Spotlight: Sanjay Gohil
In this series we are sharing some of the wonderful photographers who make up the NineDots Community. Finding out what makes them tick and the what, why and how behind some of the work they are most proud of. Today Indian Wedding Photographer Sanjay Gohil shares his favourite 3 images and why he loves them so much.
WHY WEDDING PHOTOGRAPHY?
When I started photography, I didn’t quite want to shoot weddings, I found them boring and I wanted to shoot ‘cool’ things like model shoots, catwalks for magazines, travel and photograph the world. This was around in 2008 when I started dabbling in photography.
In 2007, my cousin got married and my aunt said ‘You’re going to photograph all the home events’ I’m like, OK cool, then my cousin asked me to shoot her civil ceremony ‘BIG GULP’ I yes said, stayed up all night studying ‘cool portraits’. I was nervous as hell as the civil ceremony is something I didn’t want to mess up and I got through it, loved the pics and then reluctantly uploaded the photographs to facebook, the rest as they say is History!
As I shot more and more wedding events, I started to enjoy the process of taking the photographs, editing and then also seeing the reactions of my couples, and I think this was something that I really vibe off and then things grew from there.
What I love the most about wedding photography is seeing (and capturing) real emotion and being part of the moment. I’ve walked away from a day having witnessed personal moments which I know will mean so much to the couple and their families, it’s somewhat humbling to have witnessed and documented a huge milestone for the couple and their family.
I guess I’m in a privileged position to witness and be in the mix of the wedding day from the start to almost the end which is rare for any other wedding supplier. I enjoy getting fully engrossed with the day as it unfolds, I love chatting and getting to know the family and friends as it makes my day more enjoyable. Being known as ‘Sanj’ rather than ’The Photographer’ makes everything more easy going and personal.
Ultimately, I love doing what I do and it gives me a lot of personal satisfaction at the end of the day, I also love being my own boss!
Sanjay’s 3 Spotlight photos
There was so much going on within this shot. I remember the actual Vidhai (leaving ceremony) being ok and nice and not extremely emotional until this moment happened. The priest was calling me to capture the families performing 1 last blessing, but I knew deep in my heart that I had to stay put.
I asked my second shooter to capture that as I knew that this moment was WAY more important. I stood my ground for a long time, watching and waiting for the tears to roll down, I had the bride’s gran under my chin and I wanted to get close into the action, but I would’ve knocked granny to the floor! I was happy with this moment, that I walked away BUZZING. This was the start of realising that wedding photography is more than just wedding details and cool shots through objects with my 70-200, I started to love being closer up in the action and feeling the moment.
When I was editing the photograph, this is when the shot (in my opinion) elevated itself. I originally cropped it tighter on the right to chop the car door panel, but when I took a closer inspection, I saw someone in the reflection and realised it was the bride’s dad in an emotional state and he was standing well in the background. It added another story to the moment, and to think I almost cropped it out.
The person in the foreground is the bride’s uncle and I’m guessing he’s like a second father who she’s very close with, otherwise I don’t know if this moment would have happened as this level of emotion is more associated with parents. It kinda reminds me of my closeness to my nieces as maybe one day, I’ll be in the same position where a moment like this is captured showing our close relationship.

It’s always good to experiment with something different on the wedding day and this shot was a result of having an idea in my head and executing it. My couple were game for something different and it came out better than I had visualised. The couple could see how excited I was to create this shot and their reaction was speechless when I showed the back of the camera…it’s def one to hang up on the wall.
This photograph just makes me laugh, simple! The bride’s niece was just sitting there fully fed up after her wedding duties as a flower girl and I think this is probably how most kids (and some adults) feel after a wedding ceremony. I love finding in-between or transitional moments like this as they are the real things that you don’t always see during a wedding day and it’s a great memory for the wedding couple and family.
WHY NINE DOTS?
It’s my photography tribe, a safe space with like minded photographers from all over. I’ve been fortunate to be a member since 2015 and the standard and variety of work is inspiring. There’s a positive nature in the group (online and in person) and I’ve learned so much over the years, and as a result, I’ve developed my style and how I run the business. Let’s not forget the friendships that are developed and how we help and support each other.