Flash Slave Wedding Photographers

Disclaimer: I don't shoot weddings, so that may influence my opinion on this subject.

I don't care for wedding photographers who use flash slaves at receptions. They invariably come across as mean when they're setting up a group shot. While getting the group together, there are always guests trying to get in their own shots. This causes the triggers to fire and it's just a hassle to the photographer. Knowing this, I always ask the photographer when it'll be ok for me to take my picture. I usually get permission for between shots, but every now and then I get asked to wait until he/she is completely done.

I find it highly unprofessional for someone to use flash slaves in this type of environment. Receptions are filled with people trying to capture their own moments of the event. The photographer is there to capture it as well. However, using flash slaves causes the photographer to become a traffic director. That is, they get in the way of the fun and kill the mood. Yes, they need to set up the group shots, but not at the expense of getting nasty about it.

I know Pocket Wizards are $200 each, but is that too much to pay to be unobtrusive?

You must be talking about optical slaves. Pocketwizards are considered slaves too.

But honestly, we are hired by the bride and groom to do a job. Optical slaves are still a very common usage item. If guests are snapping pics and ruining the pro's pics, you are not hurting the photographer, you are just preventing him/her from doing their job that the couple paid for them to do. So basically, it's only the bride and groom that lose.

So maybe next time, don't automatically think that the photographer is a jerk taking control of the photoshoot. He/she is basically barking at people and making themselves look bad so the bride and groom don't have to get mean and do it themselves. Remember, it's only your friends who lose out when you don't respect the photographer's wishes.

peace

hehe I never done it myself but I've heard of people setting them up on purpose to deal with 'photographer' aunt jane who's always in the way. lol

picturecrazy wrote in post #3996786
You must be talking about optical slaves. Pocketwizards are considered slaves too.

But honestly, we are hired by the bride and groom to do a job. Optical slaves are still a very common usage item. If guests are snapping pics and ruining the pro's pics, you are not hurting the photographer, you are just preventing him/her from doing their job that the couple paid for them to do. So basically, it's only the bride and groom that lose.

So maybe next time, don't automatically think that the photographer is a jerk taking control of the photoshoot. He/she is basically barking at people and making themselves look bad so the bride and groom don't have to get mean and do it themselves. Remember, it's only your friends who lose out when you don't respect the photographer's wishes.

peace

Optical flash slaves, yes, sorry.

I look at it as something that couples don't know to ask about their photographer. Ultimately, yes, the bride and groom lose. They've hired a photographer who, in my opinion, is using the wrong equipment. They've hired a photographer who is not up to the job.

When confronted with a gathering of the bridal party, guests are going to start shooting photographs. They do not intend to ruin the photo for the bride and groom. They only want to capture the moment for themselves. Sure, it's ruining the photos the photographer was hired to take, but the fault lies squarely with the photographer, not the guests.

We use the IR system on Canons and its never been a problem, if we saw a guy with a flash gun capabale of also firing them we would ask them to make sure that its not set to master whilst we get our shots, after which we would probably let him have a go with our remote flashes if he wanted to.

In general if youve never shot a wedding you probably look at the way some wedding photographers work and think they are mean and bossy when they are shooting, but then when youve done a few weddings where the B&G have given you a list of 30 group shots that they must have and have given you just 45 minutes to grab them you may understand why the photographer is looking a tad irrated at you shooting over his shoulder ...... particularly if he is onto his 6th shot of the same because people are looking at different cameras.

We treat every guest as a potential new client or client creator ("ohhhhh the photographers at the wedding I went to at the weekend were awesome" is what we aim for) .. but I am sure the steam coming out of the ears is still visible despite the fixed smile when people are causing us issues.

Oh, I understand WHY they're testy. Sure. I have my limits myself. Like I said, I don't shoot weddings. I'll also admit to not knowing everything that makes it difficult for the photographer (like your "looking at the wrong camera" note). I just think that something should be done to reduce the potential of the photographer's flashes from going off when the guest are taking their own photos.

BillsBayou wrote in post #3996939
Oh, I understand WHY they're testy. Sure. I have my limits myself. Like I said, I don't shoot weddings. I'll also admit to not knowing everything that makes it difficult for the photographer (like your "looking at the wrong camera" note). I just think that something should be done to reduce the potential of the photographer's flashes from going off when the guest are taking their own photos.

You give me $800 for a set of PocketWizards and I'll shoot an order through at B&H straight away. It's a win-win situation. You won't think I'm not up to the job and I'll have some Wizards.

Like Banbert mentioned, the flashes are only one of many concerns. Usually it's a severe time crunch. Not to mention, a group photo looks really stupid when 12 people are looking at 12 different cameras. And trust me, even when you yell out "ok everyone, please look at MY camera" people are still confused as hell and looking at one of the other 837483 lenses pointed at them.

And again... it's ONLY the bride and groom that lose out.