Shutter clicks during wedding, etc.

jamlid

jamlid

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Jamie
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Hi all, well I recently shot my first "service" which was my girlfriend's baby cousin's Christening.

I liased with the parents and asked them what they wanted, etc. and they passed on my questions to the vicar about what I can and cannot do.

Photography is absolutely fine except during the Service. During the baptism I may take what I want as long as I'm not using flash.

Fair enough, I can use my 50mm and bump the ISO up. I kept my external flash on top of the camera for the day anyway as I didn't have room in my pocket for it.

During the baptism, I was at the front taking pictures, she kept gesturing at me and saying something that I couldn't understand. First time I thought she was telling me not to use flash, but I said I wasn't using it.

Second time, I thought she was asking me to kneel at the front so other people could see.

Third time I thought she asked me to move to the side (gesturing to the side)

Fourth time, she stops the service with "RIGHT! I've told you 4 or 5 times to stop taking photos. Could you please move away from the service now." etc. panicking, I apologised quickly and put my camera on the floor so I didnt have to move. The parents quickly explained to the vicar I thought this was fine (Which the vicar said was fine to do so at the start of the service!)


I'll end the long story now - She said that a video camera is fine, but the "clicking" from my camera was unacceptable and was ruining it for everyone else at the Christening!!

Does anyone else have problems with this at weddings/christenings/conferences, etc. ? And what can I do about it? It's really hit my confidence about taking photos in situations like that.
 
Suppose all you can do is liaise with the vicar personally next time, make sure that no wires are crossed as to what you can and can't do. ;)

Just a misunderstanding is all.
 
Never had it happen to me, but some cameras are noiser than others, if your lucky yours may even have a "silent" mode on your model, otherwise shooting in live-view may be quiter. the only other answerI can think of is a blimp, a sound-proof box used for stills during TV and movie shooting (not a cheap option) Wayne
 
Thanks guys. I guess personally liasing should be done next time :) And having my compact digital at the ready incase the noise is too much.

I could always just have well-timed coughs every time I snap a picture! :D
 
Always talk to the vicar or person who owns/runs the church/venue even if your client says it's fine. Even if they have spoken to the vicar or whatever, you should still ask. The permission isn't for the client to give.

Even if we arn't taking from a photography point of view, it's just polite.
 
Jeez, surely her grumpy outburst ruined the Christening more than a few clicks?!
 
Well she announced herself at the start of the service when photography would be permitted and not permitted, which I adhered to! I'll just remember to ask about the noise from an SLR in future :)

She was a horrible person! The parents said she wasn't very nice to them either during the organising, etc.
 
Selkie said:
Jeez, surely her grumpy outburst ruined the Christening more than a few clicks?!
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If I was attending I would most certainly have thought that. I've been to a few christenings and have had no problems with togs snapping away, surely most people would think they are part and parcel of the day!
 
Syx said:
If I was attending I would most certainly have thought that. I've been to a few christenings and have had no problems with togs snapping away, surely most people would think they are part and parcel of the day!
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Exactly :) That's the way I saw it.

The family had a good laugh about it with me afterwards though "I thought she was going to knock you out for a minute there!" :p

The family were happy that I still managed to get some half decent ones while hiding during the baptism though :)


So do the top end 2k camera bodies still have as loud a click as my 400D?
 
surely the nature of a DSLR is to have that click of the shutter

maybe the vicar had never seen a DSLR and was used to point and shoots olny. have to say that in my (very limited) experience its the size of the camera and lens that puts people off when you point it at them. maybe the clicking incident was an excuse for this.
 
my wifes 5D is way noisier than my 30D.

yup always check personaly with the vicar.
sounds like you got an arsey one.
if he/she'd have asked you to stop audibly the first time, they wouldnt have had to yell at you the last time, and make a spectacle of themselves, would they.
lat christening we did( i dont like em), we nearly got flattened by the mass of point and shoots that came out.
that occasion, the older and wiser vicar, set aside a time for photographs during the actual christening.
he did let us take a few shots of the ceremony(long lens at the back).
he used a PA system, so shutters werent realy a problem.
 
Female vicars = (usually) lots of grief for photographers.

I'm not being sexist, just an observed fact.
 
god help the people who coff sound like she would have hung them from the nearest cross.

Just another example of how vicars/priests think they can shove you all about in OUR churches.
 
i think its terrible, the bride and groom can pay thousands for a photographer but they wont have any photos of the service or the important parts of the service,

i done a church wedding and wast aloud to move around or use flash and had to be careful when i did take photos ( not in a quiet part of the service) i turned off my beeps on the camera but still had the shutter noise.

i done another wedding in a reception and i could do what ever i wanted which was great!
 
How many pictures were you taking? I can see her point if you were rattling them off one after another while she was speaking especially during the blessing. If it was only one or two then fair enough but rapid fire continuous clicks would get my back up too, I'm sure at the weddings I've been too the photographer has only actually shot a handfull of shots during the ceremony itself.
 
lukewoodford said:
My D700 is LOUD! Im not someone that just snaps away though, look for the good shots and take them.
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I am worried a little with my D700 shutter slap. I am doing a wedding in May for my sisters best friend as she has no photographer and cannot afford one (doing it as there present).

