Nestled behind the grandeur of countless celebrity weddings, Siddharth Sharma of House On The Clouds has quietly redefined the art of wedding photography. His frames bottle moments suspended between anticipation and promise, small gestures that embody the vast expanse of human connection.
For Siddharth Sharma, the founder of House on the Clouds, the art of wedding photography transcends mere documentation. His journey, beginning in the throes of an unfulfilled IT career, has unfolded into a narrative as intricate and timeless as the stories he now captures. Siddharth’s oeuvre is a story of serendipitous beginnings, a penchant for innovation, and a sensitivity to the soul of every wedding he immortalises.
The story began, almost comically, with a wedding he didn’t intend to shoot. A friend’s nuptials proved to be the stage where Siddharth unearthed his fascination with the symphony of human connections. His camera, initially a tool to document casual moments, became an instrument for crafting narratives. “I used to shoot conceptual images,” he shares, “but weddings were an accidental discovery. I realised, despite the chaos, they were a goldmine of untold stories.”
In 2016, after dabbling professionally for a couple of years, House on the Clouds was born. He eschewed the vanity of personal branding, creating a space where creative talents converged under a collective identity. This ethos has fueled the studio’s meteoric rise, capturing iconic unions like Alia Bhatt and Ranbir Kapoor’s, Athiya Shetty and KL Rahul’s, and Parineeti Chopra and Raghav Chadha’s, among others.
Yet, for Siddharth, celebrity status never overshadows the essence of a wedding. “Even when we’re shooting, we do not feel even a tiny bit that we are shooting a celebrity wedding. It doesn’t occur,” he reveals. “In the end, even a celebrity wants their family’s photos. It’s only later, when the images circulate the grandeur is reflected. At the moment, they’re just couples deeply in love.”
The magic of HOTC lies in Siddharth’s emphasis on authenticity and cinematic finesse. A consummate observer, he attributes his signature aesthetic to Western influences imbibed during his years in the U.S. “We were so passionate about visuals,” he recalls. However, it’s his adaptability that sets him apart. Whether constructing a makeshift backdrop with fairy lights or orchestrating lighting to salvage an ill-planned sunset shoot – the dedication to crafting beauty, even in the simplest settings, remains central to HOTC’s philosophy.
He fondly recalls Alia Bhatt’s intimate ceremony, where logistical challenges pushed his team’s creativity to the brink. “The wedding was at a small balcony in their home, and balancing light against a stark backdrop was a feat. Yet, the intimacy of the setting added an unparalleled emotional resonance to the images,” he reflects.
The shift in Indian weddings over the past decade has not been lost on Siddharth. From ostentatious gatherings to experiences that prioritise genuine moments, he notes the increasing prioritisation of storytelling. “Ten years back, it was merely, they need a photographer to just document,” he explains. “But now, the importance of a wedding photographer, what he can do in a wedding, and how important his vision and artistic capabilities are have gained a lot,” he explains. This evolution, he suggests, is a byproduct of heightened awareness fueled by social media and celebrity trends.
Siddharth’s creative philosophy is rooted in an innate desire to connect. His approach is one of humility and empathy. “I want the photographs to look like a friend has shot them,” he shares. His ability to create rapport transforms even the shyest subjects into their most vulnerable selves, enabling him to capture the most poignant, fleeting moments of human connection.
While weddings remain his primary canvas, Siddharth’s passion extends to Backyard, his creative playground. Here, he experiments with brand storytelling and editorials, collaborating with luminaries like Abu Jani-Sandeep Khosla and Falguni Shane Peacock. It’s a space free from the constraints of client briefs, a sanctuary for unbridled imagination. “Backyard is purely a passion project,” he muses. “It’s where we rejuvenate our creativity between weddings.”
Looking ahead, Siddharth dreams of photographing culturally rich weddings in remote locales like Nagaland or Kazakhstan. “It’s very easy to shoot a wedding in Paris, but my real passion lies in exploring diverse traditions and rituals,” he says, with the fervour of a storyteller longing to chronicle uncharted tales.
For Siddharth, weddings are a microcosm of human emotion, a space where love takes myriad forms. “Love is something we see in everything,” he observes. “The shape and form might change, and the expression might change, but love is something we see in everything.” In his lens, each frame is a homage – a celebration of love, culture, and the unspoken stories that tether us to our humanity.
As he reflects on the future, Siddharth envisions an increasing fusion of fashion and weddings. “You see a lot of a mix of fashion and weddings, you know, that overlap… I think this is going to continue even further.” With this shift, he believes weddings will remain a powerful canvas for creativity, blending tradition with the times.
Through it all, Siddharth’s philosophy remains steadfast: to tell stories that resonate deeply, to find beauty in imperfection, and to make every frame an enduring memory. For House on the Clouds, the journey is as infinite as the stories yet to be told.
