FAQS

Good question! We are a team of passionate photographers and cinematographers who specialise in artistic and candid wedding photography and cinematography. We have no airs about us and have kept ourselves totally flexible to meet your needs as we feel that you should be happy when you hire us because good pictures come when you are happy, don’t they?

So if you are tired of standard monotonous pictures, boring bride and groom shots, standard lighting for everything and yes the same poses in everyone’s albums you saw, then give us a call and we promise that we will get you pictures that you will love to see again and again for years to come.

We have offices in Mumbai and Gurgaon in Delhi NCR but are available for shoots across the globe.

To see our office addresses, click here.

Our core team consists of 22 members. We have Neha and Pranjal as our founders and the leads. For every shoot, our team is pre decided and gets fixed as soon as we block the dates for you (upon receiving the advance payment). Each and every member of our team is experienced and has covered hundreds of weddings. We do not outsource any of our work (we have full time editors for photographs, films and albums). The right to decide the team for your wedding rests solely with us. However, you can rest assured with the quality of work. You will be given what we promise.

We shot our first wedding in the October of 2012 in Pune, India and since then a journey has started. A journey which has taken us across India and rest of the world. 

Come and join us in this amazing journey!

We use Sony A7S III, Sony A7 III/ A7 IV, Canon R5/R6 (mark I and II), 1DX II etc. throughout for candid photography, traditional photography, traditional videography and candid cinematography.

Apart from the above we use zhiyun crane 2 gimbals, ronin mx/s/sc gimbals, glide cams, cine sliders, fig rigs, go pros, dji mavic pro 2 drones, wireless radio triggers, filters, studio lights, AD 200 pro and of course the best in class lenses such as 14 mm f/2.8, 16-35 mm f/2.8, 24-70 mm f/2.8, 70-200 mm f/2.8 IS, 100 mm f/2.8 macro, 24 mm f/1.4, 50 mm f/1.4, 35 mm f/1.4, 24-105 f/4L IS, 85 mm f/2.8 among others.

But an old saying remains true, its the photographer, not the camera.

Light plays a key role in all types of photography and videography services. It is therefore very important that you invest in it (particularly in face lights) in your decor. 

During the storyboarding process, we ask for your decor and setup pictures so that we can give our inputs, wherever required, in terms of what type of lighting will be suitable.

To help us further enhance the beauty of the output, we do carry modern and sophisticated flashes, ring lights, stick lights, stand lights and other forms of continuous and strobe lights.

Our rates are totally flexible and depend on your photography requirements.

We charge by day basis. However,  just to give you some idea, the rates starting at Rs 85 000 vary according to the number of photographers you need, the kind of work you desire, duration of your event and the number of teams required. The cinematography service charges start at Rs 100 000. GST is 18% over and above our shoot charges.

At any point, it would be best to give us a call and share your questions as the charges cannot be shared upfront here without us knowing your requirements, the duration of the events, number of guests, lights and of course travel if any. We would be glad to help you.

You can call us at 08080470280.

Our work hours start from the time we reach your venue and end at the time we leave. We do count whatever hours we are asked to wait in between even if we are not shooting. This rule has been made because we want to take each assignment in a dedicated fashion and hence be focused throughout the event. And if we are working, we need to get paid–right?

The final cost (as mentioned in your confirmation mail) is calculated basis the schedule which is told to us at the beginning (during the finalisation process). Any change in schedule or extension in the functions (their timings or duration) will be charged over and above the total amount, for eg. if the initial schedule says that events will get over by 12:00 hours  and if they get extended and end by 5 am then there will be extra charges.

As far as the number of guests are concerned, when you sign up with us, the team size is decided basis the number of guests so that good creative output can be given and adequate coverage can be done. However, if during the events more guests turn up then it will be practically impossible for us to guarantee adequate and creative coverage for everyone and the work quality will suffer. It is therefore best to tell us the expected guest size initially so that we can deploy the appropriate team and give you a good output.

When it comes to payment, we are very particular because we feel that it’s our right to get paid when we have worked so hard. No over demands - right?

50% of the confirmed amount is what we charge when you book us. You can pay us using any mode of payment you are comfortable with. Do remember that the booking is confirmed only once we get the money in our account. The remaining 50% is payable on the day of shoot.

Please remember that we will start editing your photos and videos only when we have realised 100% payment. Any delivery timeline given to you will therefore get extended if there is a delay in payment.

