Could you take a photo, please?

[Adrian Tan]

Random thought for the day. You're running around with a DSLR, and guests assume you're a photographer. Maybe you were already pointed at them shooting video, or maybe not. Maybe they've just taken you aside while you're walking from one place to another. Maybe they've struck a pose and are waiting expectantly.

What do you do?

(a) Shout at them over the pumping music, and try to explain, to their annoyance and confusion, that you're doing video, not stills?
(b) Just take the damn photo, with manual focus, in pitch dark, and no flash?

I always just go for "b". Are they ever going to see the photo again? To be honest, probably not. Very occasionally, people have asked, "How do we get the photos from you?" I then ask for an email and mail something.

Lately I've been thinking -- if you're in a situation where you were already shooting video when the person notices you and strikes a pose, maybe you could use it. Don't stop rolling. Just press the shutter button. And keep rolling aftewrards. Video freezes for a few frames then continues. -- Maybe that's a moment that could be used in the edit.

[Victor Nguyen]

remind me of a project I did in high school for media class. We were suppose to pretend we're taking a picture when in reality, we're taking videos.

[Chris Harding]

Hey Adrian

That's nothing!! With a big shoulder mount camera hoisted on my shoulder I STILL get people asking for a photo. Luckily the HMC do have a photo facility..only 10.6 megapixels but, of course, no flash at all. We had a bride a few weeks ago where the photog (who was paid up to midnight) announced his departure at 9:30pm so I had to shoot video with my Panasonic FZ-50 and flash also draped around my neck and people wanted photos and there was no photog. The bride was slightly annoyed as she had paid this guy for the full 6 hours too!!

You guys are lucky ..Just stop recording and take stills..the bride will love you for it!!

Chris

[Stevan Ostojic]

It happens all the time. I'm tired of explaining so i keep recording and pretend to take a photo. If they ask anything further then i explain it's video. My 5d with microphone, on monopod or tripod or rig with wind sock, some times h4 hanging off it, loupe attached, still doesn't add up for people i guess... even the photog floating around or side by side doesn't help, especially at ethnic weddings.

[Clive McLaughlin]

I turned up at a wedding to film once and the photographer who is actually a friend of mine got lost and there was no phone signal to contact him. The bride didnt want a delay and asked me if I would take photos instead of video for as long as it took him to arrive. Nightmare, but i has a reasonable enough effort at it! Her choice really, i still got paid.

[Nigel Barker]

Alternatively if you shoot with a C300 you can pull stills like this off the timeline of your NLE. This couple were not happy with the work that their photographer produced (should have hired us for both video & photography:-) so I grabbed some stills off the C300 footage for them. I just dropped the clips onto the timeline in Premier Pro skimmed along to a likely looking image & then stepped through with the arrow keys to find exactly the right image. It was pretty easy to find ones without motion blur & the example here was shot with the superb Canon 70-200mm F/2.8L USM IS II lens. I think that you could easily use images like this in a wedding album or even quite large wall prints.

[Andrew Giordano]

The only thing to consider, is some photographer contracts explicit state that they are the sole professional photographer for the day. Realistically speaking, I doubt anything legal would happen, but if the photographer finds out, he might be irritated, possibly lose a connection. Personally, I wouldn't care, but just an FYI.

[Michael Kraus]

I've used tons of shots of people assuming I'm the photographer and posing for my camera. I just keep rolling and sometimes hit the shutter.

A quick exuberant smile is often useful. Especially in a highlights video.

[Chris Harding]

Quite a few photogs here are putting the "exclusive photographer" in their contract as videographers are rolling up as a team of four to a wedding all with Canon 5DII's and two shoot video while the other two are either doing stills on their own or actually poaching poses that the official photog has set up!!

I have the same clause in my contract after a photog brought along his video mate who was trying to break into the industry and decided to use the wedding as a sample! I made sure that my 2nd shooter got in his shoot as much as possible!!! He "claimed" he was shooting a promo of the photog at work but I never saw him once point the camera in his direction!!!

Chris

[Don Bloom]

Reminds me of something that happened to me about 4 or 5 years ago. I'm at the reception shooting away during cocktail hour. the photog is doing his thing. Now mind you I had worked with this photog many many times and we got along great.
I look up and see another videographer merrily shooting everything. Hmmm, I went to the photog and asked him if he knew this guy. He said 'no', I asked the groom if this guy was perhaps a friend of his. He replied 'no'. Hmmm very strange. I go up to him and introduced myself and said basically, 'what the hell are you doing?' he said, he was hired to shoot the reception only and here I am, who are you and what the hell are you doing?' I told him I wanted to see his paperwork as I pulled mine from my pocket. He pulled his and as we both looked at each others, I looked at the date of his and he was 1 week early. I mentioned that to him and I guess it must have dawned on him as he looked at my paperwork because he turned beet red, got a very sheepish look on his face, apologized to me and took off like a long tailed rabbit in a room full of rocking chairs. Ooopps!
well better to be a week early than a week late.
O|O
\--/

[Travis Wilber]

If I can I usually tell people its video. Especially early on in the day so that most of the guests know I'm the video guy so they don't strike poses for me every time I'm around. If its loud or not worth saying I'll pretend to take a picture and keep the camera rolling and get a nice 8 second shot of people just smiling at the camera. I'll usually then just nod and say 'thanks'. Obviously if its a special request or someone important I direct them to the photographer.