No photography during ceremony

stathunter wrote in post #8858262
I have a rule........that I never ask what the rules are....I simply do my thing..taking photos without flash and stay out of the way.....I am never in anyones way and never had anyone ever complain.

This is good advice for any situation. Never ask, just apologize.

cchooks wrote in post #8854329
and told me he had an apparent newbie shooter who came up into the altar (very forbidden) and place his camera on this priests' shoulder to steady it.

Holy crap that's hilarious! Did lightening bolts appear? Were I to do that here I would burst into flames.

I hear what you're saying about respecting the rules but to be honest... there's really no reason for half of them. And it's not always the clergy that makes them. For me, it's usually the resident church hag on a power trip.

I was a videographer for 6 years and would have to deal with this crap all the time. (videographer's have it 10x harder in these situations if you ask me.) One time I had to tell the groom that one of these church matrons just informed me that video wasn't allowed at all. In a rage he took the poor gal off to the side and basically said he was paying for this joint and that her job was to control the air conditioning levels when he got too hot. Amazing how all the rules designed to, "protect the sanctity" of the ceremony seemed to fly out the window in about 10 seconds.

But you're right; It's usually the knucklehead video/photo guy that came before us that's responsible for half these restrictions we run into.

I've never encountered restrictions quite like that, but I, too, probably would have gone and sat as a guest and taken photos without flash from where I was. If they allow guests, who aren't being paid to photograph, to snap photos, then why should I be restricted? Especially if you're sitting down as a guest, there should be no problem.

And as for wanting to shoot there again later...why? Apparently they won't let you shoot at all. I'd just tell any prospective bride that I'm not going to shoot there, and explain why. Once they hear they can't get photographs during the ceremony, I'd doubt they'd want to keep that venue.

tim wrote in post #8852817
If I was told "you may not take any images" i'd not take any images. Simple. I want to be allowed back. However i'd ask if I could shoot from the back of the church, which would be better than nothign.

if you can't take ANY images, WTF do you want to be allowed back for? Bingo? Mass?

elader wrote in post #9109467
if you can't take ANY images, WTF do you want to be allowed back for? Bingo? Mass?

Good point. I'd go sit outside and recreate images after if that was allowed.

I once took photos from outside the church, of the couple at the alter. The priest had no problems with photos here, none ever do, but it was a tiny church and I wanted to use my 70-200 to get background compression! I had a wider lens on the other body, of course.

tim wrote in post #9110229
I wanted to use my 70-200 to get background compression!

Now I know I don't want one. Sounds like a lot of work and I could get hurt.

RT McAllister wrote in post #9110273
Now I know I don't want one. Sounds like a lot of work and I could get hurt.

Heh. Just gets less clutter in the background.

I always ask the priest/pastor/celebran​t ahead of time if they have any preferences about the photography side of things- usually a call a few days before the event.

Even if the priest does not allow flash, and the guests all have P&S's with flashes going off constantly, it's still a big no no for YOU to do it. Why? You KNOW the rules. You're the professional. Most of all, you probably know how to shut your flash off. More than likely, they don't know how.

PMCphotography wrote in post #9113016
I always ask the priest/pastor/celebran​t ahead of time if they have any preferences about the photography side of things- usually a call a few days before the event.

Interesting. I avoid them at all costs.

I don't know about the guests at your weddings but I always see somebody in the pews with gear that rivals my own. (which isn't hard to do these days).

But a priest doesn't know that. Nope... It's a double standard - plain and simple and I will call the clergy on it should they ever bring it up - especially if the venue was being paid for even with a small stipend. Fortunately we don't have such problems here. I put on my best Uncle Bob face and just plant my arse in a pew.

Besides, I would think that most clergy would have problems with photographers running amuck up and down the aisles hopping around like toads rather than worrying about some silly lights that are going to fire whether they want them to or not.