[100 Emerging Women Leaders] This woman photographer is capturing the most precious wedding moments for couples

While studying architecture, Ankita Asthana purchased her first digital camera to capture old architecture.

Her passion for photography existed from a young age. After college, she explored various genres, including fashion, architecture, and product shoots for magazines and brands.

One day, a bride insisted Asthana to create a wedding film for her after seeing her fashion videos. Even though she had no experience with wedding videography, she decided to give it a try.

Asthana’s first wedding film was a huge learning experience. This sparked the idea to start WeddingNama, a wedding photography and filming company, in 2012 along with her husband Akash Agarwal.

“What I loved most about weddings was the creative freedom. Capturing those genuine, once-in-a-lifetime moments was exhilarating. Weddings, with their intimate and emotional atmosphere, allowed me to truly bond with people and document their most genuine vulnerable moments,” she tells HerStory.

Early life

Asthana grew up in South India and moved many cities as her father was a forest officer. She says, he used to motivate her to travel and connect with the forest.

She vividly recalls that her father used to capture pictures from the family trip, and the family would spend time together watching those photos. These moments sparked her interest in photography.

“My childhood was filled with adventure and creativity. I remember one of the first photos I ever took was of a pitcher plant I found while trekking in the forest. I can still remember the excitement of watching those photos together,” she adds.

Asthana was particularly drawn to physics and math, which motivated her to study architecture.

“Architecture reawakened my creative side and reignited my love for photography. It changed how I saw the world. During that time, I started my blog ‘Fireflies and Shutterbugs,’ and through it, I connected with people from across the globe who shared my love for storytelling through photography,” she adds.

In her fourth year of architecture, she had her “aha” moment, and realised that photography was her true calling. Even though she secured a seat at IIM Shillong to pursue an MBA, she decided to follow her passion and joined the National Institute of Design (NID), Ahmedabad, for a master’s in photography.

While living in Delhi, she worked at the Commonwealth Games as a media manager in 2010 and then worked as an architect and photographer at Pradeep Sachdeva Design Associates in 2011.

She later shifted to Mumbai and started working on freelance projects.

Asthana recalls one of her first major projects, which was a documentary on the Van Gujjars, a semi-nomadic tribe in India. “The raw, unguarded expressions of the Van Gujjars were incredibly powerful and taught me that photography wasn’t just about capturing faces—it was about telling stories and connecting with the essence of people’s lives and experiences,” she adds.

Asthana, who cherishes family memories, believes it is one of the reasons for choosing wedding photography. “It is personal and you get to be a part of a family for those few days,” she adds.

WeddingNama captures weddings through photography and cinematography services. Beyond weddings, the startup also offers pre-wedding shoots, portfolio shoots, destination weddings, and engagement shoots.

“Being a couple ourselves, we understand the emotions behind each wedding and bring that personal touch into our work,” Asthana adds.

The couple has covered weddings across India and internationally. They have also won several awards, including the Best Wedding Photographer of 2024 by Fearless Awards and the Wedding Photojournalist Association (WPJA's) top 5 best wedding photojournalists in 2023.

Their celebrity wedding portfolio features Masoom and Shailin, Sagarika and Zaheer Khan in Mumbai, and more.

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Challenges

Asthana explains that back in the day, weddings were typically captured by traditional photo studios and the majority of the photographers in the industry were men. She used to go solo to shoot weddings. However, with these photographers, it would be difficult for her as there was a lack of space to shoot.

“Even though most people I met were respectful and gave me space, I felt I couldn’t explore my creativity as much as I could if I was shooting with a little more freedom,” she adds.

Additionally, she believes that being pioneers in the contemporary wedding photography and film industry has worked in their favour, as they were there right from the beginning.

On a personal front, Asthana believes that when she became a mother, she and her husband had to figure out a way to manage their work and parenthood.

“After becoming a mother, I returned to work just a month after giving birth, bringing my baby to the office with me. I soon started travelling for weddings worldwide with him, and until he turned one, he accompanied me everywhere. Now, with a support system in place, he maintains his routine even when both parents are travelling,” she shares.

She believes that her generation is privileged as they have equal opportunities to quite an extent.

“We have our mothers and our grandmother’s generations to thank for this. They fought the shackles of patriarchy and social stereotypes every single day so that their daughters could lead a normal life. Even now, there is a lot left to fight for and lots to achieve in terms of equality,” she adds.

Asthana wants women to take charge and work with passion.

“Take on the responsibility that you can handle with ease and ask for help if required. Hustle, but not to the point of burnout. Invest time in yourself instead, lead a healthy lifestyle both mentally and physically, and find your balance. Embrace who you truly are,” she says.