Awkward moment for a wedding photographer (and bride & groom too)

[TCampbell]

Someone shared this on Google+.



I'll let you all draw your own conclusions.

 

[pisto1981]

This is very funny but if was at my wedding their would be some not so nice words being said

 

[Tailgunner]

Who pissed in his Cheerios?

 

[Netskimmer]

If I paid several thousand dollars for a wedding photographer and this happened, I would be VERY pissed. If he was so concerned about this, it should have been brought up at some point before the ceremony.

 

[Derrel]

This same clip is discussed in another thread begun about two hours ago, here: http://www.thephotoforum.com/forum/...-you-were-bride-groom-would-piss-you-off.html

WOW--that officiant behaved badly. Talk about a power-trippin', middle-aged, bald guy meltdown. Whoa--hold the threats, Padre. Use your "inside voice". Act like a man of God, not some abusive mall security guard. Jeeze...

 

[pixmedic]

there was obviously a lack of proper communication on all sides before this wedding.
i wonder if things ever got back on track....
i bet they dont recommend him to any friends that are getting married.

 

[Nat.]

The look on the groom's face throughout is priceless.

 

[tirediron]

there was obviously a lack of proper communication on all sides before this wedding.
i wonder if things ever got back on track....
i bet they dont recommend him to any friends that are getting married.

Seems to me that the fault lies with the photographer. I'm willing to bet that he didn't meet with the priest prior to the ceremony to discuss photography. Granted, the priest could have handled it better, but at the end of the day, I'd say the photographer goofed!

 

[TCampbell]

I agree with all the comments... the minister behaved very badly AND these things should have been discussed beforehand. Is this the first time the minister ever performed a wedding? Was he unaware that brides and grooms and their families usually DO want everything captured on camera?

But in fairness... I have to wonder if the photographer might have handled this a bit better.

We always found a moment to introduce ourselves to the minister, ask about the photography, confirm that they don't want flash (they _never_ want flash... if you have an officiant who allows flash it would be extremely uncommon.)

But I've never been up at the altar shooting _during_ the ceremony. During that time I'm at a distance... using a 70-200mm f/2.8 lens.

So I do have to wonder... does this guy not own the right gear to get those shots without having to approach the altar during the ceremony to get them and did he talk to the minister before the wedding?

He's also got a videographer with him, so both of them would need the right gear.

 

[vintagesnaps]

He says "sirs" - and appears to look at and address more than one person. How many people are back there?? No wonder he had to stop the ceremony as whoever it is seems to be disrupting the ceremony (you can hear shutters releasing) and showing no respect for him or the ceremony. '

At the end of the video you can see someone with a camera and long lens off to the right (maybe the official wedding photographer??). I wonder if there were people with cameras at the wedding who just went and stood right behind the officiant during the ceremony.

I know a photographer who puts in his contract that if there are any disruptions of him doing his job (guests with cameras in his way etc.) and he has to wait, he bills for the time spent waiting. That seems to stop disruptions as apparently the bride and groom make the effort to make guests aware of how/when it's appropriate to take pictures so they don't get billed for extra time.

 

[Steve5D]

That minister would be getting an earful from me if I were the groom.

My opinion, based on what's presented there, is that the minister was completely in the wrong.

If conversations about photography need to happen, and they didn't happen before the wedding, then the minister needs to make sure they occur after the wedding. Making a point of ensuring they happen during the wedding is totally, absolutely and without qualification, unprofessional...

 

[TCampbell]

At the end of the video you can see someone with a camera and long lens off to the right (maybe the official wedding photographer??).

Good catch! I had to go back through the video -- the guy is in literally the last split-second for the end of the video clip. But I did go back and checked the frame and he's wearing a lot of gear (probably a bit too much gear to just be a guest who happened to show up with their camera.)

 

[deeky]

I've actually seen almost the exact same thing happen in a wedding - the pastor stopped and asked that no flash photography be used during the service (not quite this nasty about it). He did have a conversation with the hired fauxtographer (yes, used intentionally) prior to the service, which they openly and repeatedly disregarded during the service.

If you use clergy to do the wedding, I assure you that the pictures are NOT their first priority - no matter how important they are to you or the bride and groom. Some are more flexible than others, but the ceremony is about the vows and blessing of the marriage. Period.

Yes, there are exceptions. Yes, some of you will disagree and get pissy. Too bad. Having been in church work, I can tell you - that's just the way it is.

We just don't know enough about this situation to make a judgment either way.

 

[Steve5D]

I've actually seen almost the exact same thing happen in a wedding - the pastor stopped and asked that no flash photography be used during the service (not quite this nasty about it). He did have a conversation with the hired fauxtographer (yes, used intentionally) prior to the service, which they openly and repeatedly disregarded during the service.

If you use clergy to do the wedding, I assure you that the pictures are NOT their first priority - no matter how important they are to you or the bride and groom. Some are more flexible than others, but the ceremony is about the vows and blessing of the marriage. Period.

Yes, there are exceptions. Yes, some of you will disagree and get pissy. Too bad. Having been in church work, I can tell you - that's just the way it is.

We just don't know enough about this situation to make a judgment either way.

I don't care what was going on. The minister/pastor/priest was out of line doing what he did...

 

[tirediron]

I've actually seen almost the exact same thing happen in a wedding - the pastor stopped and asked that no flash photography be used during the service (not quite this nasty about it). He did have a conversation with the hired fauxtographer (yes, used intentionally) prior to the service, which they openly and repeatedly disregarded during the service.

If you use clergy to do the wedding, I assure you that the pictures are NOT their first priority - no matter how important they are to you or the bride and groom. Some are more flexible than others, but the ceremony is about the vows and blessing of the marriage. Period.

Yes, there are exceptions. Yes, some of you will disagree and get pissy. Too bad. Having been in church work, I can tell you - that's just the way it is.

We just don't know enough about this situation to make a judgment either way.

I don't care what was going on. The minister/pastor/priest was out of line doing what he did...

I don't know that we have enough information to say that conclusively - assuming that the unseen photographer(s) are the hired guns and not Uncle Bob, then one has to ask why the photographer did not meet with the officiant beforehand to discuss all of this? Granted the priest could have handled it a little more diplomatically, but as deeky said, they don't care about the photographer; they're belief is that the ceremony is on a "higher level", and right, wrong, or indifferent, they're driving the bus at that point.