Call of duty

Tribune News Service
Amritsar, March 12

During the peak wedding season, a wedding photographer cannot call in sick, go to relatives or find enough time to sleep, says Sunny Arora of National Photo Lab in Islamabad area. “On the days of functions we have to reach the house of the clients before they even wake up. And if we do not reach on time, the delay is blamed on us,” he said.

Arora said the two and a half months-long wedding season is the busiest period in the entire year. “Sometimes you have to attend to a function in the day and at night another function is already awaiting you,” he said.

Arora added that the competition in the field has increased manifolds as equipment has become affordable. “Besides, everyone who owns a DSLR thinks that he can be a wedding photographer. Being a wedding photographer means that no matter what happens, if you have committed to shoot a function, you have to be there in time.” The stakes are high and even family issues become secondary choice.

During off seasons, the work of clicking and printing passport size photos, printing Aadhar cards and other documents and printing pictures on gift items as t-shirts and coffee mugs help them earn their livelihood. “This new fad of getting pictures on coffee mugs and t-shirts has been a shot in the arm for photography industry,” he claimed.

He also shared that a wedding photographer and his records are much valuable at the time of marital disputes. “People often reach two or three years after the marriage to get un-edited video recordings. Sometimes they need these to file a dowry case and other times to prove a point.”

The photography budget of the people for marriages has increased exponentially these days as a result of which they are very keen on quality of work. “Nowadays, you cannot promise a thing before making sure that you can deliver it,” he said, before going on, “presently a team of five to six persons is required to capture every moment during a function.”