In our company’s history we have never come across a case where cancellations have happened. However, incase they do; we demand 100% payment as we would have blocked the dates, crew and equipment for those dates and hence its a complete loss for us.

That’s the easiest part, just browse through our pictures and videos and then click here to contact us and we will take it up from there. Find this all confusing? Never mind, give us a call at 080804 70280 (India and rest of the world) and let’s talk.

The process:

1. You email/call and convey or fill the form and send us your requirements. We work out a proposal and mail it across to you.
2. You go through the proposal and finalise.
3. We share a contract with you with all the details and deliverables, timelines and payment terms. You pay the advance and we block our dates.
4. About a month before the wedding, we share a questionnaire with you and start the storyboarding process. We understand your references, your preferences, your functions, your music taste and just about everything about you so that we know what exactly we have to shoot and deliver.
5. On the day of your shoot, we arrive and carry out the shoot. You pay us the remaining payment.
6. Within the stipulated timeline, we edit your photos and films/videos and deliver the output to you.

For us, knowing your preferences, your style, your music taste, your event schedule, your important family members are as important as the shoot itself.

To make sure that all of us are on the same page, we came up with the concept of storyboarding (otherwise normally used in commercial film production) sometime around 2013-2014; a first in this industry.

About a month before your wedding, (we purposely start the process about a month before, because we feel that this is the perfect time when the feeling of getting married actually starts sinking in and you get in that frame of mind and hence elicit the best responses) we share a small questionnaire with you to kickstart the process.

A regular communication between you and us (responses, questions, feedback etc.) leading upto the wedding and post that during the edit phase ensures that our deliverables become keepsakes for years to come.

Over the last 10 years we have had the privilege of capturing weddings across the length and breadth of our beautiful county India.

Apart from our own country, we have captured weddings and events in New Jersey and New York, Bahrain, Nepal, Oman, Thailand, Kuala Lumpur etc. 

We love to travel and will be more than happy to travel to your city and capture your big day.

There are no extra shoot charges when we travel outside Mumbai and Delhi NCR. The only extras are the travel, stay and food.

For locations outside Delhi NCR and Mumbai, air travel, local travel in your city, local stay (home stays preferred) and food arrangements for the crew are required from your side. The quote which we share with you does not include travel/stay/food component (TBL is over and above our shoot charges) and is only valid for the city/cities mentioned in your proposal.

We can either make the travel bookings ourselves and charge you on actuals or the bookings can be done at your end. Please note that at times due to our availability in your city  because of our prior assignment or otherwise, we may not charge any travel fee (please check with us for your case before making the travel bookings. Food, local travel and stay will still be required).

Please also note that at times we may need local travel and stay even for locations within Delhi NCR and Mumbai if your event locations are far from our offices. Its always best to refer to your proposal mail for your specific case. Food for the whole crew during the course of the shoot is required in all the shoots which we do, irrespective of the location of the shoot (i.e. within Delhi NCR, Mumbai or outside these regions).

Each and every wedding we shoot is covered by our in house team. Every shoot has a creative lead/director and other specialist photographers/videographers (depending upon the investment you make). The team, as explained before, is derived from our in house base of 22 creative professionals.

Each one of our photographers or videographers has their own style of shooting and specialise in a particular genre of photography. The work that you see on our website is a collective work of these specialists.

The scale and scope which wedding photography has reached these days cannot be provided by a single person and hence requires a team of creative professionals so that each person can do his job and collectively give you that dreamy outcome.

Consider our wedding films, we have one cinematographer take wide shots and moving camera shots while the other focuses more on closeups and reactions. A third person focuses on aerial shots. Post the shoot, the cinematic editor combines these in his own creative style that gives you that visual variation, gloss and awe which you can cherish for years to come.

It therefore becomes difficult to say who will shoot your wedding or show you a single person's work.

It is the team, the people, the experience and of course the talent that makes "CandidShutters" and you can rely on that to preserve your special day for eternity.

Wedding photos and films can present your complete and true story only if they have both the leads-the Bride and the Groom nicely covered in them.

Our scope of coverage hence is usually for both the sides unless you have hired us for one side only.

It is highly recommended that you hire us for both the sides and do not hire a separate team. A single team ensures that there is absolute coordination amongst the team members so that each one knows what the other person is doing or will do and hence no one comes in other person's frames. This ensures a proper execution of the vision we have for your wedding.

The last decade which we have spent covering weddings has taken us across almost every nook and corner of India and across many prominent cities of the world. 

