Moment Capturing - Static or "On The Move" ?

Hello. I have found that, for wedding coverage, i am always "On-the-

move" never more than 30' away from the Bride or Groom as i try and

capture the moments. When covering weddings, are there anyone out

there that feels that one should stay in a single static position

waiting patiently for moments to capture. If so, why? I find it so

important to be on-the-move that i have implemented it into my

contract where both the B-G gives their concent along with the

authority over the location (Minister if its at a church) etc... So

far, after explaining to the B&G the importance of being able to move

at will, i have had nothing but complete understanding and

appreciation. I see so many photographers bring their tri-pod, mount

their camera and stay in one position for 30min to an hour at a

time. Please share with me your thoughts and experiences; Kindest

Regards, Jammey Church.

I try to be as unobtrusive as I can during the ceremony, to the point that I won't use a flash even if it's allowed, and my SLR stays in the bag. I know alot of people have gotten used to wedding ceremonies being photo ops, but I've been a guest at too many weddings where the photographer huffed and puffed around the altar with his or her flash blasting and motor drive whining to want to inflict that on my clients. The main thing is, are the shots you get worth disrupting the ceremony, and for me the answer is almost always no.

During the preparation and the reception, though, all bets are off!

Unfortunately, being on the move at a wedding ceremony is generally perceived as being

distracting -- both to the officiant and also to the guests. Keep in mind that this is

primarily a religious ceremony and creating a distraction is not part of our job. Quite a

few churches (here in Northern VA) make me sign a contract that specifies (with a "x")

exactly where I can stand during the ceremony.

We get around these onerous restrictions by placing my assistants at different places. So I

might take the aisle and my assistant will be stationed on the balcony or off to the side.

Both of us have two DSLRs (one with a short zoom and one with a 70-200 image stabilized

zoom). This allows us to capture the same shot from different perspectives.

The best compliment that I can get at the end of the day is "we didn't even notice you were

there!".

Not being on the "move" is a sing of a begginer photographer.I used to do it!

Then I was scolted by the Photgrapher I was assiting.Why?

Becuse you can stay in one place hopoing the photos come to you or people come your way fake a smile or a moment and ask you to take their picture.You have to go look for the picture and if necesary ask people to pose for you,pretty much hassle the pictures (in a few words work for your money)

So far what I have learned. I hope it is of some help.

Enjoy learning.

Are you talking about the ceremony? If so, I predict you're going to eventually run into a minister or church who will not let the B&G "have authority" over the location. Many churchs don't allow the photographer to move around during the ceremony, and if you want to work in that church again, you'd better follow their "rules". It is not up to the B&G.

If you're talking about the rest of the wedding, then do what you need to get the kind of candids you want (and have "sold" to the couple). If that means moving around and no tripod work, then so be it. If you sold them on some traditional portraits and formals, though, then staying on a tripod for 30 minutes to an hour is often necessary, if you're dragging the shutter, for instance.

Also, it depends on the kind of PJ style you want to do. These days, every wedding photographer calls themselves a wedding photojournalist, or at least, claims to be able to shoot that way. In reality, I have rarely seen true photojournalism at a wedding, which does involve some, if not a lot of "patiently waiting for moments to capture".

On the move? I had no choice saturday. The officiator had his notebook whith his scripted almost in the B&G's face. I could not see their hands or take a shot without this crude piece of office equipment in the shot. The room was small.

I could have interuped and got the guy to step back a bit, six inches was all i needed. But in stead, I walked behind him, all eyes on me, went out the side door, bride blocking the isle, and crepted in the back to shoot from there. No one seemed upset.

It worked. They will like the shots. My first Mormon wedding.

I listen to the preacher about what he wants and then push the envelope a bit.

Errol

I shoot the processional, kiss, and recessional with flash and color 35mm, mount a 645 on a tripod with color for beautiful available light alter shots and cruise around using available light with a 50mm to 85mm for wide open romantic B&W. Haven't had problems with restritions yet, but I'm sure it won't be fun or creative to be stuck in one spot.

I am constantly moving, watching, checking different backgrounds, scoping out the light, I crouch, stand, climb on chairs, tuck behind people, double back, go long...couldn't resist, it's football season. ;-)