shooting with uncle bobs.

Home · Register · Search · Software · Hosting · Software · Join Upload & Sell

Moderated by: Steve Tinetti, Fred Miranda

FM Forum Rules
Wedding Resource List

FM Forums \| Wedding Photographer \| Join Upload & Sell
1 2 end

andrewho
Offline
• •
Upload & Sell: Off

p.1 #1 · shooting with uncle bobs.

i'm gonna be shooting a wedding in a couple weeks time with advanced notice that there are uncle bobs. it just so happens that two of the uncle bobs are the closest and best friends of the families getting married. i've told my concerns to the family who's told me that they're ask the GM to announce something to prevent it. anything else you would do ?

Aug 30, 2012 at 03:39 PM

maxwell1295
Offline
• • • • •
Upload & Sell: Off

p.1 #2 · shooting with uncle bobs.

1. Shoot the wedding as you normally would.
2. Kick butt.

Aug 30, 2012 at 03:42 PM

Kittyk
Offline
• • • •
Upload & Sell: Off

p.1 #3 · shooting with uncle bobs.

make a t-shirt

"i got this, kthx"

Aug 30, 2012 at 03:59 PM

alohadave
Offline
• • •
Upload & Sell: Off

p.1 #4 · shooting with uncle bobs.

What's to prevent? They are close friends of the family.

Incorporate pictures with them to show the day as it happens, not some idealized scene. Hell, take pictures over their shoulders. I always try to get a couple shots of the crowd gathered around taking pictures. It shows that the family and guests are interested and engaged enough to want to get memories of the night.

Aug 30, 2012 at 04:07 PM

jared_irl
Offline
• •
Upload & Sell: On

p.1 #5 · shooting with uncle bobs.

make friends with them right away. Shake their hands, introduce yourself, hand them a card, compliment their gear, and get/remember their names.

People are much less inclined to be d*cks to someone whom they've been introduced too and knows their name. It's easier to act that way when you're anonymous.

Of course, this also gives you the ability to call them out if they start acting up - "Hey Joe - gimme a second to grab these shots before you start distracting everyone, ok? Thanks buddy."

Aug 30, 2012 at 04:27 PM

dmacmillan
Offline
• • • •
Upload & Sell: Off

p.1 #6 · shooting with uncle bobs.

You can't stop them, but you can ask for cooperation.

To me, the two biggest issues are obstruction of angles and distraction. Try to meet with them beforehand and explain sight lines. Ask, them not to block your shots. If you are doing formals, it's important that all in the photo are looking at you. Get them to keep their cameras down until you have your photo.

I found almost all Uncle Bob's were cooperative if you explained things to them. Pray you have a good bunch.

Aug 30, 2012 at 04:31 PM

Kittyk
Offline
• • • •
Upload & Sell: Off

p.1 #7 · shooting with uncle bobs.

dmacmillan wrote:
You can't stop them, but you can ask for cooperation.

To me, the two biggest issues are obstruction of angles and distraction. Try to meet with them beforehand and explain sight lines. Ask, them not to block your shots. If you are doing formals, it's important that all in the photo are looking at you. Get them to keep their cameras down until you have your photo.

15 UBs, two minutes to instruct them, lost 30 minutes. Then everything made no sense because there was one UB waiting with DSLR and flash hidden in bag right until the kiss.

unplugged weddings are cool, the more we have, the better.

inform the couple about how bad it can be and let them deal with it

Aug 30, 2012 at 04:43 PM

dmacmillan
Offline
• • • •
Upload & Sell: Off

p.1 #8 · shooting with uncle bobs.

Kittyk wrote:

15 UBs
As Kittyk points out, things have gotten a lot crazier since I was in the business!

Aug 30, 2012 at 05:01 PM

BGP1
Offline
• • •
Upload & Sell: Off

p.1 #9 · shooting with uncle bobs.

Everybody has a story about uncle bob. Last week for me it was the grooms parents during the ceremony specifically the father of the groom. He sat in the front row taking pictures almost the entire time. I have a shot of him I have been debating to post because it's pretty funny but sad and irritating at the same time.

