In conversation with Anand Rathi of Reels and Frames

Photography has become one of the most important aspects of a wedding. Reels and Frames is one of the leading names in the field, aesthetically capturing celebrity and other weddings. Chitrangada Gupta of WeddingFables gets an insight while talking to Anand Rathi of Reels and Frames

1, What made you get into wedding photography? How did Reels and Frames come into being?

AR: My honest answer would be that there are very few jobs in the world that let you travel and at the same time make someone happy and wedding photography is one such profession. I actually come from a corporate background, did my MBA and was completely surrounded with stock market talks and treasury. So I had never been in a situation where I could see a tangible result of what I’m doing. Photography was immediate, as soon as I would show one of my captures to someone, there was an immediate “aha” moment and that’s what got me interested in picking up the camera, the very thought that one of my captures could bring a smile on someone’s face. There was never an intention for weddings in particular. I was more of a landscape and travel photographer. Wedding photography happened by chance.

2. Did you do a photography course or was it just a hobby that you picked up?

AR: It has 100% been powered by the internet. I didn’t enroll myself into any photography course, I would just go onto Youtube and start watching tutorials. Back in the day there used to be a website called “Flickr” which was somewhat similar to Instagram but only semi professional and professional photographers used to post their work. I would just browse though it and read and learn about the kind of photography that interested me.

3. How do you strike a chord between the creative and the business side of Reels and Frames?

AR: We are a set of 20+ creative individuals who have joined in from different walks of life and fortunately their intent was similar to mine which basically means that their motivation to achieve a certain goal or success if I may say was self fueled. New people would join in the organization and the momentum started building on its own and we started growing towards a particular style of working. Of course, we had to streamline ourselves as a business but the idea for us was not to look at it as a paper entity it was more about how can we bring change in the industry. That thought came from the idea that when I was getting married and searching for a photography team there were certain business practices that I looked for in those teams. I always thought that when I open my own business those certain nuances should be added and that’s how we kept building on.

4. How would you differentiate between shooting a celebrity wedding and a non celebrity wedding?

A R: Doing a celebrity wedding comes with a certain expectation because you’re photographing someone who’s so used to getting shot, so yes there is a certain bar that has been raised but having said that we don’t change our focus or strategy when we’re on ground. Doing that would fundamentally mean that we are running a business with a wrong approach. We have an easy going and friendly relationship with all our clients which actually helps us understand a couple’s idea of wedding photography and in my opinion that should be the ultimate quest, whether or not we as a team can do justice to how the couple wants their memories to be captured.

5. How do you see the future of wedding photography shaping up India?

A R : The fact that I am married now and I did start my journey as an outsider I can say that the history of the photography industry has definitely evolved. Going back 8-9 years, the industry was unstructured because I think people had not really established the importance of wedding photography, food was actually given the utmost importance. Looking at the current scenario, things have completely changed. Couples approach us as soon as their wedding date is announced with the fear that our dates might get booked out. People have actually started to understand that your photography team adds a lot of value to your wedding day. In about 50% of the cases we are the first vendor to be approached by the couples and in the remaining 50% we are in the first three vendors to be approached.

6. What advice would you like to give to couples who are looking to hire their wedding photographer?

A R: This is something that I tell all my clients, always start your journey with the photographer sooner because they are going to be that one team that is going to be in your personal space. They are going to be there when you’re getting ready so it’s very important for you to be comfortable around them. There are a lot of variables involved while choosing the right team, try and spend a lot of time with your photography team and I know it’s easier said than done but at the end of it when you see the end product, you’re going to thank every minute that you spent with them because they are going to give you back so much more.

7. There was an entire wedding that was shot on an Iphone X, where do you think this is headed considering every year there is a new phone which is better than the previous one and phones are much easier to carry than photography equipment?

A R: Nobody asked Michelangelo what brush he used, everyone just appreciated the art he created. For an artist the medium doesn’t matter and an artist will always try and showcase his art in the best possible way. We are professionals for a reason and we understand our tool. If an Iphone is getting better, a DSLR is getting as better, if not more. We are constantly upgrading our art, a professional camera will be used for three years minimum, you don’t upgrade your camera every year but you upgrade your skill set every day. No amount of software up gradation can beat the constant up gradation that an artist goes through.

8. What advice would you like to give out to someone who is starting out in the industry as a wedding photographer?

A R: Always remember the first day that you picked up the camera, remember why you started in the first place. You will have to learn to fall in love with your art everyday and that’s how you survive.

9. With Covid-19 being in the picture, how badly do you think it has affected the wedding industry? And what should one expect from the upcoming wedding season?

A R: My answer might sound a bit brutal but the truth is that Covid-19 has majorly affected the wedding industry and it is going to be a foreseeable impact till December 2020. I don’t see myself attending weddings until and unless I am being invited to one. One of the major aspects of Indian weddings are the guests, everyone coming together and celebrating in large numbers. Everything will scale down and all the vendors will see a decline in requirements.

You need to start thinking on what can you offer and how you can innovate. You can innovate today to make sure your business doesn’t get affected later on.