Dear Abby 4/20

I thought this was interesting, and I see it mentioned time and again here on this board so I thought I would share it!

DEAR ABBY: The wedding season is approaching, and on behalf of all professional photographers, I'm writing about the rudeness of wedding guests who bring their own cameras to the wedding ceremony. They behave as if they're at a tourist attraction.

Professional photographers honor church rules, and often the wishes of the wedding party, by not "blinding" the bride, the groom or the clergy by taking flash photos during the ceremony.
After the ceremony, when we're trying to set up formal group pictures, these same guests jump in front of us like paparazzi! I've even seen mothers of the bride whip out a camera. Why do people hire a professional photographer and then allow this to happen?
Abby, please inform these people how rude they are. The bride and groom have hired us to capture their wedding on film. If the wedding guests want pictures, they can order them through the bride. Guests do not bring extra flowers or an extra cake to supplement the efforts of the florist and caterer, so why do they do this to the photographer? Our job must be done in a timely manner, and the kind of interference I have described prevents us from doing our best work in the least amount of time. -- MIFFED PRO IN SOUTH CAROLINA

DEAR MIFFED: I'm printing your message, but it's not going to be popular. I agree that taking flash pictures during a church service is considered rude, and it can detract from the solemnity of the ceremony.
However, most couples appreciate both the formal photographs and the amateur snapshots. Candid shots caught by amateurs often reflect the personalities of the wedding party and guests better than the formal, posed portraits taken by professionals because the subjects are more relaxed.
P.S. Some photographers avoid the problems you're encountering by taking their formal portraits before the ceremony. If this doesn't work for you, consider bringing an assistant along to help with "crowd control."

Great thread! What a regular problem. What I hate the most is when there are other people around me taking photos and the bride and groom or other people in the shot are NOT LOOKING AT MY CAMERA but the point and shoot!

I just did a wedding where the a guest had a pointnshoot & they did the entire slideshow that played at dinner! It was weird for me.

I saw that!! That's why you hire a wedding photographer who can take candids. Usually guests take corny posed shots.

Yeah its a pain in the butt, but its not going to change....ever. As consumers continue to get better quality cameras for less $$$, this issue will only get worse. I've been as mad as anyone at more than one of these occassions, but I'm slowly learning that its probably best to learn to deal with it rather than complain about it.