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Destiny brings you to your true calling. For Rahul Soman, taking a few pictures for a friend at his wedding saw him being fascinated by the relationships, rituals and bonds that unfolded through a celebration. "It made me realise that there was much more to weddings than simply photographing an event," he says. And Sneha Ravindran who was clocking in long hours in her corporate field, sat down and asked herself this: what would it be like if she put in all that effort into building something of her own?
The two came together and built their first venture—him primarily driving the photography and creative side, and her, bringing in the business, client relationships, operations and structure. That's how The Creative Eye took root in Goa. Soon work evolved, fostered by word of mouth and experience, plans grew, and Jumping Souls was born. And today, they're a very popular name in the field of wedding photography. As they look back, one thread stays true through it all, narrating a story via their beautiful frames, versus simply documenting a wedding.
Over to Rahul and Sneha on what it takes to make such candid, bespoke frames come to life, straddling cities, cultures and continents, lessons learnt and why success today comes with such a warm feeling of achievement.
Manifest (M): Jumping Souls began in Goa over 12 years ago. What was the original idea behind the studio, and how has that vision evolved?
Rahul Soman (RS): Jumping Souls began in Goa over 12 years ago, during a very personal phase of my life when I was at home taking care of my father, who was battling cancer. Photography had always been a passion, but wedding photography was never something I had planned to pursue — my interests were primarily nature, street and wildlife photography. That changed when I photographed a friend's wedding and became fascinated by the relationships, rituals and bonds that unfolded through a celebration. It made me realise there was much more to weddings than simply photographing an event.
Since then, having photographed over 500 weddings across different cultures, languages, countries and communities, we've developed a much deeper understanding of the meaning behind the rituals and traditions we document. In many ways, the journey has been from being an amateur photographer in Goa who never intended to shoot weddings, to discovering a love for them, and ultimately finding meaning in photographing them.
Sneha Ravindran (SR): My path in was completely different. I came from a corporate background, having worked with EY and later with Arnab Goswami at Republic TV. After years of putting that kind of energy into other organisations, I reached a point where I felt that if I was going to work that hard, I would rather put the effort into building something of my own. That's when I joined Rahul, and the two of us began building the company together — him primarily driving the photography and creative side, and me bringing in the business, client relationships, operations and structure.
Back then, we were called The Creative Eye. We started in Goa, where everybody somehow knows everybody, and word of mouth slowly grew the company from there. There was never a big plan to build Jumping Souls into what it is today — Rahul almost stumbled into photography, I left the corporate world to build something of our own, and somewhere those two very different journeys came together. The work has evolved tremendously, but the reason behind it hasn't: it began with the simple idea of preserving memories because they matter, and that remains at the heart of what we do.
What inspired you to move beyond simply documenting weddings towards creating visual stories rooted in emotion?
RS: What really changed my perspective was understanding the deeper meaning behind the relationships within a wedding — the father-daughter bond, the mother-son bond, the connection between siblings, and the relationships couples share with their families. As we spent more time getting to know our couples and their families, that naturally shifted our approach from simply documenting a wedding to actually narrating a story. It's changed the way I photograph — thinking about how images can be layered, who belongs in the foreground, who remains in the background, and how different people within a frame add to the emotion of a moment.
SR: For me, the shift happened very naturally too. Once you have the technical knowledge, you know what you have to capture — the moments that matter to the bride, the groom, the parents, the siblings. But somewhere along the way, you realise it can't just be about what happened; it has to tell you how it felt. These photographs aren't only for the couple today — someday their children, even their grandchildren, will see them. If one photograph can make someone who wasn't even present feel something about that moment, that's a visual story. It's probably the simplest way we understand the saying that a picture can speak a thousand words.
How has the wedding photography landscape changed since you started, and how has Jumping Souls adapted?
RS: The landscape has changed tremendously. Earlier, weddings were largely about documenting traditions and ensuring every ceremony was covered; today, the focus has shifted towards understanding people, relationships and the unique story behind every couple. There's been a rise in intimate and destination weddings, cultures blending in beautiful ways, and families far more open to adapting traditions to reflect the couple's personalities. Perhaps the biggest change is that weddings are now much more couple-centric — as photographers, that shift has inspired us to move beyond documentation and focus more on storytelling.
SR: We've seen this play out in two very different directions. On one end, couples are flying the people who've been part of their lives for years to a destination, so it's no longer just about the couple or immediate family — guests come back with memories of their own, too. On the other end, there's almost the opposite trend: very intimate weddings at homes or farmhouses with just 60–70 people who truly know each other, which carries a completely different emotion. Whether it's a destination celebration, an intimate wedding or a stylised portrait, our core belief stays the same — these photographs should outlive everything else and tell a family what that time in their lives felt like.
What made you decide to expand from Goa to Hyderabad, and what have these two cities brought to the brand?
RS: Goa was already a destination wedding market when we started. Over the years, as we shot more weddings across India and internationally, Hyderabad naturally became an important market for us — it offered better connectivity and a rapidly growing wedding scene. Telugu weddings often span several days and involve multiple celebrations, so flying a team in and out of Goa for every project was becoming increasingly challenging. Today, Hyderabad is our central base of operations, while Goa remains an important part of where our journey began.