Aug 30, 2012 at 05:21 PM

jared_irl
Offline
• •
Upload & Sell: On

p.1 #10 · shooting with uncle bobs.

Kittyk wrote:
dmacmillan wrote:
You can't stop them, but you can ask for cooperation.

To me, the two biggest issues are obstruction of angles and distraction. Try to meet with them beforehand and explain sight lines. Ask, them not to block your shots. If you are doing formals, it's important that all in the photo are looking at you. Get them to keep their cameras down until you have your photo.

15 UBs, two minutes to instruct them, lost 30 minutes. Then everything made no sense because there was one UB waiting with DSLR and flash hidden in bag right until the kiss.

unplugged weddings are cool, the more we have, the better.

inform the couple about how bad it can be and let them deal with it

15 uncle bobs?? lol... That would be pretty amazing. I'd have them all get together and shoot some 'paparazzi' looking photos with the b&g.

Aug 30, 2012 at 05:40 PM

Kittyk
Offline
• • • •
Upload & Sell: Off

p.1 #11 · shooting with uncle bobs.

jared_irl wrote:
Kittyk wrote:
dmacmillan wrote:
You can't stop them, but you can ask for cooperation.

To me, the two biggest issues are obstruction of angles and distraction. Try to meet with them beforehand and explain sight lines. Ask, them not to block your shots. If you are doing formals, it's important that all in the photo are looking at you. Get them to keep their cameras down until you have your photo.

15 UBs, two minutes to instruct them, lost 30 minutes. Then everything made no sense because there was one UB waiting with DSLR and flash hidden in bag right until the kiss.

unplugged weddings are cool, the more we have, the better.

inform the couple about how bad it can be and let them deal with it

15 uncle bobs?? lol... That would be pretty amazing. I'd have them all get together and shoot some 'paparazzi' looking photos with the b&g.

15 is relaxed. yes, you can do lot of crazy shots with them. then second time, it is not as funny, but still you chuckle a little, third time, you make some creative shots with their flashes, fourth time you make funny group shot of everybody looking somewhere else, fifth time you shoot what they shoot on their display. From there, it is downslope. then at some point you get burst of down right a??holes UBs and you just cannot get over it ever again.

Aug 30, 2012 at 06:24 PM

eNoBlog
Offline
• • •
Upload & Sell: Off

p.1 #12 · shooting with uncle bobs.

+1 on taking photos over their shoulders, focusing on their LCDs if they're using at-arms-length-held P&S cameras, preferably in a wide-angle shot at maximum aperture (so the B&G are blurred). I was just going over the wedding CD for my last wedding with my B&G last night, and there were a couple of shots where they could tell these folks had jumped in front of me. There were others where the group folks are looking every which way with one or two looking at my camera. The B&G got it. They also loved the rest of the photos, and I don't let "the Bob's and Bobette's" bother me.

Edited on Aug 30, 2012 at 07:05 PM · View previous versions

Aug 30, 2012 at 07:01 PM

eNoBlog
Offline
• • •
Upload & Sell: Off

p.1 #13 · shooting with uncle bobs.

Oh, and the worst of it, I think, is that people are robbing themselves and the B&G of the joy of just living in the moment rather than through a LCD screen. Case in point, a shot I took from behind them as the B&G enter the reception hall: everyone in front of them is standing and pointing P&S cameras and smart phones at them. Wouldn't it be nicer if they were making eye contact with the B&G and clapping for them? Their miss, their loss.

Aug 30, 2012 at 07:04 PM

teebat
Offline
• • •
Upload & Sell: Off

p.1 #14 · shooting with uncle bobs.

dmacmillan wrote:
You can't stop them, but you can ask for cooperation.

To me, the two biggest issues are obstruction of angles and distraction. Try to meet with them beforehand and explain sight lines. Ask, them not to block your shots. If you are doing formals, it's important that all in the photo are looking at you. Get them to keep their cameras down until you have your photo.

