As any wedding photographer knows, one of the most nerve-wracking events is when a guest completely destroys the picture perfect moment you've been hired to capture. Whether they stand up in the aisle during the first kiss, take photos with their ipad in front of your camera, or inadvertently cause half the family to look off to the side during posed family portraits, wedding photo bombs can be a real headache. Wedding photographer Corey Ann's suggestion is having an "Unplugged Wedding".
What exactly is an unplugged wedding? An unplugged wedding is when you ask your family, friends and guest to turn off their phones, ipads, cameras and other digital distractions during the ceremony or reception. The purpose is to allow the hired wedding photographer the chance to capture the wedding as efficiently and perfectly as possible without possibly missing key shots caused by obtrusive guest photographers.
“Welcome, friends and family! Good evening everyone. Please be seated. Dan and Jennifer invite you to be truly present at this special time. Please, turn off your cell phones and put down your cameras. The photographer will capture how this moment looks — I encourage you all to capture how it feels with your hearts, without the distraction of technology. If Dan can do it, then so can you.”
Here are a few interesting quotes from responses made to Corey's original article:
"I would kill to work at an unplugged wedding, but guests are only a nuisance. You have to plan to get around all the nonsense."
"I'm sorry that this wedding photographer thinks she has it "hard." But she's getting PAID for this work and is supposed to be a PROFESSIONAL. A professional should know how to get the job done in less than ideal circumstances. That's part of being a professional and she should just deal with it instead of bitching about it in a blog post."
"If I'm a potential client and I come across the blog post, I might think to myself "this photographer can't handle herself and get the shots she wants." That might influence the decision I make on which photographer I hire."
"Yea, I get OP's rant. But I don't think it's as bad as she makes it sound. I guess it depends on personality. Most photographers, at least the ones I know, are not Type A personalities, but go-with-the-flow people. The Type A's have a shot in mind, and that's what they want to get. My view: 1) Capture what's already there; 2) there's no problem that one can't dodge or work around."
So what do other wedding photographers think about the concept of having an Unplugged Wedding? Leave your comments, stories, and thoughts below.
I would suggest the unplugged wedding not to stop the odd shutter bugs but to cut back the ringing phones in the middle of the vows or the rows of people to busy looking down texting about the wedding rather then enjoining it.
I was married in a church 5 years ago by my Dad (he gave me away and held the ceremony) and he printed in the orders of service that nobody was to take photographs at all during the ceremony and it was the same when my daughter was christened come to think of it! Everyone was very good about it and the photographer didn't take any pictures during the saying of the vows. While wedding photographs are important, what was more important for me was actually getting married and I find it to end up rather like a circus when people sit with their phones, ipads and cameras etc. In contrast, when my sister got married last year, her photographer took photos through the whole ceremony, as did some of the guests and she got some lovely pictures. It's each to their own really!
I'd like the idea too but I don't think it will actually happen. I don't mind when guests are taking pictures, I typically find my way around them. However, its when the less than intelligent guests pull out an iPad, thats when I get grumpy. Let's be honest, every whiner out there complains about image quality and size and weight of an SLR yet a frickin iPad isn't too big? Are you serious? haha. Someone needs to stop this iPad for pictures trend. Cell phones tho, unless its on silent mode, don't bring it to my wedding. If you are too important or too cool and MUST text using that loud keyboard or facebook or email or whatever than leave. I think people now forget manners just because technology exists. At the end of the day, tech is just a tool, we have the option of putting it down for a special moment that we are privileged enough to attend. Just my 2 cents.
Duck and move, duck and move! One ruined frame from a guest's flash should not ruin the whole set of images from a ceremony. It's in my contract to cover my butt should a moment be obstructed by a guest or over exposed from a flash, but I let the couple know I will do EVERYTHING in my power to snap a clean frame afterward or to move around an obstruction.
