1.A brief introduction about yourself?
My name is Gayan Lalinda Perera. I received my school education from Senarath Paranavithana National School in Udagampola. After completing my O/Ls and A/Ls there, I was selected for the Faculty of Management at the University of Sri Jayewardenepura.
Regarding the photography field, I initially did event photography under the brand name ‘Meritlip’. Later, we launched our services for wedding photography under the name ‘Infinity Moments LK’ (The Wedding Photographer).
2. A brief explanation of how you entered the field, the experiences you’ve gained so far, and the challenges you’ve faced in photography?
How I entered the field:
During my first year at university, I felt the need to work with a team on a project. Although there were reel cameras at home from my childhood, I hadn’t used them extensively. While writing a script for a short video at university, I realized we didn’t have equipment to film it, so I decided to purchase a camera.
After that, through the ‘Japura Flames’ media association at the University of Sri Jayewardenepura, I received a great opportunity to photograph various university events. Through this, I captured nearly 160,000 photographs, which gave me a huge wealth of experience and a solid foundation. I started photography with a camera in late October 2017, and from late 2019, I transitioned into wedding photography.
Experiences gained and challenges faced:
A major challenge is working without rest during peak seasons when Sinhala Buddhist weddings, which are scheduled according to auspicious times, occur close together. Additionally, we need to deliver photographs to clients within 1-2 months as promised. These are the kinds of challenges we’ve had to face.
Through this, I gained experience in properly managing our permanent staff. I was able to gain practical HR experience in managing staff by leading the team with a friendly and positive mindset.
3. How many weddings have you photographed so far, and which one stands out as the most special?
I can’t name one particular wedding as the most special because every wedding I attend feels equally special to me.
When we are booked, it’s typically for about 10 hours of service, but my primary goal during that time is to capture all the memories and emotions of the couple’s special day in the most creative way possible through the camera lens. So today’s wedding is special for today, and tomorrow’s wedding will be special for tomorrow. Every wedding I’ve had is special to me.
4. In your opinion, how do the wedding photographs captured on the wedding day add importance to that day for the couple?
A wedding is the one and most important occasion in a person’s life that cannot be recreated. When looking at the total expenditure on a wedding, the emotions, memories, and gatherings of everyone present on that entire day remain only as photographs and videos.
Sometimes, if a beautiful spontaneous moment (for example, the groom/bride suddenly opening a champagne bottle with friends) falls outside the schedule and escapes the photographer’s attention, that memory is lost forever. Therefore, choosing a photographer with a good backup system, commitment, and responsibility is very important. So when planning a wedding, I would say to be mindful of everything.
5. What advice would you give to a couple planning their wedding, and what are your thoughts on Poruwa.lk’s wedding proposal service?
Advice for couples:
Plan the wedding at least a year in advance. Many couples who come to us make bookings about a year ahead. When you plan your wedding early, you get the opportunity to choose your preferred venues (hotels), decorations, and photographers without missing out.
Thoughts on Poruwa.lk:
Nowadays, the younger generation is more inclined towards online web-based platforms rather than newspapers. Poruwa.lk provides great support not only to customers but also to service providers.
The privacy-focused system here is highly commendable. The fact that it operates under a systematic plan and a secure system without exposing information excessively, unlike older methods, is very valuable to a customer. So this service is extremely valuable for anyone looking for a suitable life partner for marriage in today’s world.
6. How do you support your clients when they entrust their wedding photography to you, and how can someone contact you for photography services?
Support provided to clients:
Even if we are booked a year before the wedding, we have a separate coordinator to guide them throughout that entire period.
If there’s a pre-shoot, we help in selecting suitable costumes, timings, and locations.
We customize packages based on the client’s budget and requirements regarding videography, drone usage, and single/dual camera setups.
After the event, within a week (the next day or within the week), we provide around 4,000-5,000 photographs for selection and offer maximum after-service and backup protection. At that point, the couple can select their favorite photos. There’s another thing—we provide 5,000 photos, but some clients are busy people who don’t have time to select from so many photos. For them, we have an option where our coordinator selects around 800 photos from those 5,000. So we have all 5,000 photos and the selected 800, and we provide guidance on what type of photos to choose. If they want any modifications to their selected photos—for example, if they want a particular favorite photo enlarged—they can do it the way they want. That means the album isn’t printed just the way we want; it’s finished according to the couple’s requirements. After they give their approval, we deliver the album within about two weeks.
How to contact us:
You can contact our coordinator through the phone number provided on our social media pages to get information about prices and packages. If needed, you can schedule a meeting with the photographer. Additionally, we have our website. You can also visit our location at 550 Highlevel Road, Pannipitiya. Our building is located on the main road.
7.Are you willing to offer any discount to customers coming through Poruwa.lk, and if so, how much?
If we’re talking about that, we’d like to offer a special discount of Rs. 40,000 on selected packages. This discount is valid until the end of September.
So customers coming through Poruwa.lk can experience this discount.
8. Finally, who would you like to thank for your success journey?
I extend my heartfelt gratitude to everyone who has been behind my success journey:
My mother and father: For believing in me from childhood, allowing me my freedom and decisions, and providing unlimited support. My mother and father were the first to help me get a camera. And now my wife is here because when I started this, I wasn’t married yet. Now I receive great support from her as well.
The University of Sri Jayewardenepura and the Japura Flames team: I want to thank my university, which gave me the greatest practical experience and foundation in photography, and the fellow members of the media association. My university friends were the ones who encouraged me at the beginning of all this, because anyone’s early photos aren’t that great, but they told me they were beautiful. I don’t know if they really thought they were beautiful or if they were just motivating me. But their encouragement became a motivation factor for me to enter this field. Because the first photos I took were of them. Also, from our campus, I got free rent for the first year and six months. I received that from the entrepreneur department. So I’m grateful to that department and to Professor Rukmal Sir. It was while I was there that I hired my first employee. But now we have our own separate building, and there was a large staff in that building too. Some of the staff members from back then are still here. They’ve been a huge reason for bringing this business to where it is today. I’m also from the commerce department at my university, so I want to thank the department head and other lecturers as well.
My Infinity Moments team members: I also want to thank my staff who have always stood behind me and served with dedication during any challenging time.
And all our clients who trusted us: To all the brides and grooms who placed their trust in Infinity Moments LK and entrusted their special day to us.
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