I found almost all Uncle Bob's were cooperative if you explained things to them. Pray you have a good bunch.

+1

I would add photo burnout too, there'snothing like approaching a group for a shot and they roll their eyes and say the other photographer already got us.

Aug 30, 2012 at 08:08 PM

Kenneth Farver
Offline
• • •
Upload & Sell: On

p.1 #15 · shooting with uncle bobs.

some very nice answers here today.
Someone should do a poll on how many UB's shoot Nikon vs. Canon, and how many Gary Fong flash diffusers are used.

Aug 30, 2012 at 08:26 PM

dmward
Offline
• • •
Upload & Sell: On

p.1 #16 · shooting with uncle bobs.

My most unique "UB" was the bride's dad. He showed up with they guys on the trolly. He was in jeans and golf shirt with his 5D and zoom lens. Said he was going to go along on our shoot around the city, them catch a taxi so he could change for the ceremony. That wasn't the unique part; What made this UB unique was that he had all his pix on an iPAD and was showing to everyone during the cocktail hour before the ceremony.

He spent most of the afternoon shooting over my shoulder. What I did with him, and what I do whenever there is an UB distracting my subjects is to stop, and say to the UB, loud enough for the B&G to hear, or whomever the subject is, that I'll wait till they're done, the just stand there waiting. This is especially effective at the church with the formals because everyone is at the alter, there are usually time constraints, and there are kids whose eyes as well as a lot of others are wondering around. That's usually the trigger that gets me to make a comment.

Aug 30, 2012 at 11:06 PM

marti.g3
Offline
• • • •
Account Locked

p.1 #17 · shooting with uncle bobs.

"so who do we look at"............

Aug 30, 2012 at 11:19 PM

sherijohnson
Offline
• • • •
Upload & Sell: Off

p.1 #18 · shooting with uncle bobs.

alohadave wrote:
What's to prevent? They are close friends of the family.

Incorporate pictures with them to show the day as it happens, not some idealized scene. Hell, take pictures over their shoulders. I always try to get a couple shots of the crowd gathered around taking pictures. It shows that the family and guests are interested and engaged enough to want to get memories of the night.

I agree! I capture it all including the people with their cameras, to me it is part of the event. I haven't had anyone interfere with my ability to do my job and capture the moments as they unfold.

Aug 30, 2012 at 11:23 PM

ksmahgrts
Offline
• • • • •
Upload & Sell: Off

p.1 #19 · shooting with uncle bobs.

andrewho wrote:
i'm gonna be shooting a wedding in a couple weeks time with advanced notice that there are uncle bobs. it just so happens that two of the uncle bobs are the closest and best friends of the families getting married. i've told my concerns to the family who's told me that they're ask the GM to announce something to prevent it. anything else you would do ?

yes.

i have feet.

i would use them to move left/right/forward/back/other to avoid obstacles that may happen to fall into my path.

i have a brain.

i would use it to evaluate a situation, and determine a course of action.

i have a mama & daddy who raised me right.

they taught me that i'm not the center of the universe.
they taught me to be empathetic, and self-aware, and accountable to myself.
they taught me to be polite, and charming, and to face adversity not with an eff-you-guys, pissy attitude, but instead as a problem-solver.

my advice for "dealing with uncle bobs" is to quit assuming that guests with camera are the enemy. quit making excuses and blaming your poor photography on some marginal annoyance.

start practicing your craft, adapting to challenges, and appreciating the experiences & perspective of other people instead of viewing them as some inconsequential bastards standing between you and the making your oh-so-important art.

(andrewho - please note that i was referring to "you" as a collective - not you, specifically, andrew ho)

Aug 31, 2012 at 08:57 AM

maxwell1295
Offline
• • • • •
Upload & Sell: Off

p.1 #20 · shooting with uncle bobs.

I love grits.

and eggs...

and bacon...

but especially grits...

Aug 31, 2012 at 10:08 AM

1 2 end
FM Forums \| Wedding Photographer \| Join Upload & Sell 1 2 end