Is it rude to...

SCraig · Feb 17, 2013

imagemaker46 said:
I would just take pictures at a family wedding. If the hired photographers feel so threatened by some amateur showing up and doing so casual shots, they have the problem. As long as you aren't being a pain, getting in the way or distracting the couple during the "official" photographs it shouldn't be an issue. How do you think the wedding photographer I hired for my wedding felt when he showed up and most of the guests were professional photographers, all with cameras. This was over 30 years ago and he missed a bunch of the shots after the ceremony, he was out in his car with the Maid of Honour checking his gear.

I agree with this philosophy.

The hired photographer is going to get paid regardless. He set his price for the event, and will get paid that amount. As long as you don't infringe on his working space then in my opinion he has no room to complain. If he does just tell him to get over it and do his job.

Overread · Feb 17, 2013

If a professional photographer is concerned at all about guests taking photos at the wedding then they should put it in their contract to limit photographs at the event. Otherwise most photographer pros I've heard of don't mind, heck in the past many brought those cheap disposable film cameras (and I suspect some still do) to gather up a load of pictures taken by the guests at the event.

Just follow the guidelines that others have said, don't take a massive amount of gear, don't get in the way and don't be a distraction. Otherwise you shouldn't have any problems at all with the pro at the wedding.

bratkinson · Feb 17, 2013

Almost a year ago, I showed up at my ex- step-daughters wedding with my 60D, 24-70 f2.8L and 580EX II flash in hand. I made it a point to seek out the photographers and introduce myself within 5 minutes of arrival and let them know I would do my very best to stay out of their way. In the ceremony, they were up front (as expected) and I stayed in the 3rd row aisle seat and ventured into the aisle and back very quickly a couple of times (no flash, of course). I managed to stay out of their way the whole time, I think. I also chatted with them a couple of times too.

It's a good thing they hired 'real' photographers. My pictures turned out poorly due to my complete inexperience with oddball lighting and white balance handling.

vintagesnaps · Feb 17, 2013

I do nothing with weddings but have done photos for sports marketing/events. I'd try to be aware of the visiting team's photographer, TV crew etc. - they'd notice me at first and once they seemed to realize I was paying attention and staying out of their way they'd basically just ignore me the rest of the evening.

It might depend on how you handle it - if it's OK with family and you can be reasonably unobtrusive and not interfere with the wedding photographer doing his/her job I don't see why it would be a problem.

Sharon

Ratboy · Feb 17, 2013

Bahhh , take the photo's , have a drink , give your camera to your 13 year old nephew to go and take some , have some wedding cake , dance with your grandfather......take some more, how many other point and shoot camera's are goining to be there , what's the differane if your looking through one of those or your SLR . It's a wedding capture it, enjoy it and look back on it ......the other guy is getting paid for the headaches

Rafterman · Feb 18, 2013

I say go for it! Take your camera and take your own pics of the happy day. I'll share my own experience to support my recommendation...

Last summer, I took photos at my brother-in-law's wedding on a cruise ship in Cape Canaveral, FL. The ship provided a pro as part of their wedding package, so I was just there as another guest with a camera. I had my D3100 with 35mm f/1.8G lens and Metz shoe-mount flash. I took several shots in the room where the ceremony was being held as the guests casually made their way in and sat down. The pro arrived a bit later, and after spotting me, asked my brother-in-law if he had hired his own photog for the event, which gave a little boost to my ego.

During the ceremony however, I stayed seated in the 2nd row on the groom's side and took just a handful of shots here and there with no flash while the pro worked the room and did his thing. Afterwards, during the large group shots, the pro took his photos first, then let the family snap a few before he organized the next group. In all, the whole event was very civil and ran smoothly. I stayed out of his way and in turn, I got some great candid shots that many of my family members preferred to the pro's pics. Plus, I picked up some great tips and new ideas by watching him do his thing.

If you can get your photos without preventing them from doing their job, I'm sure the pro wouldn't mind. After all, it's a wedding! They know there will be other people present with cameras of all types.