Chai with Sameer Soorma
- February 6, 2011
A new year brings about new hopes and new relationships. With the arrival of the season that brings great weather to Arizona this time of year comes another season – wedding season. So we thought to bring in the line of sight of our readers yet another hidden gem in the Valley of the Sun, Sameer Soorma of Sameer Soorma Photography.
Sameer provides photography services in the Arizona and California area and specializes in weddings and other functions associated with weddings, using an approach called lifestyle photography. Lifestyle photography inherently means that he does not have a studio that he works out of but rather uses the natural beauty outdoors to take breathtaking images in stunning, natural environments. His approach to photography is photo-journalistic. For him, it is not about asking clients to pose, but more about recording life and events as they are happening. Sameer’s photos tell a story that begins with an engagement shoot which records a couple’s intimate moments in a location of their choice where there story may have actually begun and continues through the pre-wedding festivities to the wedding and then finally to the reception. It also captures priceless moments between the ceremonies where the bride and groom are getting ready for each event. The couple’s story is finally captured and bound in exquisite albums that become keepsakes and memories for the couple, their family, and friends for life.
In keeping with that goal, all of Sameer’s services include a minimum of two photographers. The reason behind this approach is that there are always two angles to wedding festivities – one is the bride and the groom and their big day and the other, equally important, are the feelings, emotions, and happiness of their loving families and friends. Sameer’s approach to photography is similar to a movie – a movie will show a scene happening with the main characters but switch angles to show the reaction of the bystanders to add more spice for the audience.
However, once the event is over and the photos are taken, that is when the real work begins. What differentiates Sameer from other photographers is the magical touch of his beautiful wife, Sonia Soorma. With a passion and background in the arts, Sonia takes over post-shoot and gives life to the still images with post-processing services such as color correction and editing. Sameer and Sonia bring about a team effort that reflects both a male and female touch to an event that is about two such very similar individuals – a couple madly in love, intertwining their lives to put together a team effort in approaching life.
Sameer and his team bring unparalleled professionalism to any event they undertake and always use the latest, high-end technology for all events. This includes extremely professional dress and courteous approach and demeanor towards all guests and family. Sameer is not present at the event as a photographer (those in his own words are a dime a dozen) but his approach to this business is relationship-building. It is more about forming a relationship with the client, truly understanding their needs and desires as a friend, and ensuring they get the experience they want from these services. In his experience, he sees people put aside the right budget for things such as venue, food, floral decorations, cake, etc. and in all this, occasionally forget about the photographer. At the end of the day, when all is said and done, it is only the memories captured that will remain with the couple for life and so it is extremely important to rank this service at the top of their priority list. Sameer provides an extremely high-end, elegant, contemporary approach to photography, an approach that is critical to memories that are for life. In addition to the shoots themselves, Sameer also provides elegant, custom designed, contemporary albums designed by the joint husband-wife team effort.
A little about Sameer personally . . . he was born in Solan, Himachal Pradesh, a place between Chandigarh and Shimla in India. Photography has always been in their blood. His father is still remembered for always holding a camera at family functions and his brother in California, who is also a photographer, shares in his passion. He came to the US in 1988 and moved to California, completing his education from Cal State Hayward (Cal State East Bay). He met his beautiful wife Sonia at a friend’s wedding through his sister and they were married in 2000. At the time, Sameer worked for a company in Sunnyvale, CA which relocated him to Arizona in 2005 and he has been here ever since with Sonia and there two beautiful boys, Shray and Suhail.
After working a job for a few years, Sameer decided to venture into photography. His dad had always been passionate about photography but left his dream to support his family and their needs. Not wanting to do the same and armored with full support from his wife, he decided to combine the two (family responsibility and passion) and branched out to his passion – photography. In addition to his lifelong passion, he has been doing this professionally for three years.
Asia Today thanks Sameer for taking the time out to speak with us and provide our readers with an insight into his world of photography. We wish Sameer and Sonia Soorma, and their beautiful family, the best in coming years. Please visit his website www.sameersoorma.com and blog at http://sameersoorma.com/blog/ for information about his services and examples of his work from recent events. You can also reach him at 480-212-3990 to set-up a complimentary consultation.
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