Photographing A Bangladeshi Wedding Celebration

Every bride and groom, and every wedding I photograph, is immensely important to me. I photograph weddings of many different cultures and religious traditions with the same attention to detail and the same desire to capture beautiful photographs of real moments. I grew up Jewish and attended many Jewish weddings, but becoming a wedding photographer has introduced me to celebrations and traditions far beyond those I knew growing up.

I didn’t know in advance that this would be a Bangladeshi wedding celebration. When I walked into the getting-ready room in their home, I was elated to see the bride so elegantly dressed in what I would later learn was a traditional red Bangladeshi wedding saree, with extraordinary makeup and beautiful gold jewelry. I was already wearing my cameras. I lifted one and took the first photograph.

Moments in Time & Space

Much of my wedding photography is about recognizing moments in time and space as they happen in front of me. I am constantly aware of light, color, composition and the relationships between people, but I try not to interfere with the moment itself. I want to anticipate what is about to happen, find my position, compose the photograph and be ready when the moment arrives. This is very different from posing a photograph, which is another important photographic craft and one I use when appropriate. Here, I simply watched as the bride’s Aunt carefully placed the veil over her head. 

The brilliant red of the bride’s saree against the extraordinary green and gold of her aunt’s clothing became part of the composition. I loved the quiet calm of this moment. With her eyes gently closed Zen-like, the symmetry of her face and the exquisite detail of her makeup became even more apparent. Nothing needed to be arranged.

Narrative Photography — The Grand Entrance

This grand entrance was unlike any I had photographed before. I had seconds to understand what was unfolding in front of me and react.

The bride, her family and members of the bridal party all entered together—her brother, cousins and father, her mother beside her in deep purple, her aunt in lavender, and her proud grandmother’s hand clasped with the bride’s. You can see the grandmother’s happiness and pride in her eyes and smile. It was an extraordinarily joyous entrance, filling the space with people, movement and brilliant color.

I always keep my wide-angle lens on the camera at my right side, precisely for situations like this. I reached for it, found my position and began photographing. Snap. Snap. Snap.

In event and documentary photography, some moments give you only one opportunity. You either get the photograph or you don’t.

I got the photograph.

The First Dance

Photographing a first dance is all about anticipating the moment. I am often looking through the lens, waiting and watching for that fraction of a second when expression, movement and connection come together. While I wait, I keep the frame composed the way I want it. Then the moment happens. Snap.

I move around the couple as they dance, changing my position and using different lenses to create a variety of wide-angle and close-up photographs. I am looking for more than the dance itself. I am watching their faces, their hands, the way they look at each other and the spontaneous moments that happen between them.

Catching The Moment

Candid photography is about being aware of everything happening around you. I keep my head on a swivel, watching people, expressions and interactions as they unfold. In that sense, candid wedding photography has much in common with documentary photography and photojournalism. Nothing is staged. You have to see the moment, anticipate it and be ready to photograph it.

And the photograph has to be technically right. The subject needs to be in focus, with good exposure and lighting. I customize my cameras to use back-button focusing, which separates focusing from pressing the shutter. Once I have focused on my subject, I can recompose the photograph without the camera inadvertently changing my focus point. This isn’t a photography lesson, but it is one of the techniques that helps me consistently capture sharp photographs when everything around me is moving.

I saw her laughter, raised the camera and captured the moment.

Moments When You Ask for Help

Sometimes I know exactly what is about to happen. Other times, I’m winging it.

The bridal party was gathered around the bride and groom when I noticed her grandmother holding a ring box. I wanted a clean shot of the ring so I simply asked the grandmother to hold it out for me. Snap. I got the shot.

Then I could tell something very important was beginning between the bride, groom and their family all sitting on the couch—but I honestly didn’t know what was going to happen next. My adrenaline was up and I was alert. Rather than interrupt the moment, I backed away, switched to my telephoto lens and photographed the sequence as it unfolded from a distance but it looked like I was right there.

There was a ring exchange, the bride and groom feeding each other, giving each other water, exchanging flower garlands, a mirror ritual and a presentation of chocolates. I didn’t need to know what was coming next. I needed to recognize that it mattered and be ready to photograph it.

This was a fabulous sequence of photographs I captured, documenting sacred moments for this new husband and wife and their family to cherish for years to come.