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time they wouldn’t see her working. “Just hav-
ing that discussion at all was not letting things
land where I wanted them to,” she says.
She began charging a flat fee for “tai-
lored coverage,” which includes an hour of
the bride’s preparation through the end of
the traditional ceremony, images during the
break, and the first portion of the reception
when speeches, performances, and other
traditional activities take place.
“My people like to party, and we don’t like
to be interrupted,” she says. “Everything is
front-loaded, and once the dance floor is
opened, that’s it; it stays wild for hours.”
Photographing a half hour of the reception is
enough to get everything she needs there.
She stresses that as the expert in the room
she’s focused on doing whatever needs to be
done to meet the wedding couple’s expecta-
tions for their images. This includes know-
ing which guests to round up, when, and
where during the mid-day break. The flat fee
is based on her hourly rate for eight hours
plus eight hours of overtime. “Nobody has
had any objection,” she explains, because it’s
a much less complicated discussion now. “It
felt easier for them to grasp: ‘She’s going to
be here for the wedding day; she’s looking
out for our best interests. That’s her flat fee
and it’s not going to change.’”
For pre-wedding day events, she applies
her regular hourly fee. What doesn’t change
is positioning herself as the expert. For in-
stance, for photographing the haldi ceremo-
ny in which a paste is applied to the bride
and the groom’s bodies, the bride might ask
Patel Peña to plan on an hour. “When I hear
that, I tell them to check with their parents.
Mom knows it might be five hours,” she says.
“I don’t like financial surprises for my clients
because that does not inspire them to spend
on my albums later.”
The extroverted extrovert makes herself a
part of the extended family at the wedding.
“When I walk into a wedding, I’m not act-
ing like a wedding photographer. The bride’s
mom is my mom and I call her Mom. All day.
‘Hey, Mom, we need you here.’ Indian wed-
dings are big productions: There are plan-
ning teams and make-up artist teams and
dressing teams. All that is great, but the bride
is not looking for a fond moment with the
makeup assistant. I’m just the bride’s friend;
make her comfortable, she forgets me, and
the emotions come out.” Patel Peña has been