The art of mehndi/henna dates back centuries in Indian and Pakistani Culture. Wedding mehndi designs are said to be some of the oldest forms of art. Mehndi paste is derived from a henna plant and meticulously applied to the bride’s hands and feet at the start of her wedding week. With so much meaning and significance behind these designs, it’s important to learn how to best capture the mehndi creatively. In this article, we’re going to give you 5 of our favorite tips for capturing Indian wedding mehndi designs.
What is the Meaning Behind Wedding Mehndi Designs?
Traditionally, mehndi designs consisted of peacocks, flowers, and the quintessential mango calico. Nowadays Brides call inspiration from Arabic, African, and modern art to incorporate in their wedding mehndi designs. SomeMoreover, certain artists include animals, nature elements, Hindu Gods, or even the Bride and Groom represented with names or figures. It takes a total of 2-6 hours depending on how intricate the design is!
It’s commonly believed among Indian tradition that the darker the color of the Bride’s Mehndi, the more her husband will love her. Check out some of our favorite bridal mehndi designs photographed throughout Indian weddings.
1. Get in Close to See the Wedding Mehndi Design Details
As mentioned before, brides can choose a myriad of wedding mehndi designs to incorporate into their mehndi. The traditional mehndi photograph is more of a wide shot that showcases both hands and an aerial view of the designs. Once you’ve captured that move on to capture the closer details that aren’t as noticeable to the naked eye. It will help to have a macro lens or macro lens adaptor on hand to capture these details.
2. Ask Bride if Designs Have Special Significance
Always ask the bride if there are any specific designs incorporated in her mehndi that mean something special to her. This could be a variety of things such as a symbol of what state the couple met in, a special date, or a significant religious symbol. The possibilities for wedding mehndi designs are endless due to varying personalities and interests.
3. Capture the Groom’s Name
One of the most popular traditions is for the bride to have her mehndi artist hide her groom’s name somewhere in the intricate design. Once the mehndi is dry and has stained her hands the bride asks the groom to search for his name in her mehndi. Sometimes mehndi artists scatter the letters of the name so make sure you try and capture them all if that’s the case!
4. Photograph the Wedding Mehndi Design Application Process
This is the perfect opportunity to incorporate the mehndi artist into the shots and give them some due recognition! Henna comes out of the cone in liquid form and stains the hands and this process makes for a unique capture.
5. Capture Creative Angles
Try to switch things up and photograph the bride’s hands from an upward angle. Position the camera so that it’s on the floor and shoot upwards to see the bride’s mehndi designs and face. Another creative example is to try and incorporate her jewelry into the shot by having her hold it or place her hands on it.
In conclusion, we hope this article provided you with some great options
