monie2078
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 p.4 #7 · C&C: Friend's wedding as an Uncle Bob | |
dmacmillan wrote:
If that is true, you could have found a way to express the same ideas in a much less confrontational tone.
This forum is primarily (but not exclusively) a place for professional wedding photographers to swap information, ideas and sometimes cry in their beer. Don't be surprised if your finger wagging is not warmly received.
Wedding photographers are under a tremendous amount of pressure to not only capture images of the wedding day, but also to create images above and beyond the capability of the average amateur. They are paid, sometimes handsomely, to capture moments that convey the emotions of the day. Often these moments are fleeting and require skill, timing and being and just the right spot to artfully compose the image and control the background.
Nothing is more frustrating to have everything come together for a special photo of a special moment than to have some oblivious jackass with a camera step in the way. When I was in the wedding photography business 25 years ago I dealt with this frequently. From what I have observed, it's now out of control.
You sound like you're the kind of guest who would be considerate of the photographer's needs and I always appreciated guests like you. I'd do whatever I could to accomodate so that you could capture your photo. Sadly, there's not nearly enough of you; there are far too many who don't know or worse, don't care....Show more →
Ah... well said.. But all of that said, shouldn't the indignation be directed at JUST the people who do this, instead of everyone who happens to be holding a camera at a wedding? I mean, HOW can anyone say "you should be there to enjoy the wedding, not shoot it"... I mean.. how practical is that?
I saw a post on the People's forum a year or so ago, and a photographer had been hired to document someone's kid's first day at school. He (the hired photog) got a picture of the the little boy walking in the door, and of course, captured other parents taking pictures of their own kids.There were actually comments about how sad it was that parents were taking pictures of their kids instead of "enjoying the day with them"... Really?
I mean, where do we draw the line here? Why buy cameras at all, then? And lets all be honest with ourselves.. Unless you're some huge celebrity or socialite who's putting people on your guest list simply because you can, a bride and groom usually invite their really good friends... Friends they care about, and friends who they would like to share that day with them... How can we begrudge these people from wanting to capture these memories?
I also think a lot of photographers have done this for so long that they've forgotten that not everyone attends weddings as often as they do. Sometimes, all that obstructive uncle bob needs is a reminder that they're in the way. A tap on the shoulder, a quick word... I mean, its a wedding.. Of course they're excited... They see all your equipment; they know you were hired by the Bride and Groom, and I have no doubt that 80% of these people would move if asked... they just forget. The other 20% are jackasses, and like I said, would usually end up being a distraction in some way, anyway.
To a wedding photographer, a wedding ceremony is work... To the guests, its a party... You'd have to see the difference in priorities/perspectives, right? I'm just saying that a little attitude adjustment could go a long way. I'm not accusing anyone of being rude or anything like that; I'm just asking that you consider the possiblitity that a lot of these people aren't there to make your jobs harder. Some of them are excited because they haven't seen the bride and groom in forever.. Some have flown in from other states/countries.. Some haven't seen other friends/family for a while... They're just in a happy, excited, party-time state of mind...
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.. :-) I smiled at that, Kitty, because I actually did hurry back to look at the picture in shock, before I realized you were kidding... lol. That would be wild though, wouldn't it?
This way I don't get any pesky Uncle Bobs or other amateurs approaching me with, "Say ... I have a Nikon, too, blah blah blah". Don't have the time for them and it's just a distraction.