Frequently Asked Questions
What are your rates/pricing?
At Elysia By Swapnil, we personalize every wedding to provide the best experience for both the families and us. Our base rate starts from $7000 onwards. Please reach out using our Contact form and we’d be happy to chat.
What is your style and approach?
Our approach, in the simplest way, is to just be your expert friend with a camera on your wedding day. We become creative directors of your story during the portrait session where we bring our founder’s fashion photography background into the mix, because why not? You have a whole production set up for your special day, you deserve this! Our style is documentary editorial which blends our backgrounds in Fashion photography in the US with street photography back from the streets of Mumbai, India. We stay true to your day, showcasing it in the most boldly authentic, photojournalistic, and documentary way possible; all while finding perspectives that would make anyone go, “How did Swap even see this?”
Our films are tailored to who YOU are, we love cinema and storytelling, and our films revolve around documenting your characters and quirks and your family’s vibe, all amplified in 5 minutes, which will take you back, always.
How big is your team?
Apart from Swapnil, we also have his incredibly talented wife Allison, who is a bridal designer, and one of the best in the industry at her craft. The size of our team for photo and video will depend on the scale and size of the wedding. We have a roster of some of the best photographers and filmmakers who are trained to understand the ethos of Elysia and work with the company depending on your needs.
Do you travel?
Absolutely and always! We LOVE traveling for weddings, and we have been fortunate enough to already have shot in countries like India, the United States, Canada, Mexico, Dominican Republic. We have been meaning to shoot more weddings in Europe so if you are thinking, here’s the contact form :)
What are the deliverables in both Photos and Video? When do we get them?
The deliverables depend on the flow of the events when it comes to Photo and the duration of the videos. Its all about showing the story in the most unique way possible. For a single-day wedding and reception, on average about 500-600 photos are delivered. For Videos, the deliverables are usually a highlight and a full film, the duration of which depends on the number of events.
Are all the photos edited?
All the photos that are delivered are edited. This does not mean all the photos that are shot, are delivered. We strive to tell the story in the most impactful way and each of our photos is meant to be a memory related to a story of the day. Only a carefully curated gallery is delivered. RAW and unedited photos are like your ongoing reception decor while your wedding ceremony is going on, it’s not what you want to see in the evening :)
How long have you been doing this? Is this your full-time job?
I have been doing this for almost a decade now. My first ever wedding shoot in 2015 with my mentor was at the Garware pavilion in the Wankhede Cricket stadium in Mumbai, where I was in 1 corner the whole day trying to cover as much as I could. This was one of the happiest days of my life. This only grew later with the arrival of Instagram where I uploaded photos with my phone just to get my mind off studying and brands started reaching out. I moved to the US and kept my favorite hobby-with-income growing with a full-time analyst job on the side, to the point where I am grateful to have worked with over 20 of the most sought-after wedding photography companies and guidance from some of the best in the industry. I quit my full-time job in the US when I got married to my amazing Allie who pushed me to stop doubting myself and photograph people full-time since 2022. I now only shoot Fashion and Weddings.
Is it okay if we get someone else to photograph the wedding alongside you?
No, Elysia is there to tell your story on your wedding and in order to effectively execute on it, we cannot have other teams also photographing at the same time as we are. We plan our approach to make sure the team is in sync but we cannot do so with other companies present as well. Unless we are doing photo and there is a partner video team, that works.
Do you have insurance?
Yes we do. It is provided upon request from other vendors such as the venue/planners.
What is your booking process like?
Once we have all the details from you based on the contact form, we will share all the details from our side. We get on a call after this to be aligned on our expectations from each other and a contract is sent out right after. A counter-signed contract is sent once the booking amount is sent and then, we are with you on your day! :D Let’s chat.
Our wedding is next year/ the year after that, can we still book you?
We encourage you to do so. To provide the best experience we can, we stick to a smaller number of weddings a year, which means our calendar gets full soon.
Will you shoot our American wedding?
Of course! My Wife Allie works for Sareh Nouri and we work on weddings together. Her experience with American wedding industry and ours with South-Asian, helps us be ready for you. She will be there on the wedding day and throughout the days leading up to your special day for all your styling needs as well.
So, do you provide styling too then?
Yes! :) We provide Bridal styling and our team consists of my wife Allie and more experienced stylists. We also partner with other incredible stylists who we’ve worked with and endorse whole heartedly.
Did you really eat a snake heart in Vietnam?
It was beating, lub dub lub dub…gulp.