CHASING LOVE & LIGHT

What do Priyanka Chopra Jonas, Anushka Sharma, Samantha Ruth Prabhu, and Kajal Aggarwal have in common? Joseph Radhik, the wedding photographer every Indian bride dreams of.

Before 2008—the year his sister got married—Joseph Radhik had not given wedding photography a single thought. As an IIM graduate, his career trajectory for the next 20 years was set in stone. But after witnessing his sister’s ceremony, he signed up to shoot a friend’s wedding, and then a few more, just for fun. It turned out to be a dream, he says. “Everything flipped within the first few months.” In 2010, his work started getting noticed, shared, and amplified far more rapidly than he had anticipated. “Wedding photography swept me away. I could see myself making photos for years on end,” he shares his epiphany.

One thing led to another and in 2011, he found himself shooting a wedding where India’s biggest stars were performing on stage and partying on the floor. In the middle of it all, his eyes were glued to the couple. That hasn’t changed in the last 10 years. “Weddings have gotten bigger, [and] decor has become more surreal, but my focus has always been on the love,” shares Radhik. Another aspect that hasn’t changed is his approach: to make photos of people’s big days from the eyes of a friend. “Which means unlimited access and empathy to feel [the] big moments and to document them in the most real way possible,” he explains.

Radhik has been a big part of the shift that Indian wedding photography has seen. With a timeless style of photography inspired by the world’s foremost documentary photographers and photojournalists, Radhik endeavours to chronicle and promote the

Indian wedding. “The colour, chaos, diversity, and relationships present at an Indian wedding are unmatched.

I’d be honoured if my work can show the world even a glimpse of how great Indian weddings are.”

Not to mention how great destination weddings are! Some of Radhik’s most memorable destination weddings made him experience a Tuscany winter, a frozen lake in Switzerland, the tropical wonders of Vietnam, and private islands in the Seychelles. “I constantly remind myself of the unbelievable life I get to lead,” says the cameraman. And yet, his favourite destination for a wedding is the bride’s home. “Nothing beats nostalgia, personalisation, and intimacy when it comes to celebrating a union of love,” he says.

Besides setting up a studio in Mumbai, Stories by Joseph Radhik (stories.josephradhik.com), he has co-founded PEP Professionals (getpepped.com), a platform for aspiring photographers. He believes, “Photographers operate in silos, and this can become a thankless and isolated job of sitting in front of the computer for days. PEP is at the centre of thriving photography communities where daily conversations take place: everything from learning, talking shop, and asking for help to trading secrets!”

Dream wedding destinations: Rann of Kutch, forests of Wayanad and Kaziranga