We hopped from doorway to doorway and by the time we were done we forgot all about the rain. Who cares!? We rocked it anyway! Jody and I chatted about the wedding and Johnny and Steve chatted about cars… Perfect!

Thanks guys for being such sports and thank God for Steve’s umbrella service!

Enjoy!

Nope! But for you 2012 couples, I know you’ll love the attention to detail and fun of this collection. If you love receiving it half as much as I enjoy presenting it to you we’ll all be super-happy!

Enjoy!!

Denise and Brad were two brave campers! It was so cold and windy last weekend we ducked in all the doorways and alleys we can find and huddled for warmth. What happened to spring?

No matter! We still rocked it out frozen and all! It just made for additional snuggling! Sweet!

So awesome, so much fun guys. We’ll see you before you know it for wedding time. Oh Brad, get ready for all your hugs! Heehee!

In the last few weeks I’ve had a few questions from brides concerning my policy/ views on guests photographing at thier wedding. I wrote this post last year and it still holds true to my ideals!

Hello all! I’m currently waiting for a Lightroom upload so I thought while my computer was chugging along on that I’d take a minute to address a subject that has been coming up with couples lately: Guest Photographers.

I really can’t seem to find an article that someone else has written that captures my feelings on the subject so I thought I’d take a minute to put it out there myself. Lots of photographers won’t even talk to you about the subject. Why is that? Well, any good professional photographer will feel that it’s something they should be able to work around and not feel like they have to burden their couple with this talk. I feel this way too. But the truth of the matter is that with a few simple tweaks and tips couples and photographers can work together to make sure that everyone has the best experience at your wedding. And isn’t that really what it’s all about? Let’s go!

I’ve read lots of moans and groans from photographers saying that guests should be banned from shooting at weddings. Well, that’s nuts! Let’s get real! Everyone and their dog has a digital camera and they want a picture of your wedding! Chances are they love you lots and they just want a few snaps of you getting married. There are few times in a wedding where guests really impact your wedding photography so telling guests not to bring cameras is really not necessary! So when do they impact on us doing our thing???

1. When the bride is coming down the aisle. The issue here is that guests will often step out in the aisle.Why? Because they can’t see the bride past the person in front of them. Guess what that makes? A ripple effect where no one can see the bride. Not her parents, not her fiance(e), not her parents( yes I said that twice for the Mom I had beside me crying once, not for joy, because she missed her daughter coming down the aisle)… and of course, not me! Yikes! I had a bride who actually had to say ” Excuse me” once to get by the guest standing in the aisle. Awkward!! And when I get images back from weddings and see that everyone is just looking at their screen and hasn’t actually watched the wedding, that bums me out! The truth is that if you look on Facebook you can tell that the majority of shots that guests take during a wedding are completely unusable. It’s a tough shooting challenge. It’s dark, they don’t have a proper flash, they are trying to focus on a moving subject. It’s a challenge! It’s even more challenging with 50 cameras all trying to do it. The processional is one of those times where asking the guests to just enjoy your wedding is a good idea. Your minister or officiant will be most happy to do that in a way that even makes them seem like the bad guy haha! Now, on the flip side, part of my job is to do my best to respect your family and friends during the ceremony. This means that I move as swiftly and quietly as possible and try my best not to obstruct their view. Smaller churches make this a bit more challenging but I do my best. So if you’re wondering why Uncle Frank has that angle I don’t, it’s cause he stood with his butt in Nana’s face for 20 minutes. Yeesh!

2. Family portraits. That’s the time where It’s really important for us to get through them quickly and easily to keep everyone happy and sane! Nana wants to sit down! haha! The fewest cameras behind me that distract people the better. It’s human nature. Who are you going to look at? Your Aunt Rose or some girl you’ve never met? Letting family know you will be getting these pictures and that you or your photographer can get them a copy can do lots to minimize the distraction. Do I care if a Nan or two are shooting behind me? Not in the least. So long as you aren’t stressed about the extra time it will take and the chance that Aunt Ida may never look at my camera! Oh she’s a bad one.

3. Couple shots. This one is easy. No cameras but mine. No people but me. Sorry. This one has no exceptions. You wanna try to have a romantic moment with your Mom standing there ?? Yuck!!!

See ? That’s not so bad right? 95% of wedding guests are lovely people that just want a few snaps and are 100% polite and well -meaning. So… while I’m here, I’m going to address that other 5%. In the wedding photography industry these guys are called Uncle Bobs. Oh Uncle Bob. You know him… that guy who always wanted to be a photographer, or maybe he’s just starting his own business or he’s just plain obsessed with his hobby. When wedding photographers complain about ” guest interference” this is mostly what they are talking about. This is the dude that shows up with more equipment than I do ( and have you seen all what I roll in with??) and makes it his mission to shoot the heck out of this sucker. Lots of time they have the attitude that ” if that girl is a professional, she should be able to work around me.” That’s true. To an extent. If You work at an office all day, how easy would it be to work if some guy was trying to push you off your chair all day? And why would they want to? So long as I live I’ll never figure out why a family member would show up at a wedding and try to get in the way of a hired professional. Well, I get it. Because I’ve had people come up to me and tell me they were going to “out do me”. I just don’t get why? If your niece/nephew/child was getting married why would you not want them to get the best shots from their professional photographer? I’m stumped. But these are the guys who will jump in front of me on purpose, stand across from me and blare their flash in my face… I even had one guy elbow me in the side once. It’s real and it happens and I’ll be darned if I’m going to upset you on your wedding day to tell you about it! So how do you deal with it? Well, if you know in advance that you have one of these dudes in your family or circle of friends, perhaps politely let then know you’ve hired a professional photographer and that you are really excited about how her shots are going to turn out. Maybe refer them to my site so they can tell I don’t suck!?

Another tact that works really well at the reception is to simply have your MC politely ask that during key moments like the cake cutting, first dance etc that the guests let me get a few shots off first before they blare away. Reasonable people certainly understand that you want great wedding photos! Reasonable photographers understand that your guests want to take snapshots of your day!!

If you wish to ban guest cameras at your wedding that is certainly your choice. But please don’t do it on my behalf! I love photography (duh) and I get great joy watching guests have a great time taking their shots!! With just a few well-placed phrases everyone can have the chance to get their shots and you can have amazing wedding photography! Easy Peasy!!

PS My favourite guests photographers are those short little ones haha!

QUICK ADD-ON: In the minutes since posting this I’ve had two people ask ” What if we have professional photographers in our family who either don’t do weddings or are in the wedding party?

I’ve worked in the past with photographers at/in weddings and I’ve never had one actually even bring a camera. Pros understand. I would never interfere with the pro at a wedding. When I’m a guest, I’m a guest. End of. A Real pro will have plenty in their portfolio and not need your wedding. They will just chill!

Oh sure. I did sneak in a little actual work in the end. Oops!