Guest and professional photographers at a wedding

I'm interested to read from professional wedding photographers about guest

photographers at wedding events.

 

With dozens of people all wanting the same picture you're after, how do you

manage? What expectations do you set with the B&G regarding guest photographers

around you while you're working?

as long as they dont get in my way or photograph poses arranged by me--- no problems. an

assistant or free guest can be of use. and theres sinister little tricks like to put a flash sensor

on your strobes so it blows out their images.

 

surf the wedding section...lots of stories about copycat photogs.

Just let them shoot first, make a polite theatrical gesture of letting them go first, and that you are waiting your turn, as they should when its your turn, J

Todd, I do not worry about guest taking photographs of the wedding ceremony. I have invested alot of time and energy in perfecting my craft, that if a guest can get a better photo then me, then I better find another profession. Now, during the contract phase of my initial consultation, I explain to the B&G the reason why I need to be the sole shooter during the formals after the ceremony. They usually understand and either I and they announce the guidelines for taking photos. Usually the only reason I restrict photo taking from others is so that I have undivided attention from the bridal party. If the B&G allows family or guest to take photos then I usually will stop taking photos and allow for a few snapshot of for the family and guest. This usually makes it uncomfortable for them to continue shooting. From that point on, I have exclusivity. One thing you have to remember, you are the pro and you know what it takes to produce a quality print. I would not worry so much about whether others are getting the same photos that you are, I would worry more about the attention that I am getting and the time it is taking to get the photos. Just remember, everyone is more interested in getting to the reception then posing for photos.

I don't worry about it. That being said, there is a clause in my contract stating I am not responsible for photos ruined by other people's photography (flash, orange focusing beams, jumping in the way, making the party look in six different directions while i'm trying to get the shot) - once I go over that clause and why it's there, I don't worry.

 

at the last wedding, one of the groomsmen is an aspiring wedding photographer and I invited him to take some shots if he wanted. no big deal.

It depends on the wedding. If time is short (i.e., the bride-and-groom having thawing ice or cake at the reception,) the guests are fairly out-of-luck. They are welcome to shoot my backside as I'm not likely to scoot out of the way for each group at the alter if the bride wants the photography done with so she can get to the reception.

SImply explains what happens when guests take over. The "models" get distracted resulting in bad pictures. Takes way too much time, most don't leave enough time any way.

 

When you simply COMMUNICATE with the couple they will usually take care of it for you, with-out directly asking them to.

 

Just remember, you are not the star of the show. Be professional and be polite.

This happens all the time to me, and I just let them do their thing. I try to be as nice and polite as possible. After all, I've already been paid for my work, so whatever they do doesn't matter. I was in a church arranging bride/bridesmaids for formals before the wedding the other day, and grandma was over to the side, snapping disposable camera shots of my setups, for some baffling reason. I guess she thought if she didn't memorialize something for herself, she'd never see it again (never mind that all my shots will be on Pictage later). The flash wasn't going off, and I can only imagine how awful her shots will be. It's no harm to me or my work. If I had been rude or mean, I would have looked bad and brought someone down on their happy day. Not my place, and NOT good for client relations.

 

Resorting to "dirty tricks" is just unnecessary.

 

Later, I was standing at the end of the "papparazi crowd" as everyone did their P&S camera shots of the bride/groom/cake. When they were done, I jokingly asked, "Hey, guys, can the professional photographer jump in and get a shot too?". I later felt a little pretentious by saying it that way, so next time might dial that down a bit, just so I don't sound snobby. But I am there to do a job, too. I turned toward them with a smile, and did a wide shot of all the papparazi, then continued with cake cutting...

I've had problems with this but haven't settled on how to deal with it. At a small, informal wedding last year, I had the brother of the groom step in front of me to take a picture with his point & shoot while I was shooting during the ceremony.

I have been a guest at a number of affairs but I usually do not have my camera. If my camera is in hand I consider myself working. I have brought one to an affair or two to get some shots of relatives but I usually tell the pro what I am doing and stay away from his/her setups.

 

Some times it is painful to watch the pro set up awkward shots but i am not the one being paid and I know that others might have the same thoughts about mine. Usually I understand the pressure on the pro but sometimes it just looks like incompetence. Again, I could look the same to others.

 

Errol

Todd - it happens all the time. You just need to politely move yourself around if there is a crowd. Make sure you are at the front when you need to be - guests usually respect the requests, in my experience.

 

I tell the B&G that their guests are most than welcome to photograph any part of their day - which they APPRECIATE - as long as the guests doesn't interfere. This gets the couple on your side - they understand that you want to get the shots and make them happy - and that all you need to do is make sure that you can do your job.

 

Some people advocate restricting the kind of cameras other guests can bring. Ridiculous. Doing this only makes enemies. You want everyone - the couple and the guests - on your side as much as possible.

