Taj Mahal is one of the seven wonders of the world. Also, remembered & known as the symbol of love, commissioned by the Mughal emperor Shah Jahan in 1632 to honour his favourite wife who died while giving birth to their 14th child. Her name was Mumtaz Mahal, which in English translates to something like “Chosen One of the Palace”.
When I met this beautiful couple, they had this very charming chemistry; of the kind, you would immediately adore. When we decided on doing their Prewedding shoot, they decided on Taj Mahal to be the place.
I was excited beyond words. Sometimes you just know with the creative juices flowing in your head and imagining the couple on the location, what magic it would turn out to be. With the romantic chemistry they had and the beautiful Taj Mahal in the background, I couldn’t contain my excitement and couldn’t sleep the night before we were to do their shoot.
We planned to go there early morning at about 6 am. No wonder the Taj Mahal gets visitors from all around the world and it gets super tough to shoot there once the crowd appears. So we started early and went to the furthest end from the entry. To avoid too many people in frames for as long as we could.
For this image, we were shooting from inside the mosque which is exactly to the right of Taj Mahal, from the main entrance. It’s also on a height of about one meter from the ground so that further helped to avoid people in the frame. I kept my camera on the floor to really get a low angle and get a clean shot.
I asked Rahul, it’s the best moment and place to go on his knees and officially propose Surbhi. She earlier shared in our meeting, that he never actually proposed to her. They just had this understanding that they belong to each other. But she would really like to experience the moment when he proposes to her.
So he went down on his knees and while they giggled, I noticed the birds flying through my frame. Benefits of shooting early morning! Nature helps you too, to create magic. I focused on the couple and exposed for Taj Mahal. I wanted to create a dreamy photo with the Taj Mahal and a silhouette of the couple. Rahul proposing to Surbhi with the symbol of love in the background. I got a little lucky to get the birds flying in and out of the frame too at the right moment, so I could add them too.