Weddings are a great time for everyone. You get together with friends and family that you haven't necessarily seen since the last big get together. Weddings are also alot of work. When it comes to having everything arranged and paid for. For the avid shutterbug it's also an opportunity to capture family memories.With wedding season approaching quite quickly I thought I would bring up a couple things that I've seen over the past few years of attending these wonderful gatherings in the area of photography etiquette.
The first thing I would recommend to all the couples getting married this year is to consider having your officiant announce the request that during the ceremony that only the official (the one getting paid) photographer(s) take the pictures. Also that there will be time set aside to take pictures of the couple later at the end of the ceremony. It may sound mean to the friends and family attending, however let me explain why. The official photographer is the one getting paid to get those special moments for the couple captured. Consider for example when there are flashes bouncing from all directions in the room how difficult it is for the photographer to get the proper effect he was trying to catch. So enjoy the ceremony listen to those instructions the officiant is giving the couple before making those vows and let it bring you back in time when it was your turn up there. I'm sure if you ask; the couple will make the proofs available to you to order your own set of memories. I know what you're going to say - "But the photographer charges too much". To this I ask wouldn't you do the same thing if this was your creativity being displayed everywhere? This is their livelihood and you are paying for quality not to mention the time in editing.
If you are going to watch the bridal party get their formal pictures done make sure the photographer, who has set up the composition that you are about to take a snap shot of, gets his shot first. It's only right that the one who did the work get the first shot don't you think? While I'm here though I would like to suggest to the paid photographer, whoever you may be, to be nice about those snap shot photographers. I say this for a couple of reasons. The first being you are the "professional". You are above making funny faces (I've seen it happen) not to mention you know that your work can and does stand up on it's own. And the snap shots really are not taking anything away from you except the future business you lost when you made those scowls.
So those are the basics. All else is really fair game. Take time to take pictures of things other than the couple and their party. For example some of the decorations; a lot of them have been hand crafted these days and deserve some recognition. I should mention that unless directed to not all official photographers take the time to do this either. So you could help the couple out by capturing some extra memories that tend to get forgotten about after the bride walks down the isle.
I hope that this has given a little food for thought. See you next time
2 comments:
I totally agree with you on all fronts, Angel!! (sorry, my comment is long)
I'm not just someone getting married this year...I'm a wedding person. I seem to be obsessed with then, even before the idea of my own came into play. As great as it is for every single person with their little digitals to be taking oodles of pictures during every section of the wedding, it's not fair to the three most important people: The bride, the groom, and the photographer. (those are NOT the three most important people in the wedding, they are the most important people for photography's sake) I will not only be asking people not to take photos during the ceremony, I will be asking them not to take them during the first dance as well. That song will be my moment with my husband, and I do not need a million flashes going off distracting me, especially when most digitals these days flash more than once.
As with all weddings, however, everyone tries to make everyone else happy, which doesn't always work and can be a huge pain in the neck trying to accomplish. If you're going to take away photo moments, you have to give them too. Perhaps after the dinner the bride and groom will pose for whoever wants a picture, with or without the guests in the shot. When you think about it, do you really use the pictures you take at a wedding? No. Let the couple and their photographer create the setting for you, even if it's by agreeing to pose with you for a picture on your camera. To solve the first dance problem, allow people to photograph the 2nd dance, where people that don't want to can either join in the dancing or take your picture. No one's really going to remember that it's not the first dance anyway.
For the formals, the best answer is to NOT reveal the location of the wedding pictures to anyone that does not need to be there, and ask the close family members who are involved to keep the secret. Say "the photo session will be the wedding party and parents only, but we'll be glad to host a picture party at our house once we get the proofs back so you can see all of them!" Sure, these ideas may put a few noses out of joint, but it's a wedding. Those things happen. The biggest thing to remember is that it's the bride and groom's day. Their pictures are their pictures. It's a simple saying, but it's true. As long as people feel included, everything will work itself out.
Good for people to know.
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