Nuisance guests

[Chris Harding]

At the business end of the aisle (altar end) I have a lighting stand with an action cam on it so that gets swivelled around to face the door and then I spin it around after the bride has walked past it with Daddy so it covers the actual ceremony. The iPad freaks are still in the shot but at least you now see the bride!

[Paul R Johnson]

When people have paid thirty quid to see their favourite comedian and the idiot in front pulls out their huge ipad and start to video, it's not unknown now for them to be asked to leave. Or in the words of one I work with often (think winning big brother) "oy" you. I don't interrupt you when you're performing. Why don't you go to the box office, get your money back and F*** Off!" The bloke sheepishly walked up the aisle past 1000 people jeering and cheering. Bet you wish you could do that at weddings! Seriously though, the phone thing is a joke now. At a wedding at one of these big converted barns, guests were asked not to video the bride coming in, and simply ignored it. What can you do with people like this?

[Dan Burnap]

I had the first wedding where a gopro on a selfie stick slowly moved into the isle after the bride had passed. I just hope the couple don't think it's mine!

A live event is a live event. It's annoying how people can be so clueless or thoughtless but you just have to get on with it and not let it bother you. Nobody is reasonably going to blame you for someone else ruining your shot like that.

[Colin Rowe]

Guys, this is a wedding we are discussing. Its a day for all the family, relatives and friends to enjoy, as much as the Bride and Groom. Most are family, and we all know that they will get in the way and take their photos. They dont do it on purpose, its just the way it is. Some appear to want to treat it like a film set, that will never happen. We all know that you must be prepared for anything unusual to happen on a wedding shoot, and it does, everytime. To label them nuisance guests is a little harsh. If something untoward happens on an unrepeatable shot there is nothing you can do. We cant control everything at a wedding

[Steve Burkett]

Colin, I don't treat a Wedding like a film set; I'd be after retakes it I were. However I can still take issues with guests spoiling my shots. How many of them are well composed, how many will even be kept. How often do people look at their holiday photos or even their photos at all. A Wedding Video along with the Wedding Photos are something the couple have arranged to capture their day for posterity. Guests are just snapping away with phones, tablets, cameras out of habit. Sure some are destined for Facebook, others may even make it into the couples private collection; I'm sure many just stay on the phone they were taken with.

It can also lead to issues with the couple; oh I see such and such took a video of me down the aisle, so how come our video from you doesn't have a great shot of us. I have enough to do keeping an eye on the Photographer without guests springing out into their aisles to capture some dodgy image, and yes with 4K video I can get a pretty good look at some of their efforts. So what would have been a perfect shot spoilt for some wonky crap 5mp phone image. Frequently to combat this problem, the Photographer and I have to walk back down the aisle with the couple, which apart from intruding on their moment, also blocks the views of the Guests. Some complain, unaware they're their worse enemy.

Some couples are fully behind the unplugged Wedding idea, others plea to not have photos uploaded to Facebook until the days end, only for some inconsiderate twats to ignore this for the sake of a few likes no doubt. There are plenty of Weddings where guests respect the etiquette and wishes of the couples; alas not all. No we can't control it, but we don't have to like it and its certainly something I bring up at the pre-consultation.

[Roger Gunkel]

I agree with Colin that we have to remember that this is a day for family and friends to enjoy themselves and have fun with their snapshots. I also have to agree with Steve though that although it is a fun day for the family, we have been paid to produce a professional record of their unique day, just as the photographer has. It should be reasonable to expect that we are allowed the space and respect by guests, to carry out our work as expected by the client.

If we project this onto other services, would it be acceptable for guest to laugh and talk through the officiant's proceedings, or to disrupt the serving of the meal, or maybe block the wedding car from delivering the Bride to the Church? Obviously not, these are all things that have been paid for and are expected to be to a certain standard by the client, so I can see no reason why our own service should not be accorded the same respect.

Roger

[Jon Robertson]

Afraid that there is unlikely to be an end to this. Will probably just get worse as it has noticeably so in the last few years. Sometimes you can use the stuff in the aisle to your advantage if you are quick like grabbing a quick shot of the phone screen before pulling back to a wider shot. Last week I had a lot of phones coming out for after the ceremony. Lot of cheering as well and it was kind of a nice shot, then the photographer stepped right into the middle of my frame :)

Just have to accept that you can't control things on a wedding day and just get on with doing the best you can and trying to keep the frustration in check, which isn't always easy. Small dance floors and and unmanned 2nd cameras are usually my biggest headache as no one thinks twice about standing in front of it to get their shot. Even if the cam is manned it still happens so I'm on a monopod for the first dance these days.

