Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2005/04/26
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]On 4/26/05 2:02 PM, "jon.stanton@comcast.net" <jon.stanton@comcast.net> typed: > Frank, >> From first hand experience...My daughter was married just a year ago. I >> thought I might be able to do some shooting "fawgittaboutit" You will be >> way >> to busy coordinating traffic, shaking hands following your wife orders >> etc. >> We had 2 wedding photographers...one was the official guy that did all the >> formal stuff...poses etal. He shot with a Hassy, charged by the hour and >> gave >> us all the negatives. The other photographer was a close friend who is a >> working pro....shoots models. He took about 6 rolls of 35mm shooting >> through >> a small Contax...His shots with about 3 exceptions were all great...the 3? >> Simply out of focus. He managed to be a fly on the wall catching dozens >> of >> great scenes....Just a wonderful eye...The shots I was able to get off? >> Outside of church, church courtyard...no opportunity for anything else. >> Enjoy >> the moment of your child's wedding... > > _______________________________________________ In the couple of hundred weddings I'd shot from the mid 70s through the mid 90's I've almost never seen a father of the bride or groom without a camera. At one hand I've felt that people in tuxes don't fit in with cameras in their hands or people (girls for the most part) in those polyester bridesmaid dresses. Certainly not the bride and groom themselves. But on the other hand it's unreasonable to expect the father of the bride/groom who is a hard core camera bug to not take pictures at his own kids wedding. I'm sure I would have. But I'd not think of such photography as "filling a gap the professional photographer is not going to get". If you think you are on assignment. Forget it. Get a photographer who you know is going to do the whole job. Looking at his work should be enough to tell you. And talk to someone whose been at a wedding he/she's done to make sure they don't stop the bride and groom as the go down the aisle and have a mini photo shoot and so on during the wedding. Systematically ruining the whole event. You'd probably not want that. But again as obnoxious as a wedding photographer may end up being he'd have to equal the obnoxiousness of the swarms of people with flashing sure shots in the wedding and reception itself. And we all think "NOT OUR FAMILY!!!" would do that but they will. And I don't think there are any "class" boundaries on that issue. You can be old money or work at a gas station (or both!!!) and camera mania at weddings is going to be there. The Great Gas Bee. (I just made that up!!) Mark Rabiner Photography Portland Oregon http://rabinergroup.com/