Have you tried using the mirror lock up mode to make it a little quieter or is this not doable hand held? Not sure how the focus works as only used this mode on a tripod.

Anyway back on topic.....this does seem absurd the way she had reacted and very unprofessional imho. Fair enough making a comment but not in the way she has said it from what you have described.
 
jamlid said:
Exactly :) That's the way I saw it.

The family had a good laugh about it with me afterwards though "I thought she was going to knock you out for a minute there!" :p

The family were happy that I still managed to get some half decent ones while hiding during the baptism though :)


So do the top end 2k camera bodies still have as loud a click as my 400D?
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I have a 400D and a 40D, the 40D makes a softer sound at the same time as actually being quieter, not that I'd consider the 400D to be loud....
 
Interesting point brought up :) My brother bought me an "all-weather" cover for my Xmas this year, the bumph on the packet also proclaims the noise-deadening qualities of the insulation - I've just popped it on, and you know, it works! I don't have a sound meter, but it's definately a lot quieter, more a muffled "thump", than a sharp "click"...
 
The race should be on with Canon and Nikon to create the silent shutter....come on guys

:canon: when they are quiet
:nikon: when they are quiet
:olympus: when they are quiet

sorry TP dont do a smiley for the other cheap makes :D
 
I think it is about time that camera makers started making SLRs that are silent. With the technology that we have today it would be possible to do away with the conventional shutter. If you think about it the shutter in an SLR as not really changed much from the early film days. Surely a truly silent mode could be done by just turning the sensor on and off for the right duration.
 
qualar said:
I think it is about time that camera makers started making SLRs that are silent. With the technology that we have today it would be possible to do away with the conventional shutter. If you think about it the shutter in an SLR as not really changed much from the early film days. Surely a truly silent mode could be done by just turning the sensor on and off for the right duration.
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I believe that most of the noise is the mirror slap not the shutter anyway.
 
Think it has been said, liase with the vicar beforehand.

You could always cough each time you take a picture? :thinking:

I did a wedding once where we were allowed to take pictures but no flash. I was manouvering my tripod round the back of the church during the ceremony and one of the legs caught a piece of wood that had been leant against a wall and it crashed over making a hell of a bang! Fortunately, everyone laughed! (including the vicar) :lol: :bonk:
 
quote/ think it is about time that camera makers started making SLRs that are silent. With the technology that we have today it would be possible to do away with the conventional shutter. If you think about it the shutter in an SLR as not really changed much from the early film days. Surely a truly silent mode could be done by just turning the sensor on and off for the right duration./quote

Another issue with this is most Camera makers are Japanese or have a large Japanese market. Theres a legal requirement in Japan that any camera sold (SLR, P & S, phone etc) must make a shutter click. This is why your camera phone makes a loud click or beep when it hasn't got a traditional shutter. This is caused by the same issues that have led to women only carriages on the metro over there - I'm sure you can work it out ;-)) strange people

Hugh

Hugh
 
qualar said:
I think it is about time that camera makers started making SLRs that are silent.
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BOOO! The sound of a shutter at times makes me happy, but then maybe im just strange :thinking:

I think it would be nice to use silent mode, but not something id be too bothered about using.

Vicars should be used to professional photographers and know what to expect and what they do and dont mind happening. I understand no flash, and not during certain times likes prayers etc, but most of them are just the same as the power crazy police, enforce rules that arent really applicable at times.
 
My my, this is a tricky one. Must make mental note to seek views of son-in-law vicar, but from my own point of view;

The vicar is there to conduct a religious service in as calm an atmosphere as possible. I've been to enough baptisms/christenings to know that the recipient of the blessing has the vocal power to send any hope of solemnity right up the bell tower.:bang:

I'd have thought any member of the clergy old enough to remember 35mm film would know that cameras have a tendency to go kerr-chik - apart from all those lovely little silvery things that everyone has nowadays, and mobile phone cameras of course.

I think I'd find it quite difficult to remain suitably pious if I'd got someone going kerr-chik FLASH all the time in my face or by my right ear.

I've spent 15 minutes thinking about this.
Common sense has to prevail.
Some camera bodies seem noisier than others, just as some AF lenses make more noise than others. So, on balance, I think that the vicar and the proud parents should discuss this in advance...
 
You have to remember, that people acting there as witness to the marriage, and of course when the clergy asks if anyone has any reason why the couple should not marry, should be legally able to hear every word of it...something that is often over looked when clergy mumble, or don't use their radio mic's properly!

Although a very small point...if a shutter is loud enough to drown out a badly voiced service then there could be legal technicalities ;)

I do keep shots during services to an absolute minimum out of respect, but I do try and get a certain number just so I have something! If I take a shot and it isn't perfect, I won't keep on taking it until it's right...if it's fixable later, it'll do! :)
 
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