In these many years, we have covered weddings of different cultures and have captured a myriad of emotions expressed in different rituals. 

One thing which is common in these is the LANGUAGE of LOVE and EMOTIONS which we understand very well and we believe that it is all that is required! 

So leave aside your worries and hop on! You will be pleasantly surprised and that is a promise.

Well, the answer depends on what all services you opt for. However, just to give you some idea, in a typical package we normally deliver edited candid images, edited HD cinematic film and HD cinematic trailer/highlight film, sorted traditional images and edited HD traditional videos (1 per major event). Raw photos and videos are also delivered if hard drives/SSDs are provided to us.

Albums are usually not part of our package as we believe that once you have the edited photos, you may then decide how many pictures you would want to use and which album style you would like to go for. We have our own in house vertical of photo albums so you can rest assured that at a later stage the photo album process would be as smooth as the wedding shoot process.

Yes. The candid photos, the cinematic films and trailers/highlight films, the traditional videos are all edited and given to you. The scope of edits is different for each one of them:

1. Candid photos: We click thousands of photos during your events. During the edit process, the best of the photos are shortlisted and colour correction is done on them. The scope of edit is limited to enhancing the colours, minor cropping and putting different tones only.
2. Cinematic films and highlight films/trailers: Best of the shots are selected and put on a timeline. Carefully selected music is put and the visuals are matched with the audio bed. Colour correction is done on the final output to enhance the colours.
3. Traditional videos: Best of the shots are selected and put on a timeline. Matching music is put. Text titles are put in the beginning.
4. Traditional photos: Best of the shots are selected and given to you. No colour correction/enhancement is done.

Your final photos/videos will first be made available to you online through our cloud based delivery system in compressed format, generally within 9 to 14 weeks of your event. However, do check on the timeline given to you in your confirmation email as delivery timelines may vary for each couple.

Upon receipt of edited pictures you will be asked to select your pictures and send us a list of approved pictures which you will like to see in the final album, if you have opted for it.

For full resolution final data delivery we require that:

1. You provide us with at least 2 blank (Western Digital or better) hard drives/SSDs when we arrive for the shoot.
2. Your entire raw data will be stored in these hard drives or SSDs along with their backups (yes we will give you the entire raw data - all the photos and videos which we shoot).
3. The edited material will be stored in these hard drives/SSDs as well.
4. Post the completion of edits (once the online delivery has been done), all the hard drives/SSDs will be returned to you in exclusive custom branded CandidShutters boxes (free delivery within Indian territorial limits and delivery charges on actuals outside India). These hard drives/SSDs will contain all the raw data as well as all the edited media in full resolution. Multiple drives shall ensure backup to safeguard your data from any hardware failure.

Please note that if hard drives/SSDs are not provided to us then we will not be able to give you your raw data. Also, we will not be able to retain your raw data beyond a period of 8 weeks from the data of delivery of edited data.

We understand that it becomes very important to announce your wedding on social media and also share the pictures with near and dear ones who cannot physically make it to your wedding.

The above certainly cannot wait for 2-3 months and hence within 6-8 days from your wedding date, we send out a selected section of edited photos (initial edits) so that you can spread the joy. 

We normally provide about 125-150 edited candid photos per day of shoot (these are the carefully selected and edited photographs from the entire raw dump). There is no upper or lower limit from our side on these numbers. The numbers totally depend on the contents of your function and how much we get to shoot. Accordingly, these numbers might vary. Just to give you some idea, in some weddings we have even delivered 700 edited candid images per 10 hours of shoot.

It is a unique kind of wedding cinematography-full length wedding feature film with song and dance sequences presented in a CINEMA style.

A “LARGER THAN LIFE” magnified imagery extravaganza with interviews of the bride and groom sharing their future aspirations with each other; father, mother, siblings and friends talking about their past memorable moments with the bride and the groom, shot beautifully and presented in a manner which only pushes you to watch it again and again.

We call this service wedding cinematography or candid cinematography and the output is a wedding film.

We normally provide a wedding film of around 10–12 minutes duration. This is the ideal duration of a wedding film however, we can tweak the duration to your requirement so it can be shortened or lengthened as per your wish. As with photographs, there is no limit from our side on these numbers. The numbers completely depend on the contents of your events and how much we get to shoot. Depending upon the package you may have opted for, we also provide a short teaser of 2-4 minutes duration.

Editing is a collaborative process and hence the decision is made collectively by you and us.

