Taruni and Armaan photographed together during their portrait session
Behind the lens

Hi, I'm Surya

Photographer, filmmaker, and the calm presence behind the camera — capturing every meaningful moment, from the grandest celebration to the quiet embrace you’ll treasure for a lifetime.

A bride getting ready before her ceremony
Portrait of Surya Garigipati
The short version

A decade of
weddings, and still
counting

I didn’t choose wedding photography because it was expected — I chose it because of what it represents.

Every wedding unfolds in countless moments at once. The joyful chaos of family, quiet exchanges between generations, fleeting glances, and celebrations that can never be recreated. Most of those moments pass unnoticed, remembered only by the people who happened to witness them.

My role is to preserve them.

Not by directing every scene, but by observing with intention and documenting your celebration as it naturally unfolds. The result is imagery that feels honest, elegant, and deeply personal.

I believe great wedding photography isn’t about following trends. It’s about creating photographs that still carry the same emotion twenty or thirty years from now — images your children and grandchildren will one day treasure as part of your family’s story.

How I work

Three things I believe

Presence over direction

The best frames are rarely posed. I'll direct you when it helps — for portraits, for light, for a first look — and then I'll get out of the way and let your wedding be your wedding.

Culture is not a backdrop

I know when the mangalsutra is tied, when to be at the mandap and when to give a family its moment. You shouldn't have to explain your own ceremony to your photographer.

Calm is a deliverable

A wedding weekend runs on timing. My team arrives early, knows the schedule and never adds to the noise. Several couples have told me the calm mattered more than the photos — and then loved the photos too.

"You are not hiring someone to take pictures at your wedding. You are hiring the person who decides what your family will remember."

Surya Garigipati

The long version

How we got here

2013

The first wedding

A family friend's ceremony in Albany, one camera body, one borrowed lens and far more nerves than skill. Still one of my favourite galleries.

2016

Film joins photography

Couples kept asking for both, and kept ending up with two vendors who'd never spoken. We brought cinematography in-house so one team plans one timeline.

2019

The studio grows

A second shooter, then a third. A dedicated editor. An album designer. The work stayed personal; the capacity finally matched the weekends.

2022

Recognised

Named a Platinum Guide Vendor by Maharani Weddings, and featured across the South Asian wedding press.

Today

400+ celebrations on

Photographing across more than thirty cities and destinations — and booking wedding weekends into 2027 and 2028.

Couple during their wedding celebration
Bridal portrait in window light
Bridal portrait
Honoured to be featured on
Maharani WeddingsPlatinum Guide Vendor
The KnotFeatured Vendor
WeddingWireCouples' Choice
South Asian BridePublished Work
Never a stranger

You'll always know who's coming

I shoot every wedding personally. Depending on your collection, I bring one to four others — the same people, not a rotating roster of freelancers. You'll meet them by name before the day.

Lead Photographer

Surya, on every wedding, without exception.

Second Shooter

Covering the groom's side, the reactions, the angle I can't be in.

Cinematographer

Filming alongside us with a shared shot list, never competing for position.

Album Designer

Laying out your heirloom book, revised until you love every spread.

Floral installation at a wedding ceremony
Off the clock

A few things
that aren't weddings

I'm happiest with a coffee at 6am before anyone else on the venue is awake. I over-research restaurants in every city I shoot in. I still shoot personal work on film, badly, and I have no plans to stop.

And I answer my own emails — so when you write, you're writing to me.