Picture Perfect

Q & A with photographer Sephi Bergerson

Connected Weddings spoke with Sephi Bergerson, the documentary and life style photographer whose photographs illustrate ‘Wedding Belles: How to Make Your Dream Wedding Come True.’ Bergerson has almost twenty years of experience and was previously the president of the professional photographers association in Israel before he moved to Delhi, India with his wife and daughter in 2002.

We know that you’ve done the fabulous photos in the Wedding Belles book, tell us about the other book you’re working on:
‘Shaadi Galore - Traditional Weddings in Modern India’ is a book about the phenomenon of the great Indian wedding. This subject is too large to document completely, as there are so many different kinds of weddings in this huge country so I am only focusing on a few to represent the many. I have captured a Tamil Brahmin wedding, a Rajput wedding, a Bengali, a Sikh, a Hindu Punjabi, a Muslim and only now returned from Ladakh where I photographed a Tibetan Buddhist wedding. There will also be a Kashmir pandit. one that I will shoot in November and the book will be finished. I know, people will say that there are so many other weddings to document, but the book will be too big even like this as it is practically impossible to tell a story of a wedding in less that thirty or forty pictures so we already have more than two hundred images.

How did you get started photographing weddings?
My first wedding was only last year in October when I agreed to shoot a friend’s sister’s wedding in Kerala, India. A couple of days after I had agreed to do it, I met with my publisher (who is publishing my “Street Food of India” book) and when they asked what I was up to these days I answered “weddings” and smiled. They jumped out of their chairs and we have agreed that I will do a weddings book about Indian weddings. This is how it started.

Like all good young ‘professional’ photographers, I was raised to mock wedding photography and all that it represented and never even thought that I would do it. “Wedding photographer” always seemed to be a bit uncool, to put it lightly. No one thinks twice if you say that you’re a commercial photographer, or a photographer who shoots nudes, or a photojournalist. Friends will be somewhat interested on the commercial front; be really excited about the nudes; and ask you again and again on your latest assignment as a field photographer. In fact, for years when I went to parties I used to always hear that I had the coolest job. Wedding photographers, needless to say, have never inspired such levels of envy. Never the less, in the past few years, a whole new breed of wedding photographers has emerged determined to give the reputation of this line of work a serious makeover.

Tell us about your wedding photography business:
Being based in India, my clients are either Indian couples or those who come to India for a destination wedding. I take on only a small number of weddings each year so that I do not loose the passion for shooting weddings. This way I am able to devote more care and attention to each couple with whom I work. I have the luxury of taking on only clients who are a step away from the ordinary (or many steps!) and work with them to develop photography services that will truly reflect who they are as a couple and what their special day will be. I want to be excited to document the wedding!

What do you like most about photographing weddings?
My good friend Josh Sailor who is a wonderful photographer based in NY had told me something when I started shooting weddings, and I think this is indeed the best thing about this line of work. He said that he spends all his days with happy people as a wedding is probably the happiest day in everyone’s life, and it ‘rubs’ on to him. It is so much nicer to be among happy smiling people than the usual photojournalist’s assignment and Josh is right, not to say that I am not happy otherwise, but it is easy to be happy when everyone around you is smiling all the time.

What moment in the sequence of a wedding is your favourite to capture on film?
The images I love the most are such that can stand on their own regardless of the specific event or the actual wedding. An image that tells something and has a value beyond the esthetic, a deeper cultural statement that reveals a hidden content that is otherwise obscure form the eye. This kind of image is very hard to get and I find that it only presents itself when I know where and when to wait for it to happen.

What should a bride consider when choosing her wedding photographer?
That no matter how grand the dress is and how fantastic the party will be, the only thing that will stay with you to show your children and grandchildren are the photographs, so this is the last place to make a compromise.

What advances in technology and new photography techniques do you use for your clients?
I have always said that it is not about the equipment. My style is very simple and straight forward and I hardly even use a flash most of the times. My strength is in my ability to bring those special moments that where there for only a second before they disappeared. Other than that, I naturally use the latest in digital photography equipment and the most advanced software that every other photographer would use.

I always shoot high quality RAW files that are then converted into DNG for further processing in Adobe Lightroom. All images are then color corrected and the final output is a DVD with high resolution JPG files, and a folder with smaller, low resolution JPGs for web usage. I do not make albums and rather give a DVD with all the images (minus the rejects) of the shoot and clients retain full ‘Home Use Rights’ to the images. This basically means they can use the images for personal, non-commercial uses. They may make as many prints as they like for themselves, or to give away as gifts. They may also place low resolution (72dpi) copies of the images on their personal website for viewing as long as prints are not offered for sale. This way the couple is never confronted with any unanticipated expenses after the wedding is over. My fee is fixed and includes all expenses. No Hidden costs.

What advice do you have for a couple getting married?
A wedding is an important, and an expensive, event and when people pay a lot of money they are sometimes very nervous and want things to work. Your own wedding is the day when you are not supposed to worry at all. Once everything is ready to go you should simply relax and let the event play itself in the best way possible.

From the photographer’s point of view, I appreciate the fact that you try to make me feel comfortable but I prefer that you simply ignore me. I tell all the couples as well as the close family members that during the event they should simply attend to their guests and be happy and not worry about me and how I work. Pretend I do not exist and the pictures will come out the best.

More images from Bergerson’s upcoming book are available on his website: www.sephi.com/weddings