Also I coach the couples before the ceremony on the day of. I make it imperative that both bride and groom show their ring hand to the guests as they are exchanging rings, that they have good symmetry between them and the person conducting the service. I also ask the officiant to kindly duck out of the kiss photo so it doesn't look like an obscure three way kiss. Lastly I tell the bride and groom to give a good LONG kiss and to follow it up with a second shorter kiss. Resourcefulness, readiness, and adaptability. A little tact goes a long way.
Seriously, who brings an iPad to a wedding?!
unfortunately lots of people
I don't put it in my contract, but I highly recommend it when I meet with my couples.
I have enough experience to be able to work around guests, but also enough to know that the couple will be happier with the photos if I don't have to.
I think it's a good idea. But as an ambitious amateur photographer myself - I would like to be insured that if I do not photograph this wonderful moment, is there any chance for me to see and save the hired photographers photos later.. It's not fun to be a guest on a relatives wedding and have only one thank-you note to show for..
Any guest that brings an iPad to a wedding as a camera should be bitch slapped and ejected at the first possible opportunity...
I'm not really a wedding photographer but for all the weddings ive attended as a guest, they insist on no flash photography during the ceremony and as most people dont know how to turn their flashes off it generally has the effect of a photography ban. Obviously its a free for all afterwards though but the photographer shouldnt have any issues at the important times. And ipads... it just makes me laugh when people use these as their main camera, especially when you see them put their phone in their pocket and use the ipad instead! (im not saying people shouldn't do it, it just looks funny)
Maybe having an Unplugged Wedding is benefical to the actual wedding and not only it's photographer.
This does raise something that has been troubling (I say "troubling", it's not something I actually lose sleep over...) me for a while - how many people actually take the time to "see" the event first hand these days. Yes, they are there, but their eyes are plastered to the back of an iPhone (or similar) recording the event, but they're not actually watching what's going on.
I've never had a problem with guests with their cameras. Since most of us are doing what we call "documentary wedding photography" there should be no whining about the other cameras. That only shows how we live today and that should be acceptable. It will be fun to look at the pictures 20 years after the wedding and laugh at the people with their funny devices!
MY $0.02, recently guest photography helped save my b+g. My house was robbed less then 24 hours after shooting a wedding, files were backed up everywhere except to my cloud. It was the Saturday night before Easter, i got home late and had to put out the "easter bunny's" stuff for my kids. the next day we had church and Easter dinner so still no time to get to the cloud, and with two back ups I didn't feel to worried. Well, I got home after Easter dinner and it was all gone, all my gear, backups, and a whole mess of other stuff. long story short, b+g were refunded the full contract value, we are re-staging everything we can, guests have been submitting images to them non stop since we broke the news. So, while the images from the guests are not mine, at least the "moments" that happened are captured as they happened, which gives some tiny consolation to my clients.
Suck it up, they are guests, realistically the only time they should not be around is during formals, other then that it's part of the gig.
What moron brings an iPad to a wedding??!!! The phones and small cameras I can see..but every time I see someone strolling around with an iPad taking pictures I just shake my head...it's astounding.
A moron who takes pics with it. I've never facepalmed so hard since I photographed the senior prom this spring. There were 11 families (there were 35 dance couples) taking photos with iPad. There were three ways to go to the dancefloor (easy and stealth way to change the spot and places.) and everytime there was annoying iPad photo/videographer who didn't want to move since "it's so important"...and I was the one who was paid to shoot the occasion.
I could be wrong but there are only one or two shots where the photographer runs the most risk of missing due to guests getting in the way and that is the ring placement on the finger and the kiss. Those are easily sabotaged because their duration is very short and the photog usually can't quickly move to a better spot through pews, up the aisle, etc without disrupting the ceremony. Other moments such as cake cutting are also short, but the photog can do everything short of pushing guests out of the way to get there and get the shot.
Maybe it might be worth sending out that ONE kiss shot for free electronically to the guests making it available and letting the bridge/groom and guests know ahead of time so when you ask to have people not get in the way during those few moments in the ceremony you have something to give back to them.
