Couples should do their best to educate their wedding guests on the use of their cameras while the professional photographer is working.
Who do you know that doesn’t own some type of camera? Probably very few. Almost everyone has one. But owning a camera does not a professional photographer make.
There were a few wedding celebrations I photographed last year, where 100+ guests had their own camera, and wanted to take photographs of their own. Dozens and dozens of cell phone cameras, point & shoots, video cameras and even some with pro gear!
While we do our best to educate our clients about their guests’ use of cameras, it can happen that guests haven’t been informed. And it unfortunately can go overboard, much to the detriment of the newlyweds! In their guests’ enthusiasm to photograph them on their wedding day, they inadvertently do not allow the commissioned photographer to photograph. They may obstruct line of sight, compromise lighting with their own camera flashes, etc.
Couples MUST educate their guests that they have retained a professional photographer for their wedding celebration, and to please respect that. By that I mean, most importantly to not obstruct the photographer or stand over his / her shoulder. When I’m photographing, for example, I’m shooting with the view of creating artful images that tell a story: your wedding day story. They’re not snapshots. Once your wedding day is over, it’s over – there is no going back to re-shoot it. Most of my wedding clients have included a Fine-Art Wedding Album as part of their photography collection. Imagine discovering many important moments from your wedding photography were compromised by over-zealous guests.
This is pretty funny: I’ll never forget one large wedding I photographed, where there was a guest list of 500 people. About half had cameras. That’s 250 cameras! I almost broke out laughing when, for example, it was time for the newlywed’s first dance, and the dance floor looked like it was the championship game for the National Football League. There were over two hundred cameras lined up around the circumference of the dance area with enthusiastic “photo journalists” jostling for the best position! Camera flashes popping everywhere. It can make for very difficult shooting conditions. Thankfully I had the opportunity to speak with the newlyweds just as they were walking onto the dance floor. It did break the spontaneity of the moment, but they decided to ask the press (aka the guests!), to please put their cameras away and to make more room. We always include a wedding website for our clients, so everyone will have the chance of viewing the wedding photos I create.
While we typically don’t request guests not bring their cameras, it’s important that couples make it clear to their guests that they have invested in our services, creativity and experience as visual story-tellers.
In some upcoming posts, I’ll be providing more useful information for newlyweds-to-be.
Have a lovely day, and thanks for reading.
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