Now, drones to click couples at weddings

MEERUT: Move over, movie cameras. Drones are now the done thing at many weddings in the city. A number of couples are opting for these hovering copters to get the best shots on their special day. With Valentine's Day approaching, and many marriages being planned around the time, the demand for drone cameras is at an all-time high. "A major attraction of drone cameras is the aerial view that they can capture. Also, they are a big style statement for those who can afford them," says a city-based photographer.

For many newly-weds, it's this 'wow' factor that scores over anything else. "When couples pay so much to plan destination weddings and pre-wedding shoots, then what is the harm in spending a little on drones in order to make your marriage memorable?" says Gauri Sharma, whose recent wedding had guests gasping as drones took to the air to capture the nuptial shots.

Photo professionals say that drones come with a few other advantages as well. For instance, while traditional video cameras, which employ movement-enabling devices like a jimmy jib, can go upto a height of only 25 feet, drones can reach a height of 50 feet and offer pictures which are of good quality unlike regular cameras in which images may shake at that height."Drone cameras are also quite light-weight and can operate in minimal light unlike traditional cameras which need extra flash to shoot at weddings," says Ravi Maheshwari, owner of Technica Videos, a photo studio.

As for the cost, charges for hiring a drone vary between Rs 12 to 15K. "The drone is given a total of five flights in the entire duration of a marriage function. Each flight is for 10 minutes and the cost of five such flights usually comes to around Rs 15,000," says Maheshwari.

Kartik Agarwal, owner of BR studios in the city, said, "We imported these cameras from US almost four years ago but recently the trend has been picked up by the city residents. These cameras can be used to get better shots of ghur-charhi where cameras cannot take good shots due to the presence of baraatis."