We at Foto Zone India had a very unique and grand opportunity to conduct the family portrait photoshoot of Chennai’s leading realty king Shri. Hanu Reddy and family at two distinct and beautiful locations near Chennai – The Hanu Reddy Raghava Farms and SPP Gardens.

This photoshoot was conducted over two days at two locations with the entire family clan in attendance who flew in from all over the world for a family gathering. The first set up was at The Hanu Reddy Raghava Farms, a scenic scape of huge mango trees and lush greenery.

A striking symbol of the family’s togetherness is Hanu’s table, which is Asia’s longest table of 165 ft and the entire family were gathered around, echoing the emotion of togetherness.

We faced a few challenges – the photoshoot was for extended hours, and the day temperature was soaring, and the table was in the midst of towering mango trees, which meant, shadows falling on faces and since the table was long, we had to capture the family portraits from an elevation.

A recce prior to the photoshoot had us decide upon a scaffolding structure for the elevation to capture the grandeur of the long table and the entire family seated to dine.

To tackle the uneven patches caused by shadows from the canopy of trees, we tied a white diffuser cloth around 40*40 ft to ensure that the soft lighting was even on all the faces.

To tackle the heat, we installed an Anaconda air conditioner set up with five pipes directing chilled air in the spaces where people were gathered.

To capture the best of the entire family of many members, this photoshoot was shot entirely in a medium format digital camera – Fuji GFX 100 for high quality and clarity in facial features.

A few days later, the entire family gathered for a wedding occasion at SPP Gardens and the beautiful lily pond was in full bloom. The climate was pleasant with intermittent drizzles, setting the tone for a beautiful family photoshoot full of festively dressed members. We took some solo portraits and a big family portrait.

The pillars and frames were decorated with flowers. The pond was west facing and since it was captured in the early morning hours, we had to arrange for lighting to brighten up the entire frame. We used two par lights of 5000 kW, set it up on the other side of the pond ensuring that the light falls in a diffuse manner on all the family members.

The climate became our ally that day, giving a natural freshness to the actively blossomed lily pond, and a pleasant feeling to the traditionally dressed family members without feeling sweat and other disturbances.

Now with this kind of a set up, our work was made a lot easier, with no additions or enhancements on photoshop. It was an all natural output and that truly made our day.