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Manifest Spotlight: Wedding Photographer Anand Rathi

Anand Rathi, the photographer behind Sonam Kapoor and Anand Ahuja's wedding reveals what his passion for capturing moments means to him.

October 16, 2024 | 11:00 AM // By Harshita Singh
Anand Rathi

Being photographed for your wedding is a major ordeal. It’s one of the most integral parts of planning a wedding and cementing the memories you made while doing it. Aside from this obvious incentive behind choosing a wedding photographer, what kind of aesthetic you prefer for your wedding pictures is also a major deciding factor for who you choose to photograph your wedding. In this sense, Anand Rathi’s photographs are a dream come true. The Reels and Frames founder’s aesthetic is symmetrical and has an almost magical quality to it.

The photographer captures moments that is similar to the most loved Bollywood films, which is probably why celebrities such as Sonam Kapoor and Anand Ahuja, Rana Daggubati and Miheeka Bajaj, Akash Ambani and Shloka Mehta aligned Anand for their special day. Join us as we chat with Anand Rathi about his passion for photography and more…

Anand Rathi

In Conversation With Celebrity Wedding Photographer Anand Rathi

Manifest India: Tell us about your journey.

Anand Rathi: I have been a wedding photographer for the past decade. During the first semester of my MBA course in the USA, I had a lot of time on my hands and started practicing photography. Since the first semester had math-related subjects which I had studied back in India during my 12th standard, I decided to buy a camera. As an engineer, the camera was simply a gadget for me. To me, it was nothing less than a toy… I didn’t understand the head and tail of the camera, let alone the technicalities of aperture and F-stop. Since the time of Leonardo da Vinci, we have known of basic photography rules such as  the rule of thirds, the golden ratio, or the Fibonacci series. I thought to myself if I stick to these rules, something horrible shouldn’t come out of it. Slowly, it started becoming a hobby and a to document all my travels. While people were earning eight dollars an hour as a wage for working in a restaurant, I was getting paid to shoot beautiful people!

However, I took a leap of faith much later in life. It was a regular day at the office, and I confided in my boss and told him the truth, and told him that I felt like I was almost cheating on him because I photographed during the weekends and that I was earning money out of it too. He said to me, “If you want to try it out, go ahead. I’ll save your spot for six months, so if it doesn’t work out, we’ll take you back.” I moved cities by later flying from Pune to Mumbai, shifted careers and that six months today stands at 10 years.

M: What drew you to wedding photography?

AR: Free travel and food! Because which profession in the world (especially back when I’d begun before we entered the era of YouTube and Instagram influencing), would fly you to exotic destinations? Which profession would give you the best food that money can buy, and where you can be a part of the biggest celebratory moments of other people’s life? I also developed a very, very deep bond with my own wedding photographer—a finance guy who had a passion for photography. We hung out at my wedding…we were the last people at every dinner. It was just him and his wife alongside me and my partner. We even went on to start a photography venture which was a partnership in every sense. Later, he had to move cities and that’s why I carried the brand on my own…

Anand Rathi

M: What is the difference between wedding photography and wedding filmmaking?

AR: The key difference between these two is the medium of storytelling. In photography, you’re relying on a series of images or a single image to tell a story. But when it comes to video, you need to not only shoot it right, but also come back and stitch it together in post-production to convey the story.

Another key difference is the post production itself. Because, in photography, you have limited bandwidth of what you can do in post-production. For example, you can convert a coloured image into black and white. But when it comes to video, the way you organize your clips starts to make a huge difference in how the story is being narrated!

M: You’ve covered major celebrity weddings such as Anand Ahuja and Sonam Kapoor, Miheeka Bajaj and Rana Daggubati and Akash Ambani and Shloka Mehta. Do you have fond memory you’d like to share with us?

AR: It was right after Sonam and Anand’s Anand Karaj got over… Much like a Hindu wedding, once the pheras are over or in a Punjabi wedding, once the Anand Karaj is over, the happy couple meets people who are waiting to congratulate them. And once that’s done, they get their photograph shot. We requested them to step aside and get their picture taken… For some reason, in my head, I was thinking to myself that if I was in her shoes, I would be slightly frazzled. But Anand said something to her, and she laughed so hard. It seemed like they were the only ones in the room. It was just brilliant…

Even during Miheeka and Rana’s wedding, there was a really cute moment. Their wedding took place during the pandemic and everyone at the wedding was following COVID-19 protocols. Rana and Miheeka possibly thought to themselves that they can’t kiss, and that they shouldn’t be hugging either… Both sort of nodded their heads and went for a fist bump! I have a picture of the moment, I think it was very cute.

