You are NOT the hired photographer!… Part 2

So, when we last talked, our little photographer “friend” had spent an entire wedding being in our way, holding things up, interfering and then posted hundred of photos on Facebook. (If you missed Part 1, please click HERE).

So, now what?

Well, now we backtrack and review what happened and what we, as photographers could have done to prevent the situations that occurred.

First of all – prior to the wedding, as in MONTHS prior,  specifically, when you first contract with the bride and groom, you should ask them to appoint a liaison to assist during the formals.

Generally, I ask that the liaison be familiar with both the wedding party AND the family members. Most often, for me, a combination of the best man and the maid of honor as a team will fulfill this role nicely.

The liaison is the person that will go hunt down Aunt Betty when it’s time do do the bride’s side of the family and she can’t be found.

The liaison will be the person who corrals the junior groom and the ring bearer and keeps them from crawling in the grass before the bridal party photos are done.

The liaison is the person who you will go to and say “I’m sorry – but that fellow there with the camera is getting in my way” and they will politely and discretely ask Uncle Bob to kindly wait until later to take his photos. (NOTE: Do NOT be an ass when making this request!)

You need to have the bride and groom appoint someone for this very important job. The person appointed needs to be apprised of the appointment and in agreement with it.

If you explain to the bride and groom that you need the freedom and time to create the perfect wedding portraits for them they will understand and comply. After all, they are paying (or should be) a substantial portion of their wedding budget to you for just this purpose.

Do NOT – I repeat – DO NOT pull the “I am the hired photographer” card on the wedding day. Yes, you are the hired photographer and should be the only professional photographer shooting on the wedding day and you should have a portion of your wedding contract that addresses that. These terms should be spelled out IN ADVANCE.

The wedding day is not about you. It’s about the bride and groom. You are HIRED HELP.

OUCH!

It’s true. You are there to do a job as smoothly and as professionally as possible. Throwing a tantrum is unprofessional, causes unnecessary drama, takes the attention from the bride and groom and erupts the smooth flow of Wedding Wootness.

This is not the time to decide that things are not going well and insist that announcements be made from the front of the church demanding that all cameras be turned off. Hello? This is the digital age. Everyone will have a camera or a cell phone. Deal with it. You are a professional and this should not bother you. If it does, quit shooting weddings until you grow up or become more confident in your work.

One simple thing that you can suggest to your bride and groom is to place a line in their wedding program that says:

We wish for you to enjoy and participate fully in our wedding ceremony. We ask that you refrain from taking photographs during this time.

See? How simple is that?

OK – so this addressed the ceremony.

Next up : Formals.

I suggest this approach:

Ask everyone to wait until you get your photo and then take a moment and let others get their shot. Just explain simply that you need everyone to look at you for the official shot, so if everyone waits for a moment while you do that, then you’ll give a moment for others to take their photos. Just go ahead and add an additional 20 minutes into your time for formals. Sometimes there won’t be that many people and you won’t need it. Sometimes the bride and groom will decide that they don’t want to give an additional 20 minutes to this portion of the events and will have their liaison charged with telling folks to not take photos. Either way – you are the good guy. You do NOT want to be the bad guy on a wedding day in front of 200 strangers. You just don’t.

And now – on to the reception.

At this point, I personally don’t care what other photographers do. The place is overrun with people and I’m shooting around guests constantly, so what’s another camera or two to shoot around? I have no specific advice for the special dancing portion because I have an off-camera flash system down to a science with my assistant. There is nothing anyone else can do to get in my way or mess up my photos during this time. Perhaps it’s because this is not an part of the festivities that amateurs feel the need to record as much, or perhaps it’s because most folks tend to stand back from the dance floor during this time and I don’t. Whatever the situation, I don’t have issues during this time.

The only thing I do differently during receptions is this – I get with the DJ and I ask how he/she announces the cake cutting. Some have the annoying habit of telling all the guests to grab their cameras and gather around the cake table. I do not ask them NOT to do this – I just ask them  what they do. If this is what they do – I tell them I want to get a few posed shots first, so if they could wait until I give them the “high sign” to make their announcement, that would be cool.

Let’s stop for a minute – your DJs are probably the best friends you could make at a reception. I always find the DJ first and check in with them and see what their schedule is. They are in charge of the reception – you are not – BUT – if you make nice – they will be more than happy to tell you when they are going to do the next event and how long of a break you have in between events for battery changing, bathroom breaks, etc.

So – back to the cake cutting – I ask for a moment to do some posed shots with the bride and groom. I do that. Then I teach the bride and groom how to cut their bites out of the cake and have the caterer bring them a single plate to hold this portion. Don’t ask me why – EVERYONE needs this instruction and the caterers NEVER have a plate there for the bride and groom. Anyway – the bride and groom prep – and I ask them if they are going to smash the cake in each others’ faces. if they are, I ask them to do a nice shot first for me. After that, I don’t care what they do.

Then I signal to the DJ that I am done and that he/she can announce the cake cutting is beginning. I grab a few more candid shots, but by that point, I have my “money shots” and I’m already in place and everyone else has to find a spot around me – I’ve got the best location now.

See? Easy peasy!

*whew!*

I’m stopping here – this topic has gotten out of control and needs to continue on to part 3 – but let me make this VERY IMPORTANT POINT… if you haven’t figured out the common denominator here, it’s this – I solve these problems in advance. I know they will happen and I make a plan to deter and minimize them so that on the wedding day, I can happily go about my work without too much problem. Yes, things will happen. We can’t foresee everything, but the major problems have been minimized and the wedding day should proceed fairly smoothly.