to catch…very impressive. Your work is exceptional.
Hi I just randomly ran across your page and was going through the pictures, all of them are really beautiful! I especially like number 9, the bride is gorgeous along with the whole set up and scene.
Keep it up (=
Again, Superb work! The tears in the bride’s eyes, the solitary Rajput bride, The bridal mehndi, the baraat procession, the bride looking in the mirror and the muslim bride are all just beautifully captured! Great job! Would love to meet you one day!
really awesome work guyz…..the pics r really too gud…
I also second for second pic… absolutely amazing….
out standing work [SUPERB]
Lovely photography! Your images are inspiring.
A picture speaks a thousands words…love the pictures!!
Mr. Sephi!!!!,
YOU ROCK!!!!!
I am an advanced amateur photographer and my target now is to see things in the artful way you have “peeked” into the wedding traditions of India.
Keep us the good work.
Cheers
Bijou
lovable, emotion, appreciable, differnt angle…keep it up
Really outstanding wedding shots! Love the second image with the bride covering part of her face, showing off the beautiful henna art.