Hi All,

I have a very traditional muslim couple who are allowing me 20 minutes with them alone while the guests are eating. I have been given specific instructions on what not to do which is leaving me a little perplexed on what to do :)

The brief I have been given is as follows;

"The DVD will be watched by our entire family so we do not want any scenes of hugging or kissing. We would like you spend this time with us being as creative as possible whilst keeping in mind who will be watching the DVD. Holding hands is allowed to be filmed and foreheads"

I now have to plan something with this in mind so I was wondering if anybody else had ever had requests like this or if anybody had any ideas? My initial thought was to keep things as natural as possible and have them just walk around the grounds, talk and keep things natural. That way I am simply capturing the moment instead of staging it and receiving any criticism later. My only 2 concerns are what if it rains and I need to stage some shots so any ideas would be great.

Thanks

Wow that is not something I would be happy to be doing! I hope it works out for you.

I would try to film a sequence that shows love rather than let it just be walking around the grounds. Maybe have a shot of them holding hands, then a closeup of their foreheads touching, then a shot of each of them smiling at eachother. to be intercut with some nice audio of one of them saying something from the day about the other. or a word about love from another speaker.

However you wind up doing it I hope they love it.

I had one of those and there was no sign of affection and any contact was considered taboo. The culture is a very strict one and ideally you need someone who can give you guidance here as all you have to do is put on foot wrong and everyone will be upset.... Maybe the person conducting the ceremony ..can't remember what they are called, but the one and only muslim wedding I ever did, he was very helpful and explained all the do's and don'ts to me!!!

My couple were over-the-top demanding and complained bitterly the entire day that I wasn't fiming this and I shouldn't be filming that so I now specifically refuse those weddings.

Really, you need a HUGE amount of guidance and preparation to tackle one of these and if it were me, I would give the couple almost a script of the day..this is what I will be shooting etc etc and get them to OK each event and correct it where needed. Probably the easiest way is to recruit a Muslim 2nd shooter and get him to tell you what you can do and can't do!! If not rather get some shot ideas from the couple as they should know what's OK and whats not OK.

Chris

Holding hands is allowed to be filmed and foreheads

That sounds strange in some way :) Anyway, I"ve done a muslim wedding some time ago and Chris is right about the fact that it's easy to offend someone with the wrong choice of images.

I would use my steadycam (they always like steadicam movements) and just let them act in a way they know it will not offend anyone in the family. If they know you are shooting they won't be kissing eachother, you can be sure about that. I certainly would not be giving directions on how they should act.

Dont' be intimidated - it's just a different culture. I've shot Hindu weddings with the same requirements - no face kissing (forehead is ok) don't include any shots of hands below the waist on their partner, etc. I like the suggestion of just letting them be natural and shooting whatever you get. You can get creative by changing the angles of your shots, intermixing wide/medium/cu shots, etc. You can also use props. Some intersting shots can be had with a veil or scarf, bubbles, balloons, etc

Art