[Paul R Johnson]

Not really anything to do with this, but I am in a tribute band. Not very many Beach Boys bands in England, so we're pretty busy here and in Europe/UAE, and in Europe they're pretty responsible audiences but here they're getting silly. We are not the kind of band to need security, but while playing last week, a lady from the audience came up on stage with her phone and started to take video - not of us, but of her friends in the front row! No idea in her head that this is not on! We also have to accept that some people will video the entire show and stick it on youtube, although nicely for us, youtube recognise many of the songs and remove them for copyright violations on the original music. Its changed so quickly, nothing is off limits now, and it's a shame it's creeping into weddings so overtly!

[Noa Put]

Originally Posted by Jon Robertson

no one thinks twice about standing in front of it to get their shot.

Look at this frame from a unmanned camera positioned behind the altar and pointed towards the aisle, I first took a shot of the groom and his mother entering the church outside while I waited to get a shot from the bride arriving so I then could go in the church, stand at the altar and shoot the bride and her dad when the walked in, no problem, until I saw the footage from my unmanned camera yesterday. I expected to see the groom walking in with his mother while I was waiting outside but the girl that had been asked to control the music has been standing in front of that camera the entire time until the bride walked in. she was standing so close to the lens her hair touched it. Not much you can do about that.

[Peter Rush]

Unmanned cameras - there's a thread on it's own - In the speeches twice now I've had people actually move the camera that's on the B&G for their reactions because they've looked at the display and thought it should be pointed at the speaker - most time's I'm calm but I was fuming when I crawled over and reset it - I didn't 'have a go' but my face must have said it all.

I'm just editing a first dance from 2 weeks ago and less than 30 seconds into the first dance one of my unmanned cameras (thank god I now use 2) suddenly spins and points the other way rendering the footage useless - when I look from my other camera I can see a guest squeezing between the camera and the wall to get past - the camera was not in anyone's way and he could have gone another way around but no - he was happy to try and squeeze past a gap that did not really exist and move my camera!

[George Kilroy]

Just to pour a little chilled water on this and allay some of the feeling of deliberate intention that some might feel is being exhibited by the 'blockers'.

I stopped shooting wedding videos a while ago but last year I was asked to photograph a wedding for a young couple who are friends of the family. A very low key affair, they didn't want to spend a huge amount of money on their wedding preferring to put it towards buying a house, but they did want a memento of the day. They didn't want video but asked me if I'd do some photographs for them which I agreed to do. As a surprise I set up 2 locked off video cameras in the room in key positions left and right to cover the the ceremony. As they walked in to the room I was busy shooting away and only halfway through the ceremony realised that I was standing right in front of one of the cameras.
In the heat moment I was totally absorbed in getting the best photo coverage that I could I had become completely oblivious to my fixed cameras.

As obvious as it might seem to us that a camera is in a place for a purpose it's amazing how easy it can be for someone to be so fixed on the moment that they don't even notice it, and even if they do a lot of people wouldn't realise that an unmanned camera would be running. If they notice it at all probably think its just there out of the way until needed.

I take away from this that an unmanned camera needs to be not only in a fool proof position but some where that fools cannot possibly get to.

As for camera/arms intruding into the aisle. I always considered that part of the vibrancy and atmosphere of the day, leaving the photographer to worry about getting the perfect pose. If they were stopped by the 'tog I'd zoom to a head-shot of the couple over his shoulder and then a low pull back as they then moved forward to a full wide as the 'tog passed me and out of the way. I usually did this shot from my shoulder so would ease backwards through the door allowing them to emerge into the daylight, then quickly side step so the 'tog could set his pose in the door allowing me to lock onto the ready placed tripod before the guests began leaving. All of the zooming and re-framing/focusing would be 'lost' with footage from another camera angle in the edit.

[Dave Baker]

While there's always going to be at least one complete twat at any gathering, particularly weddings, I wonder what's wrong with putting a sign on any reachable unmanned camera saying "Please do not touch, camera running" or similar, to discourage the majority of people from touching it. Or is that too simplistic?

Dave

[Chris Harding]

I had a priest who couldn't get the Church lectern mic to work, find my mic, un-clip it ..pull the plug from the transmitter and then give up in frustration as the Church PA mic still wouldn't work..but neither would my mic either. I ended up having to use the on camera shotgun in the end and he had to talk without the Church PA !! Not really a guest as such but certainly a nuisance!! After the ceremony was over I showed him the mic on/off switch!!

Yeah guests will think nothing of picking up my action cam and stand and moving it out of the way so now it sits right next to my main camera where I can keep tabs on it!!

[Roger Gunkel]

Originally Posted by Dave Baker

While there's always going to be at least one complete twat at any gathering, particularly weddings, I wonder what's wrong with putting a sign on any reachable unmanned camera saying "Please do not touch, camera running" or similar, to discourage the majority of people from touching it. Or is that too simplistic?

Dave

In theory a great idea Dave, but in practice I think the same tw*ts will be gurning at the camera, kissing the lens and leaving stupid messages on it.

Roger