WPOY 2011: Celebrating India’s Finest Wedding Photographers

Sanika Jahagirdar (centre), the WPOY 2011 winner, pose with Sandeep Khosla (CEO Publishing – Infomedia18 Limited, at the extreme left), Manoharan al Periaswamy (Director, Tourism Malaysia), our final judge Sephi Bergerson, S Srinivasu (Country Business Manager, Consumer Digital Group, India Cluster – Kodak), K Madhavan Pillai (Editor, Better Photography), S L Anand, Vivek V Sequeira, Arjun Kartha, Tarun Chawla, Dhananjay Saliankar (Regional Director – International Business India & South Asia, Starwood Hotels and Resorts), Chandrakant Shah (Secretary, AIPTIA), Edric George and commercial photographer Sunil Raju. Photograph/Raj Lalwani

The winners of the Kodak-Better Photography Wedding Photographer of the Year 2011 were felicitated at a grand awards ceremony in Mumbai in the presence of distinguished guests and the who’s who of the photographic industry.

The Kodak-Better Photography Wedding Photographer of the Year 2011 Awards culminated into a gala night on 8 June 2012, at the Ballroom of the Westin Garden City hotel, Mumbai.
Here is a look at the Final Face-off images by our participants.

And don’t forget to tune in to CNBC-TV18 on 23rd June 2012 at 3:00pm for the Curtain Raiser and 24th June 2012 at 3:00pm for the telecast of the Kodak-Better Photography Wedding Photographer of the Year 2011 Awards!

Applauding Wedding Photographers
K Madhavan Pillai, Editor, Better Photography spoke about how amongst all the genres of photography, none exceeds the strength of wedding photography in its reach across the ages and through generations. He also emphasised on the fact that these photographers make our lives look rich and interesting for our future generations.
Here is a look at the best images submitted to Kodak-Better Photography Wedding Photographer of the Year 2011 from each theme.

K Madhavan Pillai, Editor, Better Photography, speaks about the importance of wedding photography and how a wedding photographer helps preserve cherished memories. Photograph/Ketan Kundargi

A Glittering Evening
The guests were left chuckling when poet and stand up comedian Surendra Sharma took centrestage. The theme winners were then felicitated and the event geared towards a grand finish.

Stand up comedian and poet Surendra Sharma left the audience in splits with his hilarious jokes and observations. Photograph/Ketan Kundargi

The Wedding Photographer of the Year!
Finally, Sanika Jahagirdar was announced as the Kodak-Better Photography Wedding Photographer of the Year 2011! She is the first female contestant to win this title and the first woman to win a Better Photography national level award!

Our final judge, Sephi Bergerson, speaks about the competition and the winning entry. Photograph/Ketan Kundargi

Sanika Jahagirdar (extreme right) reacts to her name being announced as the winner of Kodak-Better Photography Wedding Photographer of the Year 2011, while her co-contestants S L Anand, Arjun Kartha, Edric George and Tarun Chawla cheer her on. Photograph/Raj Lalwani

Sanika received a cash prize of Rs. 1,00,000 and a trophy. She also won two beautiful photo books from Canvera.com. She has also been invited to attend Sephi Bergerson’s three-day workshop on wedding photography, all expenses paid. All the six finalists received D-Lite it 2 lighting kits from Photoquip as well as two photo books from Canvera.com.

Sanika Jahagirdar receives her trophy from Sandeep Khosla, CEO Publishing – Infomedia18 Limited (extreme left), Sephi Bergerson, S Srinivasu, Country Business Manager, Consumer Digital Group, India Cluster – Kodak and K Madhavan Pillai, Editor, Better Photography. Photograph/Raj Lalwani

Here are some more behind-the-scenes photographs from the Kodak-Better Photography Wedding Photographer of the Year 2011: