A ceremony at home is a different job from one at a venue, and almost all of the difficulty is removed by four things sent a week beforehand.
1. A photograph of the room
The most useful item on this list, and the one nobody thinks to send. Chennai apartments vary enormously: a west-facing room with a large window at 4 PM is a completely different problem from an interior room lit by a single ceiling tube.
Knowing beforehand means bringing the right lighting. Not knowing means improvising around whatever is there, which works less well and takes longer.
2. The running order
What happens, roughly when, and in what sequence. Practice varies between communities and between families, so we ask rather than assume. Being in position before a moment happens is most of the job.
3. The family shot list, with names
Who must appear in the group photographs. Twenty minutes of thought here prevents the most common regret about ceremony coverage — that a particular relative appears only in the background of two frames.
4. Access details
Parking, lift access, which entrance, whether equipment can be brought up before guests arrive. Unglamorous, and it decides whether the photographer is set up early or carrying light stands through a crowd.
What we bring for home ceremonies
Lighting that can be bounced rather than pointed, fast lenses for the ritual itself, and as little floor-standing equipment as the room allows. A home ceremony has limited space and it belongs to the family, not the crew.
One request
If there is a shrine, an elder or a part of the house you would rather was not photographed, say so in advance. It is much easier to plan around than to correct afterwards.