Meet Monisha Ajgaonkar, a female wedding photographer

Monisha Ajgaonkar.
Monisha Ajgaonkar

People believe, there are a few things only men are good at and one of them is wedding photography.  Undoubtedly there was a time  when there were no female wedding photographers  but now women have left no stone turned and they have excelled even here, and that too amazingly well.

One such powerful and passionate female is Monisha Ajgaonkar , a Mumbai based  wedding photographer who followed her passion for photography and started The photo Diary (a professional photography services company).  Monisha shares her experiences , tips , wedding trends etc with Team AAW.  Read on to know more about her

How did you enter this male dominated profession? How did Photo Diary happened?
My friend was getting married and it was a white wedding that was taking place. White weddings always fascinated me so I decided to shoot the wedding. The pictures came out very beautiful and so did the video that’s when  I decided to take this as a profession . I was doing a course in JJ school of Arts for Photography but was not satisfied so I quite the course but continued to peruse photography on personal front.
What all problems do you face in this profession?
Most of the weddings nowadays have alcohol and the guest get very drunk especially at destination weddings. Recently one person was very drunk and he broke our camera. A lot of time me and my team are not treated properly and this makes us really uncomfortable.We even have had our drones broken because of a client insisting on a drone in a banquet hall which we mentioned over and over again that it is a bad idea to have a drone indoors. But overtime we have coped up with all these issues.
Have you ever faced gender inequality?
I have never faced gender inequality. I feel women are treated equally in all industries today. You just have to be very strong and no body cannot treat you differently.
How comfortable are people with a female photographer?
Couples are generally pretty comfortable with me. Its easier for women to have a female photographer shooting them and it avoids the awkwardness. Additionally my tomboy nature makes it very easy for me to connect well with the men as well.
What are the top wedding photography trends?
 Videography and photography in weddings is evolving every year. Wedding trends are continuously changing as every couple wants something new and different in their wedding, One such trend that will be a huge hit according to me this year is LIVE EDITS. Live edits in weddings is when the whole coverage of the wedding shooting is shown on the last day or reception for the couple and their family.It is a very interesting concept as the wedding is getting over and it gives the families and the couple a real feeling of what all has really happened in the past few days and how enjoying and emotional the whole feeling has been. This year I am doing 4 destinations weddings in Dubai, Phuket,Goa and Pune and all couples have asked for a LIVE EDIT feature.
Another new concept is having Video Booths instead of having photo booths. All the guest can come in front of the camera and shoot small videos for 2-3 minutes. All the props and the songs are kept ready for them in that spot.The best part about this is that all the videos get uploaded on Facebook or the social media handle for the wedding and the guest can watch all their funny moments in the video. We have captured some hilarious shots of the couples friends and couples on the video booths when they were drunk. This is truly a fun activity
Pre-wedding videos are now replacing the pre-wedding pictures and gaining a lot of popularity. Couples these days want to shoot a small video for their Save the date + event details. This also saves the trouble of having cards printed and they can easily forward these videos on Whatsapp and other social media.
Drone shooting has also been quite a success from some time now. Destination weddings can be shot beautifully with a drone camera. However some people are even demanding for drones inside banquet halls. I personally feel that drones should not be used inside banquets or indoors as they can be risky. Underwater shoots are becoming very popular and we have done a couple of save the dates and pre-wedding shoots underwater.
If not a photographer?
I would want to be a musician.
Share some tips for the budding female photographers?
Always follow your instinct.Do not copy anybody in the industry. Make Your own style and identity. And most importantly to understand the dynamics of the field you are shooting in whether its is wedding photography or fashion films.
Any message on women’s day
Women are equal as men. I want every woman in this world to believe this. The moment we start believing this and actually putting it into practice no injustice or inequality can be ever done to us.
Which is your favourite photography quote?
You don’t take a photograph, you make it. – Ansel Adams