Patel Shot n. a candid photograph with a person in the foreground and a place or object of interest (such as a tourist destination or landmark) in the background. (Src: Double-tongued Dictionary)
In India, with international travel booming in the IT industry which employs almost 40% of the eligible educated bachelors, 'Patel shots' are the in-thing for quite sometime now. I am not sure if it is by choice or chance, 90% of such IT world groom-to-be snaps that are exchanged happen to be shot abroad in a well known tourist spot!
It is not the same with the opposite sex though. Bride-to-be pictures are usually shot at home, studio with a plain background in ethnic wear. Women travel abroad too, but the pics in western outfits in tourist spots are not preferred.
What is the psychology behind a 'patel shot'?
1. Implicit advertising - if your daughter marries my son, she will get to travel to these spots
2. The guy/his family thinks, foreground object looks all the more attractive, when the background is attractive
3. Even if the prospective bride is not impressed by the guy, she might be impressed by the location and say 'mmm' approvingly
4. It acts as an ISI(Internationally Salaried Indian) mark, which increases the guy's value
5. Assume if the prospective bride gets pics from 2 similar alliances, one shot in India and the other abroad, she is more likely to choose the foreign one
Heights of Patel shots:
1. Mr.X in front of Eiffel tower or a tall structure, and the photographer would have tried to cover the entire structure with X as a miniature.
2. Mr.X with shades and a cap standing in Brooklyn Bridge or near Niagara - wonder if they are attempts to hide the squint and bald head
3. Mr.X standing with a group(usually 4 or 5) of eerie looking friends (all guys though!) next to a Toyota, Ford, Chevy(rented from Avis, Budget).
4.Mr.X standing close to a railing with hands stretched out on the railing and right foot crossed in front of the left foot(ishtyle!!!) and glaring into the camera with side grin
5. Mr.X with a leather jacket, woodland shoes/boots, hands inside the jacket pocket, standing(shivering?!!) in snow covered area.
6. Mr.X standing amidst the colorful trees and leaves of autumn.. Could that be to morph into Maddy in 'Pachai nirame' song?
Wonder how guys/their parents will react to such pics from the prospective brides!
15 comments:
1. Studio photo looks extremely artificial with tons of makeup
2. Guys are shy to visit a studio to take such a photograph
3. Isnt it natural? To give a best looking photo to the prospective bride? Wont it be funny, if someone sends photo of the guy in kitchen, cooking something?
4. Would the girls family prefer a guy dressed in lawyer, police inspector, doctor etc costumes? A la rasukutti
More than all this. Would it be better to send a photo of how a person looks in real life, unlike the brides with so much aritificial makeup and plastic smile inside a studio? :P
There have been instances of girl looking different in photograph, than in real life. But for guys, you wont find much difference from the photo and in person :)
And anyday I would prefer to look at the photograph of a girl in a natural circumstance(going for a picnic and taking photo there is natural), than an artificial circumstance(You dont goto a studio daily, do you?)
Cool it sir :-)
This post was not written to have a guy-girl fight!! It was just to bring out the humerous aspects of a match-making photograph...
btw, not all girls wear make-up/ go to the studio and take artificial pics. Men or women, will be at their natural best if the pics are photographed at home.
I was just wondering, why the girl's parents are not bold enough to send their daughter's pic from abroad!!
Who was fighting? *Looks Innocently*
The problem with photo shot indoors is, the lighting isnt right most of the times. Atleast the house terrace/garden/balcony should do justice :D
Actually, it would be nice if the girls parents such photos too! The studio photo is kind os tricky, you know :P
Just went abroad n came back with tons of patel shots :D but certainly not intended to be used as groom-to-be snaps :)
Good that I didn't have to give any photographs. But still I missed all the bajji-sojji items and the associated fun ;-/
sometimes it helps to be absolutely anti-photo-genic (camera-breaking bad, to be precise). thanks.
he he he... idhu edhukkum, enakkum sammandham illadhadhunaala.... me just having fun
I think thats is because of a prejudice in the society . Altho people in India can take their daughters wearing jeans and T-shirt not their prospective daugeters-in law.. veetukku vara ponnu mahalakshi pola irukanum ngara idea... yen jeans pota mahalakshmi ya irukalame.. ipo ipo that is coming in but by and large thats the attitude..
Also velinatukku ellam poiruka na.. ponnu romba independent a irukom.. namba veetukku othu varadhu...
there are so many reasons like these that prevent parents from putting up Patel snaps of their daughters....
what say u?
This is quite a good topic to be dealt with. Guys even try to get their pictures shot in front of fancy cars in the parking lot...lol........the photo culture is slowly changing, some mother-in-laws are even giving jeans & t-shirt for their daughter-in-laws and the concept of a compulsory saree - wear after marriage is drastically disappearing, it has become more of a comfortability factor now and a funny note from one of the known person to me "En paiyanukku US onsite pona ponnellam vanthuthu"....on the educated society this has become kind of a show-off now...
@ your vakil
Vakil sir, your jobs ends with clicking good patel shots... Your parents will take care of distributing it..As Ferrari had mentionsed, nothing wrong is giving out a pic in which you look the best :)
pranni,
yeah! heaven to you for sparing the womenfolk from that!! (Err...just kidding, glib-tongued me!!)
and true, you missed som horrible spicey bajjis, salted-coffee and oily sooji - Thats what the girl will give, if she is not interested in an arranged marriage! Thank God, you didn't have to go thru that!
tyler durden,
Now, Do you want me to say 'You are not that bad after all?!!' btw, even if you are spared from a patel shot, no men are spared from glaring into the photograph until they drop down on their wedding day :-D However camera-breaking you are, the camera is gonna make you run!
tyler durden,
Now, Do you want me to say 'You are not that bad after all?!!' btw, even if you are spared from a patel shot, no men are spared from glaring into the photograph until they drop down on their wedding day :-D However camera-breaking you are, the camera is gonna make you run!
the point is, does one look the best in a patel shot?? enna dhaan super camera'la padam pidichalum, ulladu dhaaney varum :)
balaji,
andha kaalamum viraivil varum :)
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