What happened to people just enjoying the moment, rather than feeling they have to always have their phone out to take photos? I don't do wedding photography (I do sports mostly), but if I'm at an event like this, I put my phone away, don't bring my camera, and enjoy the happiness of the day. If you, as a guest, have a camera out, you're not appreciating the moment. I think this is an awesome idea.
I'll add too that if those guests think their phone photos, indoors, are going to come out, they're delusional. I've seen so many friends post their phone photos on Facebook from a wedding, and I'm wondering "why?" since they're always blurry, too far, or just look horrific.
From a guest photobug's point of view, I understand the challenge of the hired gun, and I am always careful not to get in the way. Asking the guests to remain seated throughout the ceremony usually eliminates competition for the prime shots. Hiring someone who comes with a second shooter gives a little extra insurance. With all due apologies to the pros, sometimes a well-armed guest will catch a moment the official photog does not, simply because they know the guests, know the couple, and shoot from an intimate perspective, without the burden of having to get the expected shots. When I'm a guest at a wedding, I like to turn my attention to the other guests, too, and give the couple an idea of what was going on while they were busy being beautiful and getting hitched - little kids doing funny things in the pews, childhood friends and old aunts with happiness streaming down their cheeks, a wistful look from a curmudgeon of an uncle. Or, a distracted bridesmaid, a fidgety groomsman. The hired shooter doesn't always have time for that. After my son's wedding, when posed photos were being taken inside the church, the photographer simply directed the hangers-on to wait until she was done snapping to take pics so that she would have the undivided focus of the wedding party. A reasonable request that garnered full compliance. And everyone was happy.
One of my favorite pictures of my son and his new bride is one that I took myself, as they were leaving the church. I was standing where I was directed to stand, and the photographer chose her spot without obstruction. When I saw the wedding pictures, I realized that we both saw the moment and clicked at the exact same time. She captured a scene, a very nice picture. I captured an emotional candid portrait. Respect let us each do what we wanted, without getting in each other's way.
I dont think the problem is people taking pictures. people have been doing it forever and its not going away (as much as us wedding photogs would like). Its the problem of no respect or the notion they might be disruptive, or in someone elses way (i.e. the pro). Everyone has the right to take pics. Thats all well and good. But the principal that is the problem is the same one that us props are having to deal with when it comes to churches, venues, etc, that arent allowing photography because amateurs, hobbyist, and other non pros are not respecting the rules and making these places seriously limit photography or ban it all together. Its all about respect not the technology.
Personally I find it sad when the mother of the bride spends more time looking at her daughter during the ceremony through an LCD than with her own eyes. I have seen parents, family members, etc miss important moments of the ceremony because they were to busy fiddling with their camera. Sure weddings are going to be documented by dozens of people, but isnt our job to do it for the family so they dont have to? Guests probably wont see the photos they want from us pros unless we really work to get all those photos out there, they want to remember their experience and that is all well and good. Its just a sad state when the brides friend from work thinks her photo of the bride coming down the aisle is more important than the one I need to get so she can have that photo in her album, or on her wall.
I take a different approach that has worked well for me so far—get there early enough to see who's in the audience. It's been pretty easy to pick out the ones that could cause trouble; the ones already lining up their shots, checking their equipment, etc. A quick, friendly conversation and a reminder to stay out of the aisle has almost always been taken well. So far, the number of people jumping into the shot has been 0.
Although I've been tempted to have the officiant make an announcement: "Anyone who steps in front of the photographer will be shot!" :-)
a totally agree with you, as a wedding photographer i have created a in innovation for this keep one photographer with a zoom lens and keep him hunting for people with ipads and i phone. i have tried this many time and turn out to be good. i often use a 80-200 mm lens for this.
This isn't just about staying out of the way of the photographer. It's about actually paying attention and enjoying the ceremony, which you can't do when you're busy applying instagram filters to whatever picture you just took. It's about showing the couple (who are paying for this fancy ceremony) the respect to be focused on their moment. Staying out of the photographer's way is just a bonus, but every wedding photographer should know how to deal with guests taking photos.
