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    SLR Lounge > Photography > Wedding Photography Tips and Tutorials > 5 Tips for Capturing Indian Wedding Mehndi Designs
    5 Tips for Capturing Indian Wedding Mehndi Designs
    Wedding Photography Tips and Tutorials

    5 Tips for Capturing Indian Wedding Mehndi Designs

    Shivani Reddy, 2 years ago

    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?

    jjasonv
    Image by Jason Vinson

    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.

    jostree
    Image by Jos & Tree 
    henna party mhart
    Image by Marlies Hartmann
    mehndi jos tree
    Wedding Mehndi Image by Jos & Tree
    bridal mehndi designs jason vinson
    Image by Jason Vinson

    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.

    1 wedding mehndi designs
    Mehndi Photo by Lin and Jirsa

    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!

    mehndi grooms name
    Image by Lin and Jirsa

    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.

    2 wedding mehndi designs
    Photo by Lin and Jirsa

    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.

    wedding mehndi designs jared gant
    Detailed Mehndi Photo by Jared Gant
    indian wedding mehndi jesskim
    Image by Party of Two Photography
    wedding mehndi designs jt
    Image by Jos & Tree
    indian wedding bridal mehndi designs jesskimlawerence
    Photo by Party of Two Photography

    In conclusion, we hope this article provided you with some great options

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    Shivani Reddy

    Shivani wants to live in a world where laughter is the cure to pretty much everything. Since she can't claim "Serial Bingewatcher" as an occupation, she'll settle for wedding/portrait photographer at Lin and Jirsa & marketing coordinator here at SLR Lounge. For those rare moments when you won't find a camera in her hand, she will be dancing, eating a donut, or most likely watching Seinfeld. Follow her on Instagram: @shivalry_inc
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