 

Finally, don't worry about people who say that other guest photographers are going to affect your print sales. If this is the case, then either they are pros, or your work isn't good enough.

 

I once had a guest hand me his top of the line (at the time - two years ago) nikon DSLR to take a shot with the B&G. I had a quick peek at what he was shooting - it was all crap! Made me feel very secure.

 

Lesson? Guest photographers, even guest photographers with DSLRs, should not make anyone worry. A smart, creative photographer beats a smart, expensive camera every wedding day.

I have invested alot of time and energy in perfecting my craft, that if a guest can get a better photo then me, then I better find another profession.

 

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great point, George.

I suggest you do a search as this question gets asked a lot, particularly if all you want is a list of various ways of handling the situation. Basically it comes down to controlling guests IF 1) their taking pictures will affect your print sales and 2) they are getting in the way or slowing you down.

 

If the former, you might have something in your contract and you need to be the bad guy, so I would avoid being put in that situation, if I were you. If the latter, you can be a good guy by giving people their chance and then asking for your undisturbed chance to do your job. When given a chance and asked nicely to refrain from getting in the way and allowing you to do your job, most people will comply. There are many ways of handling this, some of which is outlined above.

It's in my contract that I'm the sole photographer but I explain to couples that I really don't care if others are taking pictures while I am, I just don't want another "professional" or otherwise "interfearing" with what I'm doing. I explain ahead of time, the problems with it such as wandering eyes and slowing things down.

 

During the event I find that simply asking the others taking photos to please wait until I'm done with a pose and then I'll give them time for their shots, works just fine.

 

Because I've talked to the couple ahead of time about the problems with it....during the event, the majority of the time the Bride and groom get irritated by the others and tell them to stop it and let me do my thing because of the time it's taking. Then I look like the good guy.

 

I value the good impression and referrals more than the few portrait sales I may be missing out on.

I had this very problem at the last wedding I shot in October. A "friend" of the bride took photos with her better-than-my equipment from start to finish, sometimes getting in my way. When I did the formal shots I finally had to tell her that she needed to step out of my way because she was shooting and FLASHING the same time I was trying to get the shot. I can't tell you how many photos had eyes going in all directions.

 

This continued on at the reception where she became more aggresive. By the time the reception was halfway over I was done with it. I had gotten the important photos and instead of hanging around like I do to try to get extra candids I excused myself to the bride and groom and told them their proofs would be ready in two weeks.

 

Now I was NOT hired to do the reception but decided to offer shots from it as a gift because (strangely enough) my husband had begun to work with the groom 5 months after they retained me and we were now invited to the wedding as a couple. My leaving wasn't me breaking a contract in any way. Apparently this photographer friend had volunteered to do the reception photos for free (which is why I wasn't hired for it).

 

I was fairly pissed off by the time I got home, just frustrated knowing I had so many photos to go through and process and also knowing this friend was probably giving them the exact shots I set up. I had a chat with myself and just decided to do my job as usual.

 

When I called the bride two weeks later to arrange to look at the proofs she immediately said how sorry she was about the other photographer and that she had no idea how to stop her. She said the night of the wedding her and her husband decided right then that they would not even look at the friend's photos before looking at mine and placing an order. It did me a whole lot of good to know they were aware and were not trying to scam me. A few weeks later she placed a very large order and raved about them.

 

Before I shoot another wedding I will be more to the point about other photographers in the contract. I don't care if family and friends shoot as long as they are out of my way. I also don't care if they will wait until my shot is done - but I only let them have a minute because of the limited time between wedding and reception. I also think explaining to them about everyone looking every which way and not being responsible for that is a good idea.

 

I'm a newspaper photographer by day and actually wrote a column on the subject to try to make guests more aware of the problems that can arise. It's simply a matter of being respectful to the photographer who was paid quite a bit of money, and to the bride and groom who paid to have great pics taken.

>>> With dozens of people all wanting the same picture you're after, how do you manage? <<< (TD)

 

 

Mostly by having learnt and honed my people management skills, which is far easier than `competing` for the photograph. Your question implies that competition is the only solution: it is NOT.

 

 

>>> What expectations do you set with the B&G regarding guest photographers around you while you're working? <<< (TD)

 

 

None: unless the particular topic is specifically brought up by them.

 

 

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Amongst the various threads on this topic, this recent one I found very interesting, it is regarding exclusive photography rights, which has already been mentioned:

 

 

http://www.photo.net/bboard/q-and-a-fetch-msg?msg_id=00O1MH

 

 

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More searching on your part, will find threads specifically regarding management of guests; however, the most effective and expedient answer to your question, when at ground zero, resides in learning the basic personality types and learning how best to control each one and then applying these techniques as required..

 

 

WW

We generally shoot about 2 hours prior to the ceremony --and only the family/wedding parties attend ... So, no real guest to contend with & 60% of our images are taken at the beforehand session. We do little at the reception ~ we leave that to the guest and their pj expertise.