SR: It was a practical decision for us too. We'd already spent almost a decade in Goa, which gave us incredible exposure to weddings and traditions from every part of the country. At the same time, we were getting more inquiries from Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, where weddings are larger, often spread across several days, and deeply rooted in ritual and spirituality. Rahul and I have lived in different cities — Bangalore, Bombay, Kerala, Goa — and Hyderabad felt like the right balance of everything. Now that we're here, we're genuinely happy we made the move. The people have been incredibly warm, the weddings are massive, and what we particularly love is how much tradition and spirituality still sit at the heart of the celebrations here.
Can you share a few fun moments from any weddings that you will always remember?
RS: We have fun at almost every wedding we photograph. One of the things we value most is building a friendship with our couples before we even arrive — they aren't simply clients hiring a photography company, they're inviting us into one of the most personal celebrations of their lives.
One memory that stands out was a wedding we photographed in Vizag during the pandemic. There was virtually no transport available, so our team drove all the way from Goa. We arrived in full protective gear, sanitising ourselves at every step, and then spent nearly seven days in quarantine before the wedding. During those days, the bride and groom would come to our rooms, bring us food and spend time with us. By the time the wedding arrived, we weren't really photographers and clients anymore — we felt like old friends who happened to be photographing their wedding. Sometimes the best part of photographing a wedding is the friendship you take away from it.
If you had to describe the essence of a Jumping Souls photograph, what would it be?
RS: For me, it lies in personalisation and meaning. Every wedding is different, and we invest a lot of time understanding the people behind it — we often create a family tree with our couples so we know who the important people are and the dynamics within the family. That understanding lets us photograph a wedding in a way that is deeply personal to the couple. Ultimately, our aim is to create photographs that stay meaningful long after the wedding is over. The fact that couples still call us five or ten years later, remember their wedding day and thank us for being part of their celebration—that, to me, is the real measure of what a Jumping Souls photograph should achieve.
What do you look for when photographing a couple — their chemistry, their personalities, their relationships with family and friends?
RS: For us, chemistry is at the centre of everything. It begins with understanding the couple — their personalities, their dynamic, the relationship they share — which is why the conversations we have before the wedding matter so much. Whether it's a love marriage or an arranged one, chemistry develops in very beautiful ways. Personality is another important layer, especially with couples still getting to know each other — we try to bring out their individual personalities rather than making every couple fit the same visual style. But beyond the couple, their relationships with family and friends are equally central: a wedding is about bringing two families and two circles of friends together, and understanding those connections is what lets us photograph the sense of togetherness that makes the celebration meaningful.
Your work combines candid photography with elegant portraits and editorial imagery. How do you find the balance between the two?
RS: The balance begins with understanding the couple — in our initial conversations, we try to understand what they're naturally drawn to, whether that's candid, organic imagery, elegant portraits, editorial photographs, or a mix. Our usual approach is around a 60–40 split: roughly 60% candid and organic, 40% editorial and elegant. We particularly value candid photography because it lets people stay in their element rather than constantly looking at the camera — these are often the images couples connect with most deeply over time. But certain portraits naturally lend themselves to being framed and lived with, so elegant and editorial imagery has its own place too. There isn't one formula that works for every couple; the goal is never to photograph in the style we're known for, but to create imagery that feels meaningful to them.
You have photographed celebrations across Europe, Africa, Mexico and Southeast Asia. How does a destination influence the way you tell a wedding story?
RS: The first and most important step is understanding the culture — a Telugu wedding in Mexico, a Punjabi wedding in Thailand or an African wedding in Uganda may all be destination weddings, but the story is fundamentally shaped by the people, traditions and culture behind the celebration. The destination itself then becomes another layer — the architecture, landscapes and, most importantly, the quality of light can completely change the way we photograph. Indian light, for example, is often much harsher, while parts of Europe, America, Mexico and Southeast Asia offer softer, more diffused light. It also influences how we prepare — lighter gear to stay agile while travelling, and lens choices that shift depending on what the story demands. Every destination gives us a different visual vocabulary.
Do share with us the emerging visual trends you are excited about.
RS: Weddings are becoming increasingly larger than life — not just in scale, but in how couples express their personalities through the celebration. What excites me most is this shift towards personalisation, with planners and designers building celebrations around individual tastes. From a visual perspective, I'm particularly excited about projection and light mapping — I recently saw an entire wall mapped with a couple's story, and it was incredible to watch. I'm also fascinated by the rise of drone shows at weddings; we experienced one in Goa, and the level of programming and coordination behind those night-sky visuals was remarkable.
Any challenges that you have faced when photographing destination weddings that became lessons for life?
RS: One of the most important lessons is to get every detail right when you travel — even something as simple as ensuring the name on a flight ticket exactly matches the passport. I once came very close to being deported from a flight because of an error in how my name was entered, so that's a lesson I don't think I'll ever forget. Another has been to travel light and carry only what I truly need — I've paid for excess baggage more times than I'd like to admit. Destination weddings have also taught us the value of preparation and teamwork: keeping our travelling crew small, working with a strong core team, and knowing the venue beforehand, whether through someone who's shot the property before or by studying it in advance. Good preparation gives you the freedom to be more creative once you arrive.