I fully agree. Both as a photographer, and as a past bride. I think the crowd of people snapping photos all ceremony long not only has the potential of ruining a key moment (ie the kiss, with flashes being fired) but it takes away from people being present. Leave a few moments to pose and let the crowd take their shots, but otherwise, everyone should be present at such a precious, and fleeting, time.
It's not that, as a photographer, I cannot work around people. Of course I can, and I do. But this is what I'm thinking;
1) it sets a more intimate and present mood. We turn our phones off in a movie theater for goodness sake, why not a wedding? A remarkable union for two people that they will hopefully make just once in their lives. If you can shut it down for Iron Man 3, you can shut it down for what is probably the most sacred, intimate, meaningful moment in the lives of two people you care about.
2) as a bride, if you're going to pay good money for photos, why not ensure that person has every opportunity to do their very best work? Do you think that in the past, people hired a professional painter for a family portrait, but asked him or her to do it in a crowded room, with people pushing around, knocking over the paints, or in dim light, etc? It was a structured, tedious affair that was expensive and therefore people took it seriously. In weddings past, even just 15 years ago, the photographer was the only person with a camera and every else had to, well, pay attention.
3) you can still offer moments for everyone to capture. Say, at the end of the ceremony, facing the crowd, and again in a receiving line. For the reception, there can be many moments that they take photos, with the MC announcing the specific events that the photographer has priority (ie first dance). As a guest, I don't need pictures of the bride. I need pictures with her - those are the memories.
4) No, i don't sell prints. So that's not part of my case here.
My main culprit is someone stepping into the aisle, and also firing off flashes. If you can't learn to use your camera without a flash, put it away for now. As for stepping into the aisle, it just drives me nuts. I know it cant possibly be your intention to ruin a meaningful photo for the couple, so really what are you thinking? I had a guy once show up late, and cut IN FRONT of the bride as she came down the AISLE to get to his seat. Late Uncle Jack, right in front of the bride, as she sees her groom for the first time. I know that doesn't involve a camera, but it does involve a lack of thoughtfulness and consideration for the event.
I know people are getting divorced more than ever these days. It doesn't give us permission to stop treating weddings seriously, like it's a birthday party or a family reunion.
So i'm in favour of this article. Cameras down folks, just take it in, savour it, wrap your head around the sacred beauty of vows and commitment. There will be time for photos later.
:)
In post production a photographer can work around this iPad shot. First, crop the photo or change it to portrait. Second, have fun with it. i would a suggest a second image with the focus on the iPad and the view from that perspective. A little photoshop could be fun.
An unplugged wedding for sound and flash, only at the Bride & Groom's request. If you cannot work around the guests, then I wouldn't consider you a professional.
I would love this. LOVE it. I have SO many throw away shots of great moments because guests decide they need a terrible cell phone picture of it. I could pull up at least a dozen shots like that from the last month. I've gotten very used to it over the last few years and can work around it relatively well. Honestly, If I could just have it during the ceremony. It doesn't bother me at the reception at all.
some weddings have the aisle cordoned off. no guests jumping into the aisle, and all the personal photos you want during the ceremony. everyone is (sorta) happy.
i simply agree with this :)
I thought the last sentence was kinda funny :) 'anticipate the flash and include them in the composition' :D just call it what it is, a lucky shot ;)
About the guests.. I don't care. I actually like it that they take pictures with their live view camera. You can make some nice compositions with it...
But.. I do think it's also a geographical thing.. Asian weddings are terrible :) slr's everywhere! I'm a wedding photographer in Belgium and it's ok here. Just one guest here and there, I can't be bothered.. Maybe if I worked in the us It would be different,,
Unplugged Weddings are about more than the photography. It is about the couple wanting their guests to actually be present at the wedding. Experience joy, listen to the vows, and support the couple. It is not about watching the proceedings on a screen. It's about respect for the couple and the commitment that they are making to each other. Making the photographer's job easier by removing the distractions is a side effect in my opinion.
