In the wedding arena we have a term, Uncle Bob, which we lovingly apply to a guest at a wedding who has a camera and has transitioned from appropriate guest behavior to “I’m going to get pictures just like the hired pro by standing where they are standing, shooting over their shoulder, standing opposite from them on the dance floor or standing in the middle of the aisle during the ceremony, climbing on the altar/pew/table, etc” and other general behaviors that prevent them from enjoying the wedding and also make a challenging day for the hired professional photographer. Some of the challenges we face:
1) Not breaking a bone or piece of equipment when backing up to frame a shot and tripping over the person behind them, who also doesn’t see them because of the camera in front of their face.
2) Hours of additional post production work to crop and edit images and remove the Uncle Bob from the shot.
3) Having a worried client contact them after the wedding, asking questions about the light during the ceremony/reception and the quality of the images because they were emailed some images from an excited Uncle Bob and the quality is disturbing.
4) Keeping the length of time needed for group photos tolerable even though Uncle Bob wants to take a photo of each group, AFTER the pro has lined everyone up to perfection and keeps saying, “Wait!” while we all wait for the camera to fire.
5) Capturing meaningful images during certain traditions, such as the cake cutting, when Uncle Bob is standing next to you and firing off his flash at the same time you are shooting.
6) Having a guest scold them for taking too many photos, when it reality it was Uncle Bob who had previously snapped a photo of said guest.
I discuss with my clients during pre-wedding consultations that I am not mean and I don’t prevent guests from taking photos during a wedding, after all I am sure 50% of the guests have a camera phone, point and shoot or some other camera at the wedding. I’m positive the clients might get some additional fun photos and instant gratification when tagged on Facebook the very next day. It’s safe to assume the clients have hired me based on my portfolio, my shooting style and personality. They have a vision in their head of the wedding photos and they trust me to capture those moments and preserve those memories. All I ask is that I am not impeded on the wedding day by an Uncle Bob (who doesn’t remember that they are invited to the wedding first and foremost as a guest to enjoy the celebration with the bride and groom) moving around, competing for space, getting in the way as I try to capture moments, or even asking me questions about gear/shooting during toasts.
My personal thoughts aside – I just read a blog post from the International Society of Professional Wedding Photographers, www.ispwp.com, about the some of the differences between using a professional wedding photographer or Uncle Bob (someone who might be an enthusiastic photo buff and offer to shoot your wedding day and save you money!)
Uncle Bob vs. A Professional Wedding Photographer
I promise that as a professional wedding photographer I will not show up at Uncle Bob the CPAs dayjob and sit on his ledgers while he tabulates or pop up over the shoulder of Uncle Bob the surgeon and ask why he chose that particular scalpel or try to share the cubicle of Uncle Bob the office worker and attempt to use her computer at the same time. Fair is fair, right?