We shot this pre-wedding session at the temple in Tenkasi, a few hours south of Chennai, on a morning that had just finished raining. That changed the whole plan — and improved it.
Let the architecture lead
A Tamil temple gives you scale, repetition and shade all at once. Rather than posing the couple against the gopuram, we walked them through the corridors and let the stonework frame them. The long lens compresses the pillars and keeps the couple small in the frame, which is usually the more honest picture of what it feels like to stand there.
Water is free production value
The rain left standing water across the courtyard. We shot straight down into it for a set of reflection frames — the couple upright, the temple inverted beneath them. No filter, no composite, just a puddle and a low camera position.
Two outfits, one palette
Green and gold against wet grey granite is a combination that holds up in overcast light. We keep saying this to couples: pick colours that argue with the location a little. Matching it just disappears.