CAN A WEDDING BE OVER-DOCUMENTED?

I love these shots because the guests are participating in the wedding rather than documenting!

All of my clients know that their wedding experience is very important to me—just as important as the quality of photos that I’m making during the day. I want to make sure that the bride and groom are having the best day of their lives and that their guests are also enjoying themselves. So my work style is pretty flexible and I don’t have rules like some other wedding photographers, demanding that no other guests are taking photos during the ceremony or formal portrait times or that guests do not use flash. I like being laid back about these things but at one of my weddings this summer I had my second photographer get a camera to the head by an amateur photographer who wasn’t paying attention. This caused us both to miss an important shot.

I was very angry about this because we both had spent the entire day working around other people and their cameras, stepping around four others trying to get the same shot, and avoiding phones, iPads and digital cameras in all our shots. And of course, it’s annoying when you take the time to scout out a location with great light, position everyone perfectly and adjust the details to get the best photo and someone is snapping away over your shoulder. Even still, I can’t bring myself to impose restrictions on my wedding clients.

Instead, I’ll offer a few tips from a professional for guests who wish to take photos at weddings:

1. When guests are taking photos over my shoulder some of the people in the photo will inevitably not be looking at my camera and looking at the other photographer. It happens every time. If you want the bride and groom to have at least one nice photo, let me get the shot first before you take yours. That’s what I’m getting paid for.

2. Before you hold your phone, iPod, iPad, or digital camera above your head to get a photo, look behind you to make sure you didn’t step right in the way of someone else’s view or right in front of my camera. And before you take the photo, ask yourself: “Am I actually going to use this photo for anything?” Sometimes, it’s more worthwhile to just experience an event than to spend the time getting a few mediocre photos.

3. This may not be the same for other people’s weddings but my clients spend a significant amount of money to work with someone who has backup equipment, backup plans, and a workflow that makes it extremely unlikely that the wedding photos will be botched. Taking all the same photos I do  “just in case” is not worth your time or energy, and it’s much more likely that you will ruin one or more of my shots.

4. Rather than copy my shots, do take photos of things I don’t see or can’t get to. It’s a nice surprise for the couple when you get a shot that I can’t. 

I don’t think it’s my place to tell wedding guests what they can or can’t do with their cameras. I do think I should educate my clients, who in turn can educate their guests, about how amateur photography affects their wedding photography investment. Sharing this information may prevent over-documentation at your wedding, free your guests from pressure to electronically prove they are attending your wedding, and help your photographer get beautiful and device-free shots.