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I pulled an "Uncle Bob"...

T

tokengirl

Guest
... at our dear friend Billy's wedding on Valentine's Day. They had hired a wedding photographer, so I was careful to stay out of the way. I chatted with the photographer and let him know I wanted to stay out of his way so he could do his job, he was very cool. I put my camera away during the ceremony, I didn't use a flash and I didn't fire a single shot over the photographer's shoulder while he was doing the posed group shots. But I did have a little fun at the reception.

I will say this: I have a new found respect for wedding photographers. I never really thought about what the job entails, but it's a job I don't think I'd want after this experience. Just thinking about the number of shots I had to delete due to those lovely pink spots caused by the focus-assist beams on all of those P&S cameras made me cringe, so I can only imagine how the poor soul who is being paid to deliver the goods must feel.

So what do you do when a good buddy is tying the knot? Do you leave the camera home? Maybe just bring a little P&S for some reception candids? What are the do's and don'ts in this situation?



















 

Terry

New member
If they know that you are really into photography, I would ask bride and groom if they want you take some shots. If it were me I would only go with one fast prime and not a big zoom.
 
T

tokengirl

Guest
When we got in to town, one of the first things they asked was "You brought your camera, right?". I agree on the equipment choice - one fast prime, make it work. I used the 85L and just took a pass on the group shot opportunities. It turned out to be a good choice, since the photographer used a UWA for the entire reception.
 

fotografz

Well-known member
Some nice stuff there. Your friends should be quite pleased.

I find the advent of everyone and his sister feeling compelled to bring a camera to a wedding an interesting social phenomena. Uncle Bob has lots of company these days.

It has actually altered the wedding photography business in many ways. With 50 people sending images to the couple via Flickr, and Face Book, and a zillion other methods, selling prints to make a living has all but disappeared.

Plus, Uncle Bob's wife, son, daughter, niece, great aunt, and next door neighbor with their ubiquitous Canon DSLRs are now hanging out a shingle as wedding photographers. Unfortunately, the wedding forums are awash with tearful pleas from Brides who hired a so called "Pro" that delivered disasters because they couldn't hack the actual pressure of shooting a wedding when the going got rough.

My favorite loud exclamation about all this came from one dazed Groomsman as the wedding party entered the reception venue ... and literally half the guests felt it their duty to aggressively take their own shot ...

"For Christ's sake, I feel like a victim of a freaking Lightening Strike!

Only he used more colorful language. :ROTFL:

Oh the stories I could tell you about guests with their cameras. But it is what it is. You just work around it. Half the time I help people set their camera up so the pics they are taking will actually turn out.

-Marc
 

jonoslack

Active member
Well . . . you can always take pictures of the photographer:



or you can look for the oddities that others might miss:



Incidentally - your pictures are grand, and what a splendid affair it looked like
 

fotografz

Well-known member
Junior Paparazzo are just part of the wedding landscape these days.

Their friend's wedding becomes a self-indulgent photo op rather than a celebration of a milestone to mutually enjoy. I guess it's their way of "celebrating". I love watching some of them getting all sweaty trying to be clever and creative. One can only hope that the Bride and Groom like them a lot because they inject themselves into a lot of the wedding photos :ROTFL:

Listen to this ... just a few experiences:

I'm at the front of the aisle as the Bride enters with her Father for the Bridal Procession ... as I back up a bit, I fall backwards over a guest who snuck up and squatted down behind me with his Canon Rebel. KaBoom! :eek:

During another procession, 10 or so people progressively step out into the aisle to get their shot and ruin mine :thumbup:

Uncle Bob introduces himself and proclaims he will be "backing me up" to make sure the formal group pictures are good. He is using the pop-up flash on his Nikon ... WaHoo! :clap:

I follow the Groom to a room where his Bride is waiting to sign the Jewish marriage document ... arriving I find a phalanx of shoulder-to-shoulder camera toting guests completely surrounding the Bride ... none of whom will relinquish an opening for me like it was a Super Bowl seat or something. :wtf:

Just as the Bride goes to toss the Bouquet over her shoulder, a P&S wielding guest steps directly in front of me but never takes the shot 'cause she can't get it to focus :banghead:

You just have to have a sense of humor to be a professional wedding photographer these days.

Here's one attached ... the girl going for the "creative angle" not only was in half the B&G's wedding photos, she had her camera set incorrectly (which my assistant corrected for her) so few shots even came out. She wanted to be a wedding shooter, and was using her friend's wedding to get "samples". One can only hope she gets a dose of her own medicine one day ;)

-Marc
 

jonoslack

Active member
Thanks Marc,
I didn't realize it had gotten so bad. What a PITA.
HI Terry
But not just the amateurs . . I had a meeting in the church before a wedding with the vicar and the video shooter to agree positions to film the ceremony - all very amicable.
When I got into the church having shot the couple arriving, the video guy had simply ignored the agreement and placed his large tripod in a situation where I couldn't get a view of the ceremony . . . I don't think I've ever known such impotent fury (you can hardly kick the guy's tripod over and make a scene!).
But maybe it was always thus.

Bob - Brian - tokengirl
thanks for the remarks - the bride was using the legs shot for her facebook page, so I guess she liked it too!

all the best
 
T

tokengirl

Guest
I'm at the front of the aisle as the Bride enters with her Father for the Bridal Procession ... as I back up a bit, I fall backwards over a guest who snuck up and squatted down behind me with his Canon Rebel. KaBoom! :eek:

During another procession, 10 or so people progressively step out into the aisle to get their shot and ruin mine :thumbup:

Uncle Bob introduces himself and proclaims he will be "backing me up" to make sure the formal group pictures are good. He is using the pop-up flash on his Nikon ... WaHoo! :clap:

I follow the Groom to a room where his Bride is waiting to sign the Jewish marriage document ... arriving I find a phalanx of shoulder-to-shoulder camera toting guests completely surrounding the Bride ... none of whom will relinquish an opening for me like it was a Super Bowl seat or something. :wtf:

Just as the Bride goes to toss the Bouquet over her shoulder, a P&S wielding guest steps directly in front of me but never takes the shot 'cause she can't get it to focus :banghead:
Yikes!!!

I knew who the professional photographer was at this wedding, and I took great care not to interfere with what he was doing. But it was interesting to note that most people had NO CLUE how their actions were affecting someone trying to do his job. They may as well have gone into the kitchen and started eating the food right out of the pots while the staff was trying to prepare everything. Why don't they see that the photographer's job is an important one too? How can they be so oblivious?
 
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