Crew planning for multi-day Indian weddings

A Punjabi wedding with five functions and a Tamil wedding that starts at 4 am need very different crews. The trick is to plan each function on its own.

Roles, per function

Start with what each function needs:

Function	Typical crew
Haldi	Candid photographer, cinematographer
Mehendi	Candid photographer, traditional photographer
Sangeet	Lead photographer, candid, cinematographer
Wedding / pheras	Lead, candid, traditional, cinematographer, drone (outdoor)
Reception	Lead, traditional, cinematographer

Adjust for the family. Large families want more traditional coverage for the stage; younger couples often want more candid.

Your team and your freelancers

Most studios run a core team plus trusted freelancers in peak season. Treat freelancers as part of the crew, with two limits:

• they see the call sheet and their own sessions, not your client's full details or other jobs
• they confirm each invite, so you know who is really coming

Invite early, chase once, then replace

Send invites as soon as the wedding is booked. If someone has not answered in a day or two, chase once. If there is still no answer, invite the next person. An unanswered invite in December is a no.

Call times and travel

Call time is not the function's start time. Give each person a call time that includes travel, setup and a buffer for traffic. For venues outside the city, plan who travels together and who carries which gear.

On the day

Each crew member should know:

• where to be and when, with a map link
• who the family contact is
• what they are responsible for (stage, candids, rituals, details)
• which gear they are carrying

After the wedding

Mark who actually turned up, and thank them. A freelancer who is paid on time and gets a clear call sheet comes back next season. In ShotSync every session has its own crew seats, filled, invited or empty, and the call sheet goes to everyone's phone automatically.