CANDID PHOTOS: Unforgettable wedding moments caught on camera

Hyderabad-based photographer Sai Kiran sent us these amazing photographs he shot at various weddings.

Weddings anywhere in the world are filled with bitter-sweet moments that often go by unnoticed. However, as part of a growing trend, soon-to-be-married young couples hire photographers who exclusively capture these moments. Sometimes, the shots are choreographed but at most times, these are indeed pictures taken in-between or during ceremonies when the bride or the groom or the uncle and aunt are caught in a candid, human moment.

By some estimates, the matchmaking business in India is valued at Rs 5,000 crores and young wedding photographers are slowly carving out their space in this market.

We'd earlier carried images from Indian weddings shot by Anshum Mandore, a Pune-based wedding photographer (here) and have been inviting you, our readers, to share images from your own weddings too (see here).

Today, Sai Kiran, we bring you wedding photographs shot by Sai Kiran, a young Hyderabad-based wedding photographer.

We start out with this picture of a young bride. Sai Kiran writes:

This is the classic bridal moment shot soon after the three knots of mangalsutra have been tied.

The young bride is about to start a new journey, the excitement and the nervousness writ large. During a wedding, I ensure I don't miss out on this moment.

For more of Sai Kiran's work, visit his blog here.

More photographs from Indian weddings sent in by our readers!

It is hard to give an apt gift to a good friend. You are never quite sure what you should offer as a token of your good wishes. If you are photographer, that perpetual dilemma can be avoided by presenting the couple a moment of magic that they can cherish for the rest of their lives.

Looking for that enchanting moment and capturing that perfect shot is always on my mind and my profession helps me spot those light-hearted and beautiful moments that we can find in plenty during weddings.

Jewellery forms a major part of any Indian wedding. Seen here is a lovely jhumka that caught my eye.

There's something quite different about love marriages. The young couple has known each other for a while now and the chemistry comes through in the photographs, much like this one.

Love marriages often offer a unique mix of dressing styles because of the couple's diverse cultural backgrounds.

The daughter-in-law is considered a goddess when she enters her husband's home, bringing in more prosperity than ever. However, every bride's greatest strength is her circle of friends.

This picture blends both the ideas to show her as a goddess with multiple hands, signifying the different roles she is capable of playing in her life.

The idea came to me during a random conversation at the wedding, when I realised that some of her friends at dance school can actually pull off this pose quite well.

There's nothing quite like props to make a picture look more interesting. This one was taken after the wedding was over and the relatives were too busy in their own conversations and the young couple seemed quite happy to strike a pose.

Amongst the great joys of wedding photography is the opportunity to drift into the lovely past, still beautifully preserved in our small towns and villages.

Their childlike wonder for the wedding procession as it passes through the narrow streets always reminds me why I picked a camera at the first place -- to capture the moment of glee, of exuberance that makes one run from every corner of the room to witness the joy brought in by the wedding.

The excitement knows no bounds and old and young alike enjoy it and let themselves be fascinated by the energy in the air.

Some weddings offer me an opportunity to showcase my skills in more ways than one. This is one such example. Here, I managed to get some shots of Lakshmi Manchu, a well-known Tollywood actress, who had attended one of the weddings that I was covering.

Since I am also into fashion photography, this was a pleasant surprise, considering celebrities are more at ease during such weddings.

This allows us photographers to capture them in their right element, often preferable to the constraints of a scheduled fashion shoot.

It also opened up new avenues as such photos get you more recognition amongst the photography circles.

The couple too was very pleased with the outcome, as it won a few brownie points for their wedding album.

Talambralu comprises pearls and grains of rice mixed with saffron and turmeric. It is a tradition where bride and the groom shower talambralu on each other.

Traditionally, this used to be an ice-breaker between the bride and the groom since they never had the occasion to know each other better.

A lot of fun and laughter follows as friends of bride and the groom egg them on.

It is also one of my favourite moments at a wedding.

Capturing so many emotions from exuberance to laughter, in the backdrop of so many colours is always a joy. The pearls streaming across the faces of the couple make for a wonderful moment.

This is an important ritual where a paste of cumin seeds and jaggery is placed on the head. The paste is said to bring about positive energy. It is also the first time when the bride and bride groom look at each other during the ceremony as the veil between them is removed.

From a wedding photographer's perspective, this is a tough moment to capture considering there are a lot of people holding the veil between the bride and the groom and a lot of other relatives usually surround the couple to witness this fascinating ritual.

Are you a professional wedding photographer and want to share your pictures with us? Write to us at getahead@rediff.co.in (Subject: 'Candid wedding moments') and we will publish the best ones right here on Rediff.com and India Abroad.