Profession: Wedding Photographer

Experience: 7 years

Location: Mumbai (covers weddings across India & abroad)

My Personal Experience

I started as a college kid with a second-hand DSLR clicking birthday parties for ₹3,000 a day. In 2018, I second-shot my first big-fat Punjabi wedding in Delhi and got completely addicted to the chaos, drama, colours, and emotions of Indian weddings. Today, after shooting over 220 weddings (Mumbai, Jaipur, Udaipur, Goa, Kerala, Dubai, Bali), I still get butterflies when the baraat arrives and the dhol starts. From Sikh anand karaj at 4 a.m. m. to Sindhi rituals under the moon, I’ve cried behind the camera more times than I can count.

The Hard Part I Feel About This Profession

The season (Oct–Feb) is brutal: 20–25 weddings back-to-back, sometimes 4 cities in 7 days, 16–20-hour workdays, no weekends, no sleep. Carrying 15–20 kg of gear in 42 °C Rajasthan heat or Goa humidity is physically destroying (slipped disc at 31). Clients treating you like a servant, last-minute destination changes, and the pressure of “you only get one chance” for key moments is mentally exhausting. Editing 8,000–12,000 photos per wedding till 4 a.m. for months makes you forget what sunlight looks like.

Things I Find Interesting or Feel “Happy” About This Profession

There is no bigger high than nailing the exact moment the groom sees his bride for the first time or the bride’s father wipes a tear during the kanyadaan. Indian weddings are a visual explosion — every frame is gold. The love, chaos, and madness give you photos that people frame for generations. When a couple messages you years later saying “our kids are now watching our wedding film on loop”, that feeling beats any award.

Pros And Cons Which I Feel About This Profession

Pros:

1. Insane earning potential — ₹4–12 lakh per wedding for top photographers in peak season.
2. Travel — Rajasthan palaces, Kerala backwaters, Italy, Thailand pre-weddings.
3. Creative freedom + instant feedback when guests go “wah!” looking at the camera screen.
4. You become part of strangers’ most important day — they hug you like family.

Cons:

1. Zero work-life balance in season; relationships and health take a big hit.
2. Highly competitive & saturated now — everyone with a camera calls themselves a “wedding photographer”.
3. Physical wear & tear — back, shoulder, knee issues by mid-30s.
4. Payment delays and clients demanding unlimited edits even after full payment.

My Suggestions for Newbies in This Profession

1. Assist/shoot-second for at least 25–30 weddings before going solo — learn crowd control, light reading, and family politics.
2. Invest in your body — gym, yoga, good shoes, lightweight gear (Sony mirrorless saved my back).
3. Build a strong Instagram & website from day one — 90 % bookings come from there now.
4. Learn to say NO to toxic clients early — your peace is more important than one booking.
5. Keep upgrading — drones, gimbals, cinematic editing; couples want Netflix-level films now.

Conclusion

Wedding photography in India is not a job — it’s a lifestyle that will break your body, empty your bank balance in the off-season, and give you the most colourful, emotional, and financially rewarding memories possible. If you can survive the first three seasons without quitting, you’ll either hate it forever or fall so deeply in love that no 9-to-5 will ever feel enough again. I belong to the second category.