Before the film/video edit starts, we send out an event wise song list to you (based on the footage and your music preferences which you share as part of your responses to our initial questionnaire). We ask you to review and ratify the list and upon your approval, the edit is started.

Albums are usually not part of our package as we believe that once you have the edited photos, you may then decide how many pictures you would want to use and which album style or how many albums you would like to go for.

We have our own in house separate vertical of photo albums and frames (and many other products) wherein we design and print photo albums for couples across the world. So right from understanding your design preferences, designing your album pages, sending you a preview of the design in our online proofing site to the final changes and printing all happen in house and hence you can rest assured about the quality and the experience.

Yes, we pass on the entire raw footage. Do note that the raw footage will be given only after the processed version has been delivered online. You will need to furnish two hard drives/SSDs so that the raw footage and full resolution edited data can be given to you along with backups.

We shoot in HD.

Though our cameras are equipped to shoot in 4K, we do not shoot 4K as the current technological infrastructure in this industry is not conducive for a 4K shoot.

Data backup is very important and has been at the core of our processes since inception.

During the shoot itself, all the captured media gets immediately backed up in two hard drives and remains that way throughout the course of the edit. 

The editing happens on a third copy. The processed output, apart from being sent online through cloud servers, also gets backed up in two hard drives for safety.

The data remains that way till both the hard drives/SSDs reach you safely.

Please also refer to our data policy on this page for additional details.

We cover all the major functions on the days for which we are hired. Our scope of coverage is usually for both the sides unless you have hired us for one side only.

Apart from candid shots (of the bride and groom and main family), we do take some portraits of the main family to ensure that even if you are not hiring a traditional photographer and videographer separately, you do not miss out on anything important. Please note that for extensive traditional photography and videography requirements like your wedding reception ( a stage and extensive posed group shots), coverage of the guests (other than the bride and groom and main family), full sangeet performances etc. you do need a separate traditional team.

In case you have multiple functions happening simultaneously at different venues and you want coverage of all of them then do let us know while making your enquiry so that we can arrange for bigger teams.

Of course! Though we specialise in candid photography and wedding films, we do understand that a wedding album can look complete only when you have all the members covered, you have portraits of the bride and groom and all important family members and you have posed shots of all those people who ask for it (our candid photographers will take some traditional shots as well if asked for and generally we do take portraits of the couple and important family members and friends, however for extensive traditional photography needs it is always better to hire our traditional photographers separately). Similarly, the video needs a detailed coverage too.

Let us know if you need traditional photography and videography too and we will surely help you with that. Please note that we do not provide only traditional photography and videography but provide them if you hire our candid photography and videography services.

In traditional videography and photography the focus is on a detailed coverage (think of a basic but complete coverage of your events) so that your decor, food, wide guests shots, group shots (if available), performances (if available), important parts of rituals etc are all covered. The videos are made event wise for eg. there will be one video for sangeet, one for haldi and so on. To give an idea about the duration – for a 3 to 4 day event the final videos will add upto about 3 to 4 hours.  Traditional photos are usually about 200-250 in number, per day of traditional shoot. These are the shortlisted images from the whole shoot.

Well, the answer depends on you. We can never guarantee that all your guests will be covered in our candid images and videos. In these our focus is mainly on the bride and groom and other important family members and friends from both the sides and that is what we believe candid is all about. Years down the line, you would never want to see candid shots of random guests. In fact in candid photography and cinematography, we tend to cover only the major events. It’s always better to have traditional team for all the smaller events and for better coverage.

If you feel that the elders in the house would want to see guests (wide shots), the food (food counters), decor, group shots, full length performances and longer rituals then you should hire traditional photographers and videographers. Just let us know and we will get them along, of course at an extra charge.

At CandidShutters, we strive hard to deliver your photos and videos to you as per the agreed timeline. This timeline maybe different for different customers and is communicated to our customers very clearly when they signup for our services.

Once you receive your photos, album designs and videos, you will get 7 days to suggest changes (only 1 set of comprehensive changes will be entertained), if any. If we do not receive any changes by this time then we will consider that you are happy with the products (which most of the time you will be :)) and we will close the project from our side. We maintain your raw and processed data for 8 weeks from the date of delivery of the edited work. Post that, due to space constraints, we flush out our data servers to give space to newer projects.

In case of wedding albums, if we do not receive any request for changes (please note that by default you get 1 set of changes free of cost) within 7 days then we assume the design to be as per your requirement and hence send it for print. Please note that once the design has been sent for print, no changes can be incorporated. The printing will happen only after the full payment has been realised.

