Friend got married this past weekend

Apparently I struck a nerve. Whatever.

Delete the thread.

I'm not going to critique the shots, but I am going to rant a bit. I'm so sick of these posts.

There's no such thing as "sneaking in shots" while the pro is doing formals so you don't mess them up. Just the fact that you're standing behind them/beside them with another camera, especially a DSLR totally messes them up!!! The guests don't know where to look, they're distracted, the pro has to keep saying, no everybody look here, don't look at that camera, look at THIS one and they have to take 6 shots instead of 3 every single time to make up for wandering eyes and it makes the whole damn process so much more painful than it has to be. I don't know anyone who actually enjoys the process of taking the formals, not the bride, not the groom, not the guests, not the photographer, but they have to be done. It's not exactly polite to take a DSLR and flash and be flashing shots during the ceremony or other critical times but it's beyond rude to drag out the already painful process of formals.

/rant over

Now I'm curious to know what was posted before the OP deleted the post. The shots on your Flickr look pretty good, though it appears you weren't the primary shooter. I agree that you should not use flash or get in the way of the primary shooter, but there's no harm taking your own photos from the sideline as long as you don't interrupt the flow of photos from the primary. That rant seems a bit unnecessary.

pulling your post because of one bad comment, probably a good thing you weren't the main photographer, the second **** gets stressful it seems like you'd just walk out the door.

The main photog there had no issues with me. I discussed it with him prior and had full permission. I pulled the post because I didn't want to get into an argument as they typically go on forever and people just get pissed at each other. No skin off my back either way. Comments like the one Shadow made are exactly the reason why I pulled it early. People make assumptions early and then things just go way off topic and out of line. I'm saving this thread from that.

For anyone interested, the shots are still on my flickr. If anyone wants to give me comments or criticisms, PM me as they are always encouraged. Don't post in here, let the thread die.

FWIW, I checked out your flickr and I loved the pics of the happy couple dancing - they really looked happy, and "in the mood". Great stuff there. Yep, in the group shots they were all obviously looking at the (main) other photographer but that's life.

Good job.

TheMaggedy wrote in post #13312536
I'm not going to critique the shots, but I am going to rant a bit. I'm so sick of these posts.

There's no such thing as "sneaking in shots" while the pro is doing formals so you don't mess them up. Just the fact that you're standing behind them/beside them with another camera, especially a DSLR totally messes them up!!! The guests don't know where to look, they're distracted, the pro has to keep saying, no everybody look here, don't look at that camera, look at THIS one and they have to take 6 shots instead of 3 every single time to make up for wandering eyes and it makes the whole damn process so much more painful than it has to be. I don't know anyone who actually enjoys the process of taking the formals, not the bride, not the groom, not the guests, not the photographer, but they have to be done. It's not exactly polite to take a DSLR and flash and be flashing shots during the ceremony or other critical times but it's beyond rude to drag out the already painful process of formals.

/rant over

Sounds to me like YOU cant handle the pressure. If your expecting everyone to put there cameras away becaure YOU (the all mighty go photographer) might have to take a few more extra shots, questions YOUR skill as a wedding photographer. All you have to do is say "Ok everyone right here for a few shots" and keep saying "Hold that" (if you think people are getting distracted)

For the cliff notes version.....your rant was uncalled for and unprofessional.

OP...Please repost. Id love to see your work.

Nice set of photos JMartel. I took photos with my DSLR at my sister's wedding. I talked to the pro and he was fine with it. During a few slow moments we chatted about gear and he gave me some advice. Nice guy

Executive Images Photo wrote in post #13315158
Sounds to me like YOU cant handle the pressure. If your expecting everyone to put there cameras away becaure YOU (the all mighty go photographer) might have to take a few more extra shots, questions YOUR skill as a wedding photographer. All you have to do is say "Ok everyone right here for a few shots" and keep saying "Hold that" (if you think people are getting distracted)

For the cliff notes version.....your rant was uncalled for and unprofessional.

OP...Please repost. Id love to see your work.

I agree. The last wedding I shot I had an older gentleman who was a friend of the family shooting video and was also there with a tripod, d300, and a flash. I had a huge shot list of formals and needed to get them done before I could get the couple together and alone. To avoid confusion and since he pretty much insisted on getting formals I humored him and told him to put his camera next mine and just stand back. Had everyone look at his first and i took the shot then had them look at me. I maybe wasted about a minute total but I figured out a way to keep him happy and at the same time not mess with my photos.

The first dance I approached him and made it very clear he could shoot behind me but to never step into my frame. He did botch some of my reception dance shots but it happens...always. It's something that you have to work around as well as you can. I'd rather deal with uncle bob than pro videographers. That's a whole other beast : )

I checked out the Flickr stream for what I assume was for this thread. I didn't see any wandering eyes so it looks like the OP was well to the side. I agree that it's kinda annoying to deal with folks with cameras, but that's the reality these days, so I just roll with it. As long as they stay out of my way, I'm OK with it. No reason to throw a fit over this.

That said, there are some decent photos in there. A lot of them look underexposed and there are some inconsistencies, but overall, these look typical of what a guest would take at a wedding.

Not sure I need to comment beyond that. It is what it is...

i have to say you have to start somewhere and id rather have people start by taking a few behind me when im doing a wedding rather than doing the wedding cause theyre a friend and they'll do it for nothing. hey what do i care if its a couple more pics im getting the money

i kind of like it ( couple dancing)

As a person who shoots weddings....let me point something out that you might not be thinking about.

Sure...you took your camera, and you tallked to the hired photographer. You probably said "Hey I am a friend of the wedding party, do you mind if I shoot a couple pics with my camera?"

Now, what is the pro suppose to say? "No, I would rather you didn't." Would he do that at the risk of pissing off the couple that hired him? What if you were a very close friend?

I know what I would do....I would say...sure go ahead and I would be pissed at the extra work you have just created for me.

I personally would never take my rig to a wedding that I wasn't being paid to shoot. To much hassle. I want to enjoy the day...so I would leave the gear at home.

TheMaggedy wrote in post #13312536
I'm not going to critique the shots, but I am going to rant a bit. I'm so sick of these posts.

There's no such thing as "sneaking in shots" while the pro is doing formals so you don't mess them up. Just the fact that you're standing behind them/beside them with another camera, especially a DSLR totally messes them up!!! The guests don't know where to look, they're distracted, the pro has to keep saying, no everybody look here, don't look at that camera, look at THIS one and they have to take 6 shots instead of 3 every single time to make up for wandering eyes and it makes the whole damn process so much more painful than it has to be. I don't know anyone who actually enjoys the process of taking the formals, not the bride, not the groom, not the guests, not the photographer, but they have to be done. It's not exactly polite to take a DSLR and flash and be flashing shots during the ceremony or other critical times but it's beyond rude to drag out the already painful process of formals.

/rant over

I agree 100 %.. Even if it is a IPHONE..point and shoot or whatever, the extra camera's create an issue.. The bridal party will try to be polite and look at everyone..So there are wandering eyes. I try to focus everyone's attention on me but it does not always work,

More brides and grooms should read the link below:

http://offbeatbride.co​m/2011/06/unplugged-wedding