There’s a cell phone in the pocket or purse of nearly every grown person walking down the street. Come to think of it, you’re probably reading this on a mobile device. And although point-and-shoot digital cameras aren’t quite as popular as they used to be, a lot of people now own DSLR cameras. With portable recording technology being so accessible wedding guests will naturally bring their gadgets to weddings. Everyone takes pictures while on vacation, so how could you not bring your camera to your cousin’s wedding?
Some professional photographers interpret this as a threat. Not as a business or creative threat, but instead, a threat in the “get out of my photo!” kind of way. I’ve stumbled across a few blogs voicing this concern. It’s a fair opinion, although I personally don’t identify with it. I’m just going to be completely honest: I don’t mind if wedding guests get in my way. We are automatically motivated to record special events in our lives and I don’t feel right suppressing that impulse. I believe in positively embracing the visual distractions of the wedding day.
Above: I was a little surprised to find out that there were going to be 4 video camera operators at this wedding. Their coverage was very thorough and they worked efficiently. I don’t doubt at all that they did a fantastic job. What interested me the most was how different their approach was – they tended to be a little more strict in their directions and posing. I loved being able to incorporate the swarming videographers into my shots as it created a voyeur effect.
Above: Bridesmaids, how rude! Put your DSLRs away! Just joking – I never said that. After snapping a few shots of the bride & groom, I turn the camera on the wedding party and videographer. I like the candid feel to the photo but I also like that the wedding party looks like a paparazzi mob. At least 5 times every wedding someone jokes that I’m like a paparazzi. I suppose this is me trying to understand what I look like on a wedding day.
The way we interact with today’s technology should be documented.
The bride frantically texts a last minute message to her maid of honour with a reminder about the flower arrangements. A groomsman googles how to “tie a pocket square” for a wedding on his iPad. The father of the bride awkwardly fumbles with his mini tablet as he tries to record the exchange of vows. I would argue that all of these little interactions with technology enrich the story of the wedding day. It’s very similar to our obsession with fashion – which we document instinctually all the time. The clothes we wear today will become embarrassing relics that define this corner of the decade. And I think that’s cool. Technology is no different so that’s why I love documenting our current experience with it. While these 4 photos below don’t illustrate how guests “ruin” photographs, I think the photos show the kinds of interesting stories that arise from documenting our current tech habits.
Top Left: I catch the groomsmen using Google to figure out how to fold their pink pocket squares. I thought this was ironic and funny since, you know, men don’t know how to dress themselves.
Top Right: Flower girls are waiting their turn to get their hair done. clomifene citrate They’re passing the time by watching cartoons on their Dad’s cell phone. 10 years ago, these kids probably would have simply just watched TV, or played with colouring books. It’s a sign of the times.
Bottom Left: Bride shows her hairdresser the style she wants on a Blackberry Playbook. Considering Blackberry’s financial woes, these things are practically relics of a fallen empire. Every time I take a picture of a Blackberry I think: “Is this the last one?”
Bottom Right: I love cell phone shots with the bride or groom. I never intrude on the conversation but they always look a little frantic and important. So much mystery, I love it!
“Go with the flow” and use your technical skills to deal with distractions.
Wedding guests get in the way of my shots all the time. It’s nothing I can change. A wedding is not a controlled environment like a Vogue fashion shoot (although sometimes I like to parody fashion photography). My approach is “adapt or die.” If a guest jumps into my frame I have several different options. I can: #1: Recompose my shot, #2: Zoom past the distraction with a telephoto lens, #3. Use a more shallow depth of field to “erase” distractions, or #4: Include the wedding guest in my shot for a stylistic effect. Wedding guests are important to the story of the wedding day. They were invited for a reason (couples scrutinize for days finalizing their guest list) and guests will act compulsively because a wedding is an emotional day. It’s also not practical to confiscate everyone’s cell phone before the ceremony starts. I have enough confidence in my technical skills that, when it’s necessary to make a distraction disappear, I can do it.
Top Left: There’s Uncle Bob snapping a photo in the aisle! I still don’t even consider this a “bad” image. I personally like the wide perspective in contrast with the zooms. The wide angle is full of juicy context – and context is the key ingredient to an image that tells a story.
Top Right: Switch to my zoom lens. Already there’s a difference. Notice that person on their tippy toes near the top right corner of the photo? That’s the wedding planner with her clip board. Even that little detail is kind of cool. Still not a horrible image despite the minor distraction!
Bottom 2: Thanks to a tighter crop Uncle Bob and the wedding planner are eventually erased. Note: I did not have to assault anyone in order to get my desired shot. If I wanted to take it one step further, I could use Photoshop wizard skills to remove the old man standing behind the bride/father.
Self reflexivity is awesome.
The journey of achieving “the perfect shot” can be more interesting than the the shot itself. Besides, why do we place more value on photographs that are completely sterilized? Do perfect poses actually enhance a photograph? Is it really that important for the bride/groom to look completely alone in High Park on a very busy summer afternoon when there are actually hundreds of people picnicking around them? What happens when we choose not to deceive the viewer once in a while? Twisting reality is what we do but sometimes I prefer the truth. Here’s a funny story: I was setting up a shot with the wedding party up against the wall, and curiously, people waited for me to finish my photo before walking into the frame. This was at The Distillery District in Toronto. I just shouted, “keep walking, don’t worry about it!” Our shoot was winding down and I was comfortable with all of the group shots I had already captured. By this point I had inherited a secret license to experiment. Courtesy of innocent pedestrians, I wanted to “ruin” what would otherwise be a conventionally satisfactory photo.
Above: My 2 favourite frames from my experiment at The Distillery in December 2013. When you’re a photographer leading a wedding party around a public place you are constantly being stared at. It’s weird and you attract attention. I think these 2 photos capture that feeling.
Above: 2 examples of how I decided to use the videographer to create a different kind of ceremony photo. I would argue that contemporary wedding videography is experiencing a renaissance. Video is super cool again and a lot of talented cinematographers are pushing the creative boundaries of the genre. Brides have noticed! Wedding photographers are going to have to get used to working alongside a video crew more and more. Who knows, maybe video will one day become more valued than photography?
Above: Two contrasting photos of the same location that show how changing the lens/angle and re-composing can remove a distraction. Notice the strange man in the photo on the right? I asked the gentleman to move away from the wedding party, and he kindly did, but he didn’t realize that I was shooting with a wide angle lens. He was still in my shot but on a whim I decided to leave him there. Does the wedding party realize that there’s a creepy man behind them? Is the photographer dumb? I like images that raise questions. A random bystander seems to remind the viewer that the photo is staged.
Above: This was a memorable scene for me. The bride & groom were actually very hungry and wanted some Toronto street meat. In an effort to cover my bases I captured zoomed-in photos of the couple ordering and eating their food, although I actually like this image better. There’s something surreal about pedestrians going about their daily business as a fully dressed bride and groom are in the mix. I could have asked everyone to move away from the hot dog stand but that wouldn’t be an honest representation of this cute moment.
In summary, I think it’s important to approach the challenge of wedding day distractions with a positive and adaptive frame of mind. Turning wedding guests into antagonists is not worthwhile. Conventions are meant to be played with. Uncle Bob, planted in the aisle with his flasy new DSLR, is not going to retire. It’s our job to swiftly remove distractions with the use of savvy technical decisions, or simply blend the distractions into the photo to create something interesting.