For our clients who have been promised photo albums with their photography package: please note that if we do not receive the shortlisted images within 60 days from the day you receive the edited images, we will not be able to process the albums as a complementary part of your package and you will have to pay us the prevalent cost of the albums separately to get them made from us.

All the work we do is copyrighted by CandidShutters and we reserve the rights to publish it or use it for any type of promotions or any contests we enter into.

But we do understand the personal angle of the media we deal in and never ever create a situation where the client’s privacy is at stake.

Please note that all the media which you may receive from our side is copyrighted by CandidShutters. The pictures and videos are definitely yours but only for non commercial usage.

Often in wedding ceremonies, the most beautiful of emotions are the glances exchanged between the couple, the joyous laughs of the friends, the appreciating looks on the guests’ faces, the anxiety on the bride’s face, the tearful eyes of the mother, the brother running the errands and attending to the guests.

These precious moments are best captured without the knowledge of the subject-in its true naturalness.

A skilful candid photographer ensures that these lifetime moments are woven into the wedding tale for these are the truly charming moods you would reflect on for many years to come.

This photography style is best described by the staged formal shots of the bride and groom with all their loved ones. These are pre-planned shots and require lots of direction from the photographer who like a coordinator assists and guides the subjects to pose in their best of postures and expressions for that perfect picture.

Most wedding photographers’ showcase only their best works which they would want you to evaluate them on.

But the quality of a brilliant photographer lies in the ability to deliver great shots consistently. We gauge the skills and talent of our photographers based on their consistency and attitude. We ensure high satisfaction guarantee and quality by making our talented pool of photographers undergo our own quality certification module so that what you get from CandidShutters’ photographers is a complete package of consistent great photo quality, technical skillfulness, and an amiable personality.

Above all we stand for our name which means that you get back up photographers in case something goes wrong and you have the trust of a brand name to hand over your most important day to.

Unlike other photography service providers, our USP is the strong back-up of a talented pool of photographers.

In cases of unforeseen events, we assure you a backup of an equally good photographer who would do full justice to the most important day of your life.

Professional photography and cinematography are all encompassing processes and go much beyond the usual filming of shots. Our photographers with armoury of skills and ability to take artistic candid shots, work under high pressure situations, will truly get those memories etched in your heart through their skilful work.

Since it is the most important event of your life, you would want it to flow without any hiccups. Also, you would want your friend to enjoy your wedding than ensure coverage!

Sit back and relax! You have hired the best company for photography and cinematography in India.

Apart from the above, do ensure that travel/stay/food arrangements have been made either by you or by us if your wedding is outside Delhi NCR/Mumbai.

As your wedding date approaches, we will connect with you to understand the wedding itinerary, expectations and of course your story in detail so that we can shoot what you want and give to you the best we can.

On the days(s) of your event, we will arrive as per the schedule and will carry out the shoot as per our discussions and style. 

Within the stipulated timeline, you will receive your photos and videos which will amaze you for years to come!

Not at all. We have 3 independent verticals in our company:

CandidShutters: (https://www.candidshutters.com) We focus on weddings and other social events in this vertical.

CandidShutters Store: (https://www.candidshutters.com/store) We focus on custom designed and handcrafted photo albums, photo frames and other products in this vertical.

CandidShutters Media: (https://www.candidshutters.media) We focus on web designs, brand films, corporate events etc. in this vertical.

1. CandidShutters has been started by a BITS Pilani and NMIMS alumni. The founding team has an alumni of Delhi University and NMIMS as well.
2. The core team consists of veterans from the Bollywood as well as wedding industry.
3. We have physical presence with clearly advertised office addresses in Mumbai and Delhi NCR.
4. We have full time crew members for shoots as well as edits.
5. We have defined timelines for deliverables.
6. We have a unique blend of technology and people oriented processes to delight you each and every time.
7. We have covered all types of weddings across India and many overseas locations.
8. We have covered more than 1000 weddings. We have the experience and know-how to cover even the biggest of events.
9. We are all over the internet.
10. Past clients have amazing reviews about our work.
11. We have a vast portfolio to showcase our work.

NEED WE SAY MORE?

Although we do not boast about it, but CandidShutters can easily be considered as one of the most technologically advanced photography companies in India. We have in place all the softwares and applications so that our mutual interaction is hassle free.

An artistic bent of mind, eye for photography, strong technological backing and a brilliant customer service puts us in a different league.