|
glort Offline [X]
|
Many good and accurate comments her so far.
I have been shooting weddings 30 years and it's nothing new. For some reason the guests frequently feel that their shots are more important than yours and their getting their pictures is justification of interfereing with the professional getting what he's being paid by the B&G to do.
As said, you'll often be lectured by the priest or whoever as to where you can and can't go and what you can and can't do but the guests never get that.
So many things I have had happen over this.
I had a guy one time Literally walk in and stand an inch in front of my camera as I was trying to get a shot of the bride and her father dancing in an emotional moment. All the sudden everything in the camera went white and I wondered what happened till I looked and all I couls see what the guys shirt and head.
I half pushed and half punched the guy and sent him sprawling. I was then keeping one eye on the the bride and her father and the other on the guy waiting for him to come back at me. As it was the brides brother was standing behind me trying to unobtrusively get a shot of his own and saw what happened. He was pissed too and pretty much dragged the guy away and gave him a serve.
Another time I gave a guy a shove who was pushing me sideways while I was doing the cake cutting shots. Afterwards he wanted to have a go outside which I would have been real happy to do had I not been there in the capacity as a professional and felt compelled to hold a higher standard. I informed the MC who informed the groom who went out to the guy in the foyer with the groomsmen and threw the guy out into the street. Apparently he wasnt invited on purpose because he was a trouble making drunked smartarse who worked with the bride but managed to get a female guest to bring him as her partner.
I also did a bunch of weddings for a group of people that all belonged to the same local church group. One of those deals where you do one wedding and someone in the bridal party is the next wedding and you have built a rapport with them and then their friends see what you did for the others as they all know one another and so it goes.
I was on my 4th wedding in 13 months with these people and the serial pest with a camera was shooting over my shoulder yet again as soon as we arrived at the church.
I had spoken to the B&G about him and they didn't really like the guy but it would have been difficult not to invite him when they had others.
This guy followed me, not even the bride, like a pet dog ( I think my Rottweilers were taller!) so knowing what would happen, I walked round the corner of the church away from everyone and the pest of course was in hot persuit. He fair nearly shit his pants as he literally bumped into me as he rounded the corner where I was waiting for him. I said " There is no way in hell I'm doing this shit with you again today. You shoot over my shoulder or I turn around and trip over you just once and I'll shove your toy camera where the sun don't shine sideways. " He complained about his " Right" to take pictures.
I pointed out the B&G's " Right" to have people thrown out of their wedding and told him I had already discussed him with them and they were happy to have him removed on my say so if at any time he so much as annoyed me which would distract me from providing the service they had paid for me to do.
He whined some more but the comment that really seemed to hit home was when I said to him, " Don't you think that after all your pestering everyone over the last 12 months to do their weddings that if anyone wanted you to do their pictures or thought you were any good as a photographer, they would have got you to do them for free instead of paying me thousands". I said have you any idea what people have said about the pictures you have done at the other weddings you have showed around and made the smart arse comments about me ? They think they are rubbish, and if they did think they were any good, I wouldn't be here now would I?
The threat of shoving the guys camera up his shortarse wimpy butt seemed to have little effect but the last comment visibly took the wind right out of his sails and hit home.
Of course he still tried to push his luck a few times but it was pretty laughable and pathetic by then and even he knew he was just making himself look ridicilous by that stage.
He was the worst and most annoying serial pest I have ever come across in my time though.
I have a clause in my contract I spell out agressively with the B&G that says I am the only one that takes pics on the day. I tell them, this is what you will be signing. I tell them in practacality that I will turn a blind eye to guests taking all the damn pictures they like PROVIDING, they don't get in my way or interfere with what I am doing and that NO ONE else is taking pics at the formals. I also tell them that IF anyone interferes with what I'm doing, this consitiutes a breach of contract and I am not responsible for any shortcomings in the coverage at all.
It's the one thing I'm heavy about but in 20+ years, everyone has understood and not had a problem with it.
I don't expect the B&G to police everyone with an instamatic BUT, -many- times when I go over this, they will comment to one another that they will make this clear to uncle Bob the family photo nut & pain in the arse and let him know in advance. At least it potentialy nips some problems in the bud.
The rest as said is just instant things you have to deal with as best you can. You can position yourself, warn/ ask/ advise and everything else but there is little you can do in the fleeting second to stop some self important twit coming right in front of the shot you are waiting for and stuffing it all up.
When that happens to me as it does to everyone, I make sure to get the blocked shot and the aftermarth of whatever I missed as proof of having a reason why the shot was missed not an excuse. Said pictures then divert any disatisfaction from me to the moron responsible identifyable in the picture.
I do agree also that people are becoming more agressive with this or at least more self important and less considerate. They think because they have a phone or the real pro wannabes have a digicam, maybe even one that came with 2 kit lenses!! their entitlement to get a pic comes above and beyond all the others that feel the same way and the person the B&G is paying for to be there.
I think every case has to be taken on it's merits. Sometimes you have time to react and get the pests out the way and other times you don't sometimes its a self important pain in the arse and on rare occasions it's absent minded granny taken up in the moment. I try to refrain shoving them on their arses and others get the same lack of manners they show me and get a shoulder or elbow where they weren't expecitng one or are picking their inconsiderate backsides off the floor.
I have got into quite a few " Disputes" with people over this (there's a surprise!!) but the B&G have ALWAYS sided with me even when numerous people have complained to them given I'm the one they have the hefty investment in not the guests.
|
Sep 14, 2014 at 12:55 PM |
| |
|
|