As a bride - I am so glad that I was married before digital photography really became accessible to everyone. It bothers me when people post their snapshots on Facebook during the wedding and I would have been disappointed for others to share my day with photos before I was able to share my day with photos.
As an event planner - Guests are there to share the experience and support the couple. Taking a few discrete photos really isn't the issue. It's people NOT being discrete and respectful towards the event. The tablet photos are particularly obnoxious. It really takes away from the day for everyone in the end.
As a photographer - Distractions happen and we need to work around them. Unplugging weddings should not be pitched from our perspective but from the couple's perspective of wanting their guests to be present - particularly at the ceremony. That's what it is all about after all.
To clarify things, since I'm getting so much hate mail from y'all: I do not ban guests from taking pictures. My blog is an article written for my clients about a new trend that I've noticed in the past year called Unplugged Weddings (which generally is ceremony only) where Bride and Grooms are requesting their guests be present in the moment and not behind a digital device. I explain why I think it's a great idea and showed some pictures I've saved over the past 150 or so weddings to support my reasoning for liking the trend of going Unplugged. Please read my actual blog post (not what is cherry picked here) to get the full story before leaping to conclusions. Thank you.
I did shoot wedding recently and the bride prepared one CD for every guest and asked them kindly to burn all their images they took at her wedding and to send it to her. including those she has got from me she had over 5k of pictures :D
I think photographers on weddings are there to take pics from the couple and also from the guests.. If they are always with cameras and other devices, shoot it.. This is the real life.. If the photographer want to direct something, do it when you are alone with the couple. Someday the photographer will ask for the guests use complementary colors from the decoration, because people with electrical pink, or flourescent green destroy the color composition.
Well it is always going to be a challenge with certain cultures. I have moved to Vancouver from Europe and the respect for the wedding ceremony moments are completely different from those in North America. By saying that, as a wedding photographer I have to work with what I have available and if the bride does not mind her family and friends stepping in with iPhones taking shots then well I have to live with that and compete with extra challenge. But sometimes it is actually a bonus and when you are creative you can use it to your advantage like at my last wedding two weeks ago when the guy with iPhone made a perfect moment for my composition during the vowels. I still prefer if the priest or MC announces that the isle is only for the PRO and the cameras should be switched off during the ceremony and I am the only one allowed to cover it. :)
For me it's not about the annoyance or intrusion of guests getting in the way, I'm bossy enough that if they're interrupting formals or other important moments I can control the situation without stepping on anybody's toes. I feel sorry for the guests that are so focused on either taking a picture or checking their email or posting to facebook or tweeting how amazing the bride and groom look that they're actually missing out on a lot of the moments that they are at the wedding to experience. They're not PRESENT. They're missing out...not the bride or groom, not the family, and certainly not me.
Their loss.
Guests are guests. Rules can be set but not everyone will adhere to it. Else, comments will surface either against the photographer or the couple. But guests being a nuisance with their cameras really destroys the moment. Nowadays, guests do not consider events for what they really are rather what they can capture out of it for whatever purposes. It is hard to deny people of their gadgets really. Take that right and it feels they have lost/missed something. But then again, we really should bring back proper guest manners in these events. What I suggest is to meet halfway. Let the guests be guests and just enjoy it. Let the photographers do their job with the least distractions possible. Afterwards, why not set up a station at the event venue and put public photos and videos for guest copying. Of course, the files must come from the photographers covering the event. Not necessarily all pics but some selections only. This is inclusive of photos of guests having turns being photographed with the couple if it is an event. Just the general idea. Implementing it is another story though. ^^
I think you tell the bride and groom that this is something that can happen, and ask them how they want to a handle it. It's their wedding, their family, and their friends. It's got to be up to them.
Interesting discussion. I am part of the mob that thinks that I am there to capture the day not influence it too much, in other words, capture what happens , not make it happen. I often get asked " whats your rain plan " My response is often " I will capture whatever your rain plan is " I can offer suggestions & ideas but its not my plan. In short, if people want to take images of their friends & family at a wedding, I have to be able to work around it.
