Wedding Photographer Mishap: What to do?

[Makanator]

Okay i do not know whether this is the right section of the forum to post this on but i will just go ahead(Sorry moderators). Here we go(as told by my friend):

Recently, my friend's aunt was having a wedding party and like all married couples do, hire a wedding photographer to capture this significant part of their life. Well my friend and another of his uncle brought along their DLSR along to capture some moment for personal use and storage. When they saw the wedding photographer asking the couples to pose for a couple of pictures, they decided to join in.

However, the wedding photographer asked them to stop as he was paid to do his job. My friend and his uncle were not sure what was going on.:dunno:

The uncle then tried to talk some sense by saying that he and his nephew(my friend) can shoot together as though it's a model shoot. To further worsen the situation, the wedding photographer claims that he invented the poses the couples were doing and that my friend and his uncle should stop immediately.

Frustrated, my friend and his uncle went back. But not to ruin the ceremonious occasion, they decided not to inform the groom and the bride.:nono:


So in this type of situation, what do you do? And what measures can be taken to prevent such an incident from happening again?:think:

 

[fotoudavid]

???:dunno:

 

[tainted]

I think the TS means how to prevent an incident of the Lead photog stopping relatives of the married couple from taking pictures of the bride and groom posing..... I don't think there's really any way I guess... not unless you want to kick up a big hoohah in front of the couple...
on the other hand you can let the photog be and let him take the pictures first... then get the couple to look your way for a moment before taking a picture.... i don't see why you should be denied taking pictures of your own relatives who're getting married... if you got in the way of the photog it might be understandable if he asked you to move aside for a moment.... but not to take pictures of the bride and groom? personally i feel maybe its a tad bit overboard....
perhaps the Photog felt threatened thats why? :bsmilie:

 

[Makanator]

I think the TS means how to prevent an incident of the Lead photog stopping relatives of the married couple from taking pictures of the bride and groom posing..... I don't think there's really any way I guess... not unless you want to kick up a big hoohah in front of the couple...

Well thing is, even if you kick up a big hoohah, the wedding photographer can hold ransom to the photographs he took if the couple decided to ditch him.

So is there any type of ethics in place for wedding photographers to prevent this type of situation from happening?

 

[Chris Lim]

hmm, having read the situation faced, i was just tickled to ask one question. Lets say the friend and his uncle decides to post the images up, be it on a forum or use it as their portfolio. Having known fully well that the poses were directed by the main photographer and not themselves. Would it be fair that the friend and his uncle claim credit for the image since it was just a replica or reproduction of the main photographer's idea? Would credit be given to the main photographer as the person who created the moment for the shot? And also, by stating that he is being paid to do the job, and with the recent threads on "Unqualified" photographers coming up, would the photographer not feel like he is putting himself in "Danger" should the couple start to question, how come his photos don't look as nice or they just simply prefer the look of the friend's and his uncles image, and make payment difficult? Then how?

I'm just asking in the POV of being a wedding photographer myself. Cos if i was in the same situation, i wont ask them to stop. Unless they start to get in the way or if its a posed shoot, and they might be "Fighting" with me for the "Better" position to shoot from.

 

[Lumiere]

in my contract

its states i shall be the exclusive photographer retained by client.

Family and friends are permitted to take photographs as long as they do not disturb or disrupt or interfere with photographer’s duties.

The photographer has the right to kindly ask the person obstructing to refrain from doing so, in order for me to carry on their duties. It is a good idea if your guests are aware of this before hand.

Any breach of this agreement will constitute a reason for non-completion of the job with no liability to the photographer.


hope it helps...

 

[bblurrr]

Situation could be handle better but ....the photog is paid to do is job.. perhaps before "your uncle and his friend decided to join in" they should ask the photog if they could join in... common courtesy. In some part of the industry, what your uncle is about to do is call "stealing someone's light". The photog may think that the pose is his trade mark, having some people taking the shot and maybe posting it in the internet may "take the light from him" and perhaps affect his business

As for me, I usually stay clear of the official photog when he/she is doing his/her job. It is a job to them...sometimes I do engage in small talk with them, get some tips and when rapport is created, it is easier to get their "permission to join in". Photography is to me is a hobby, but for the official photog, the assignment put bacon on their table. IMO, I think they do have the right to say "no" for request to "share a pose" :what:

Just my $0.02

 

[synapseman]

This is pretty old skool thinking. Probably from the days whereby photographers charged low upfront, and much of his income depended on how many reprints he could sell to his clients and the guests?

It doesn't really make sense to worry that someone would "steal your shots". And what kind of pose did he invent? Dunno man, to me it's bad PR. In today's digital age, it's impossible to tell guests not to take pictures. As long as the guests don't get in the way or try to dictate the whole flow of how and where the couple should stand, pose etc (there ARE some overzealous guests/relatives with DSLR who try to do that), it should be fine.

How to prevent this? Sooner or later, the photographer's reputation will get ahead of him. Ask around if anybody has used him before. Have a brief meeting with the PG first, so this way, both couple and PG can get to know each other a bit better. Sometimes, through first contact, you can get a clearer picture of how the other person is.

 

[2nd-Hamsterlord]

I can understand that the photographer may think that both of you are trying to take photo of the couple position which he think is his credit*

Personally I think as a good photographer , we should share and enjoy the moment with the bride and groom. I have to say the wedding photographer is abit rude and over protective of his pride.

Just a humble opinion. -)

 

[Makanator]

To all repliers:

In regard to whether my friend and his uncle were getting into the way of the official photographer's shoot, i do not have an exact answer right now as i did not ask my friend about that. Will get to ask him when opportunity arrives.
But thanks to all of you guy's comments... Quite a revelation actually.

And keep the comments flowing.

