CarminaF wrote:
I would like to (hypothetically) walk around the b&g and be able to say, shoot them both looking back at the officiant and get their profiles (if that makes any sense).. like, behind the groom, shooting across to the bride. I'm not sure if its polite or good to be that visible.
I get that shot you describe and also move around a fair bit .. both sides of the altar off to the side to get the faces of both the bride & groom. Also shots from the back in the aisle.
But when I move I first go around to the sides, then to the back, then up to the other side. Never, ever in front of the altar (kinda goes without saying but you never know).
And I time my movement to coincide with a change in the ceremony when people are moving themselves .. like when they are being seated or standing up, or reaching for hymn books, etc.
If you're attentive to & respectful of the ceremony and move quickly and quietly nobody seems to notice. But the officiant will likely give you a glance or two if you're stepping out of line. I do attend every rehersal and introduce myself to the officiant and give them an idea of how I'd like to photograph the wedding and ask if they see any problems.
Most weddings have a few bawling babies, coughing grandparents, and more than a few Uncle Bobs firing away with point & shoots who are more distracting than most photographers.
My biggest fear is to be called out during the ceremony ... "Will the photographer please leave the church"
The rules of this game very greatly from church to church, church v. non-church ceremony, and indoor v. outdoor ceremony. Many of the rules have nothing to do with god, scripture, or church doctrine - they are generated by an unfriendly person in the front office.
> My biggest fear is to be called out during the ceremony ... "Will the photographer please leave the church"
My biggest fear is weak ceremony coverage. Gives me a pit in my stomach when I don't have access. I'm famous for breaking all the rules at one of our biggest local churches. The rules are so restrictive. I'm always walking through the crowd, doing my fast prime lo-light thing. I've been told "you'll never shoot here again" three times ... yet I'm booked there again. Potential clients say, "I've never seen these kind of photos from inside XXXXX church."
Last summer, at another big church, before ceremony I asked the coordinator if the lights in the sanctuary could be turned up a bit (ISO 1600, f2, I was going to be at 1/60th - making walkaround tele coverage hard). About 5 minutes later, the church a/v dude comes storming over to me. I don't have good enough equipment/no photographer has ever complained before ... and then, the dreaded, "you'll never shoot here again." (cue dramatic music sting) My response is always a calm zen-like, "they may be, but today I'm only concerned about giving Bobby & Sue the best wedding experience possible." He turned the lights up ... just a bit (ISO800, f3.5 - 1/30th). A side note - that church rents for 450USD a hour ... you'd think they'd have a disco strobe light if the client wanted it. A personal peeve of mine is to have to bug the couple with any of this. It's my job, I'll deal with it ... even if it means pissing off the church.
Here's one from that coverage. Another local wp I often lunch with says I should put "you'll never shoot here again" on my business card.
btw - the wb on the dress was sorted out in the storybook and master file
It seems that you'll be safe as long as you fall anywhere with the extreme range of behaviour that exists between invisible annayu at one end and tomKphoto at the other. The rest of us seem to strike a balance where we are getting all the photos the B&G want without pissing anyone off. This isn't to say annayu isn't getting the shots, but it seems a bit unrealistic to aspire to invisibility. I know I would miss shots if my goal was to go unseen. On the other hand, a reasonable level of respect is also due. I think most of the people who posted here have described a reasonable balance.
I've watched photographers shoot during mass at the Vatican - I behave locally as they do.
It's a battle of wills. The individual church rules are not dogma ... it's just somebody reacting to dandruff with decapitation. A bad egg came in there some time ago, so if it's off with everyone's head.
There's no middle ground here. If you're in a very restrictive church, and you play by the rules, you're going to get very restricted images.
A 300/2.8 from the back of the sanctuary gets you the backs of people's heads. And when the rules are this restrictive, remote cameras hidden on the altar are usually frowned upon.
And really, does any of this matter when a 9-year-old girl stands up during the vows with her cell phone cam with red-eye reduction on? Sorta makes you feel like a chump.
My 2nd shooter has volunteered to only shoot the ceremony with ultra fast glass, as a guest in the aisles, for the most restrictive affairs. If the conditions are right, I might take him up on it.
Edited by tomKphoto on Feb 20, 2008 at 11:50 AM GMT
Well just like anything in life, what we WANT is not necessarily what we will get. And ATTITUDE is so important in those difficult situations. Being a nice guy will open doors that rude behavior will shut quicker than you can say "Can i get................
I am with Red on this, get the shots thats what you are paid for some officials simply need to be told, you do your job and I will do mine.
If I am working on my own I start at the front to get the processional and the hand over of bride to the groom including his first sight of her. then move to the brides family side front and shoot until first hymm then under cover of the hymm move to the rear to get the behind shots and if possible get high (i mean on a balcony not on dope) move forward up the aisle for the first kiss and register during another hymm, use the register signing to take shots of the crowd, move to exit to get resessional and I am done. the moving during the singing takes the attention off me. No complaints ever.
annayu, I've been surprized and concerned about people wanting me to be all over the place and I've asked the minister, b&g and some guests afterward, a few times, and they say they didn't notice me. They were too focused on the ceremony. When I try to understand how that's possible, I think of basketball games. I never notice the photogs or the strobes going off unless I'm trying to.
On the other hand, the first wedding I assisted with, the minister stopped in the middle of the ceremony and told the photographer to quit moving around in the choir loft. And he was moving very quietly just a few feet to get a better angle. After the wedding she scolded him and me and threatened to never let him shoot there again. That church and that minister are infamous with every photographer who's ever worked there!
Paul Bekker, I was going to be shooting from the back of the church and the minister had me actuate my shutter to see how loud it was before he approved it. He said some cameras are too loud and he finds it distracting.
Sure could, if you have a client who is getting married there and YOU are not allowed there.......how do you explain that to a new client....
"Well gee, you know, i can't shoot there because i was a butthead and have been banned from entering that private property"...."but perhaps you could change your wedding location all for ME because im god's gift to photography"...................