I haven't shot a wedding yet as I am still an emerging pro, but as I am planning to break into the local wedding photography market I will do this with my clients and advise them that this will make the overall photo delivery better.
I did a semi unplugged for my wedding. After the Photographer did his magic, we let everyone else dive in
I think it's brilliant! As a bride and photographer, I'm doing this for my wedding, however, only at the ceremony though. The reception is too big to 'police' the whole area. I understand what people are saying, that they want the picture too but it's NOT their big day and I would almost bet you that they would be annoyed if someone blocked their first kiss with an iPad.
Love this article! A+
Sure for the ceremony, but if my guests want to take photos during the reception, they should be able to, as they want some of the same photos that the photographers get, but don't have access to them.
I guess I'm thankful when people take photographs at these special occasions, because I have ended up with some pretty amazing shots that no one else took, even the professional I hired. Not because he couldn't because the guest was photo bombing his shots and making it impossible, but because several of the guests happened to be in the right place at the right time and caught something that was meaningful to me.
As a bride; I've paid someone lots of money to capture me walking down the aisle among other things. God help the guest who jumps in the aisle or in front of the person I paid to get the shots for their facebook upload. I'm instructing my photographer to tell anyone and everyone that is blocking the perfect PROFESSIONAL shot to back it on up. If the flash from your crap iphone camera ruins the single moment that my photographer has to capture the memory of my wedding....I'd be pretty pissed to say the least. I'm paying a professional, not you to get the pics I want of my wedding. I LOVE the minister telling the guests if the groom can handle watching me walk down the aisle without his camera/iPad/phone out, then so can you.
A lot of photographers and Bride & Grooms are using Photo Etiquette Cards now. If people are looking to have an unplugged wedding, It's the elegant way to ask. We used them for our event, and they worked great! The photographer took a lot more shots, which meant more money for her.
Who in their right mind takes an ipad to weddings, I know it happens, but it makes you wonder what goes through these peoples minds when they get up in the morning........mmm phone camera (I think 99.9% of people with an ipad will have one of these) or maybe a compact camera if they have one.......but no they decide to pickup the honking great tablet to take to a wedding lol.
By the way, I tend to use a bit of a work around with this one and basically shout out "anyone that would like to take any photos, can they please stand behind or next to me so the bride and groom is looking in the same direction", this seems to solve most problems as long as the flashes are firing at the same time as mine, but as long as you fire off a few shots each time that's unlikely.
I had a priest announce for nobody to take pictures because I was there and thought WTF who told them that, they have the right to take a picture too. I laugh when in public (not at a wedding) and somebody tells me to delete a picture because it was taken in his direction then I explain my taking photographs and video of things that are plainly visible in public spaces is a constitutional right under the first amendment. I try to use the ipad or cell phone to my advantage when they get in front. I also like to have a few photo bombed pictures in the mix. I will include a few examples, to show how they are used to my advantage. That's the Groom photo bombing and that's the Father Daughter Dance on the iPhone. Now, it is true dodging guests who intrude on your hired responsibilities is just something that comes with the territory and you must be fast. In my opinion if a guest jumps in front of me during the vows I am way too far away. I do my far shot from the balcony or early just after everyone sits.
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I along with a lot of my friends who were recently married in the last 2-3 years have asked family and and friends to PLEASE REFRAIN from posting any of their wedding cell phone pictures online, until after we've had the pleasure of sharing our professional images from our hired photographer. It's really rude to post up unflattering, blurry, and bad images, candid or posed, from a wedding to social media before the couple has the opportunity to share their special day the way they want to share it. Getting the drop on the couple to be the first to show the world where you went and what it looked like is selfish. I didn't know in 2012 about this "unplugged wedding" theme, or else I'd have insisted on it. But I did know at the time what to expect from all those cell phones going off and I begged guests to be respectful and not post online until I'd had my chance first. Believe it or not, the bride and groom do not want to be tagged in a bunch of images that everyone will see before they even return from their honey moon and see it themselves.