 

[dawgbyte77]

Was the photographer was using wide-angle lens?
Was your uncle using flash that affects his photo?
Was there time constraint (like the couple needs to follow certain timing)?
Depending on the shoot as well, sometimes the couple have shoot outdoors and the longer they stay under the sun, the sweaty they become.. so in this regards, speed is essential...

I'm not going to say who is at fault because I don't know what happened.. but each side has merit as far as I can imagine (but not entirely certain).

 

[boyboy]

basically he think he is big F.

i feel that as long as u stay well out of his way (meaning u do not block his shot or his movement), you should be able to shoot what you want. not as if you are competing with him. maybe he's just trying to stifle potential competition before it can even spring up. such disgusting character... tsk tsk.

 

[boyboy]

I'm just asking in the POV of being a wedding photographer myself. Cos if i was in the same situation, i wont ask them to stop. Unless they start to get in the way or if its a posed shoot, and they might be "Fighting" with me for the "Better" position to shoot from.

that's the whole point isn't it?

a pose is just a pose. there's no copyright attached to it :nono:

of course, the hired photog should have whatever position he chose with no inteference from relatives. but even if they do get in the way, it is only polite to tell them nicely.

the customers are not just the wedding couple imho. it's EVERYONE at the wedding dinner. just mho for wedding photogs to think about. after all, they have a personal interest in the couple. the photog has none after he hands over his work and gets paid

 

[Dream Merchant]

Not going to write a long essay, but let's go with the premise that a professional is hired to do a job.

With professionalism comes a great deal of responsibility - to create great images, and to deliver.

I hesitate to mention 'respect' at this juncture, because I am not sure what the local perception of 'professional', 'professionalism' and 'professional regard' is ... but let's assume that clients who are willing to pay for professional services respect the photographer as a professional, and for what he was hired to do, including, but not restricted to accepting a certain sense of regard for this professional ...

Let's jump to the actual day situation ...

My perception is that creating and maintaining the chemistry between couple and photographer, as well as Art (if any) and Posing Directions are part of the professional services, then I would liken it to Intellectual Property Rights.

I don't think that the relatives saw anything 'wrong' in what they did, and they were probably a bit 'shocked' at the photographer's response, but if you look deeper, that could be because they had little or no understanding of what areas fall within the domain of a professional photographer.

With that in mind, I can emphatize with the hired professional 'guarding' his skills and techniques/talents directing and posing the couple - a skill that could have taken him years to develope and horne to the level of a craft in itself. Who pays for those long, hard years?

That's the problem, really. Not understanding, respecting and appreciating a professional's duties and craft, and having little or no regard for years of blood, sweat and toil it to develop that craft ... assuming that the photographer was in possession of such skills, and that such skills and results were quite exceptional.

Remember clients who say, "Hey! Why you charge so much ah? Nowdays Deegeetal kamela shoot is FREE wan what!" and kao-peh-kau-bu non-stop?

If that were the case, and it's anyone picking up a digital camera/DSLR instantly becomes a great photographer, and anyone can immediately strike up dazzling chemistry with the couple or models, then the world should be over-flowing with Buissinks and Demarcehliers.

 

[bigbird17]

basically he think he is big F.

i feel that as long as u stay well out of his way (meaning u do not block his shot or his movement), you should be able to shoot what you want. not as if you are competing with him. maybe he's just trying to stifle potential competition before it can even spring up. such disgusting character... tsk tsk.

but maybe he using UWA or the fella's flash spoiling his shots? :bsmilie:

 

[McPhreak]

How about looking at the issue from a different perspective: the bride and grooms.

The friend and Uncle need to realize that the couple likely forked over a couple/few thousand dollars for this photoshoot. Although the relatives may not have actually been affecting the photo shoot, the potential is still there. I can imagine it can be quite distracting as a paid photographer to shoot a couple's most significant day of their life while two other people are standing right next to you snapping away. In addition, many of the professional photographer's shots could have been wasted from the couple glancing over to the other cameras.

 

[Makanator]

Okay people let's not jump to conclusions here shall we?
For i have been updated by my friend on the situation:

The wedding photographer apparently was posing the couples for a few shot.
My friend and his uncle went in with their cameras, unaware that the couples were posing for wedding photographer.
Friend and uncle wants to shoot, but then the debacle started.
Friend and uncle never gets to shoot at all, and they were rather turned off by the whole handling of situation.

So what can we infer from this?

 

[calebk]

I can emphatise with the photographer to a certain extent.

I have been annoyed time and time again, say at a prize presentation, by other SLR users who are standing by me in front of a stage when I am the official photographer on site.

Despite my attempts to catch the attentions of prize presenter and receiver of the prize, there will be countless times when they are looking at some other photographer, just because they are close enough around me, and they have an SLR.

What to do...:dunno:

 

[tan131]

Okay people let's not jump to conclusions here shall we?
For i have been updated by my friend on the situation:

The wedding photographer apparently was posing the couples for a few shot.
My friend and his uncle went in with their cameras, unaware that the couples were posing for wedding photographer.
Friend and uncle wants to shoot, but then the debacle started.
Friend and uncle never gets to shoot at all, and they were rather turned off by the whole handling of situation.

So what can we infer from this?

Simple!

Your uncle and friend are guests. Period. Whether they take any shots or not is not important. Remember,...guest.

The photographer is paid to do a job and has certain responsibilities. YES, he may not have phrase it correctly or handled it in a polite manner, but remember he was paid to do a job and he has to deliver.

It does not need a scientist to work out the equation here. Photography enthusiasts, please.. if a photographer is paid, he has to deliver.. whether u take a shot or not.. its someones day and remember... u r a guest

 

[soeypixels]

your friend and uncle went back where?
home ah?