Anand Rathi

M: What makes a great wedding album?

AR: For me, the perfect photograph is the intersection area in a venn diagram of what melts the client’s heart and what melts my heart. It may be a simple picture, not necessarily the most aesthetically stunning, but if it evokes an emotion, it’s an heirloom that we have created.

M: Do you look for a particular element when choosing a client?

AR: Dhiraj, who is our business development manager usually gets on a Zoom call with the couple to learn about their wedding aspirations. And that call usually lasts for three hours, Once he hangs up, he’ll often message me and tell me, “I think I’ve fallen in love with these guys!” That’s exactly when we know, we will cover the assignment!

Anand Rathi

M: What advice do you have for brides and grooms who happen to find themselves in a situation where they’re feeling overwhelmed…

AR: You know how they say that life is not a sprint, it’s a marathon. So is photography… It is a marathon. The first piece of advice I have is, please wear your marathon shoes. I say this to all the brides, the biggest troublemaker are those pair of heels. Please don’t bring them to the shoot because you’re going to be on the move for a long time. For the grooms, I always tell them to carry energy bars. Secondly, wear light yet weather appropriate clothes. Take the pre-wedding shoot to be a nice date with your significant other. Do whatever you do on a date. If you’re not the kind of girl who wears a gown, don’t wear a gown. Don’t try to appear cool on social media, be yourself and be comfortable!

M: What is the one thing couples should keep in mind while they’re being photographed?

AR: There are two things we follow at Reels and Frames. One is to know your camera men by their names. Because using words such as Bhaiya to address photographers translates differently in our country, it holds a different meaning in the Indian context. The second thing would be; When you’re looking at the camera, take a moment and relax your body. A lot of people step into unnatural body language, because they feel overly conscious about being perceived. And if you don’t like looking into the camera, look into infinity. So, imagine if I am shooting you, don’t look directly at me, look a little above me, and stare into infinity. That clears your field of vision from being too conscious of the camera, and allows you to be at ease. The other method is to simply assume there is no camera!

Think of the “Joey pose.” When in the show Friends one of the characters asks Joey (played by actor Matt LeBlanc) how he composes his facial expressions, he says he does what he calls the “Smell the fart pose.” He said, whenever someone asks me anything I kind of hold my breath and act as if nothing happened!

Anand Rathi

M: Your images are often vibrant and have a sense of symmetry, is there a specific reason for that?

AR: I guess every production house has a flavour of the kind of work they put out. We are a team of 35 people. But at the end of it all, we’re all on the same page. That is what is reflected in our work as well. As a production house, that is what we’re known for. We don’t go for muted, pastel tones. We believe in true colours, vibrancy and don’t go for photo-journalistic images, we go for symmetric and follows-rules-of-photography kind of images. 

M: What makes Indian weddings special and magnificent?

AR: Indian weddings are a 72-hour variety show. There is something or the other happening every hour, and that makes it difficult to pick a single favourite thing. The amount of variety that an Indian wedding presents is what amuses me!

Manifest Cheat Sheet

M: Who do you think should come to Reels And Frames to get their wedding photographed? 

AR: Whoever is a believer of “Good moments need to be captured well.” 

M: How would you define your style of work?

AR: Fresh, clean and a reflection of you!

Anand Rathi

M: How far in advance should clients reach out to you?

AR: Five to seven months.

M: Can you give us an insight into the pricing details of your photography services?

AR: It can start at five to six lakhs a day, but honestly, we don’t have a package, we customise as per every inquiry. 

M: What is your delivery/turn-out period?

AR: The fastest we can do is two and half days.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Harshita Singh is a Digital Writer at Manifest and besides obsessing over aesthetic ‘IT Girl’ Sunday reset reels on Instagram, she finds joy in going down the rabbit hole of conspiracy theories, exploring new wellness practices and being mildly addicted to oat-milk coffees. View Profile