Bizarre ‘Save the Date’ photoshoots and the boundaries they overstep

Kottayam: Bizarreness has seen a new high in recent times in Kerala when it comes to ‘Save the Date’ photoshoots. It goes from the bride and groom swimming in rivers and placing themselves in all sorts of risky situations to get their photos taken right. Most of the time, these acts of negligence that are undertaken to become viral on social media are stretched out across a thin line between life and death. As photographers think up creative ways of shooting couple photos, several boundaries are overstepped. 

It was just recently that a bride and groom sitting on a boat fell into the river as it overturned. Both of them escaped by sheer luck, nevertheless, the video went viral and garnered many views on social media. In a similar incident in Kottayam, a wedding photoshoot on a boat was blotched completely after it sank and all aboard the boat went into the water. 

Often the photographers come up with these daring photography plots to stand out from the rest. The youth are very much enticed by these adventurous shoots as well. Certain couple photoshoots were criticised for getting ‘too personal’ by a group of people.

These photoshoots are often paid for as a package. Shivadas Menon, the owner of Vijay Photos in Thrissur, says that there are many who are willing to spend a lot of money on ‘Save the Date’ photography alone to make it sensational. He said that he usually explains the risks involved in each shoot before going through it. He added that he has also instructed his colleagues not to encourage any sort of photoshoots that are out of hand. 

Some photoshoots are scripted. The photographers and the couple sit together, plan the theme like the script of a movie and shoot it like a mini film. One such video based on a ghost story had gone viral recently. Nari Shakti Puraskar recipient Dr M S Sunil said that the couple should take care of their lives and not be conscious of the likes and shares of others. For accidents caused by such photoshoots, the stakeholders will have to face action.