Wedding Ceremony Etiquette

Livin The Dream

Livin The Dream

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Kris
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So, interested to hear how much movement you wedding snappers tend to have during a ceremony. Appreciate having a conversation first with the officiant and providing you're allowed to, how do you typically shoot the ceremony and position yourself.

I have shot a couple of ceremonies but they were very different from one another. The first, was very traditional and so I grabbed a spot to the side of the groom to capture the brides expressions in the main. The other ceremony was an outdoor event and much more relaxed with plenty of freedom. Interested to hear how you position yourself.

I have a wedding next week that's going to be quite tight, I'm hoping I can move around a bit but will have to see.
 
From one extreme to the other for me as I think you've found out yourself . Had 2 weddings this week and one I could do as I please and the other "Stuart you can take 10 shots through the service and if you take an 11th shot I will stop the service and put you out" that's the worst I've had yet though
 
stumac said:
From one extreme to the other for me as I think you've found out yourself . Had 2 weddings this week and one I could do as I please and the other "Stuart you can take 10 shots through the service and if you take an 11th shot I will stop the service and put you out" that's the worst I've had yet though
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Much will depend on the day. My biggest issue is that the ceremony is 2pm so will leave an hour after before sunset [emoji15] It's going to be more strobe heavy than i would like, hey ho.
 
Registry Officer Weddings are usually so short I just stand to the Groom's side and shoot towards the Bride

Church Weddings, being much longer, allow for more variation IF (note big IF) the vicar allows, which most do hereabouts, but I only move during songs and NEVER take a shot during prayers

We have one vicar close to me who loves a certain shot taking, so he stops the ceremony and asks the tog to step into his position to take the photo, he then resumes the service; on exit he triggers a bubble machine too!

Dave
 
Movement will depend on how much the Vicar/Registrar permits.

Regardless of how much they will allow, I always keep my movement limited anyway as I never like drawing attention to myself.
 
So if you only had an hour till sunset after the ceremony would you prioritise a session in the gardens with the couple or try squeeze in some of the group shots? I'm thinking of doing the group stuff inside but wedding breakfast is at 4 [emoji20]
 
Livin The Dream said:
So if you only had an hour till sunset after the ceremony would you prioritise a session in the gardens with the couple or try squeeze in some of the group shots? I'm thinking of doing the group stuff inside but wedding breakfast is at 4 [emoji20]
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Biggest groups then B&G time - smaller groups can be done inside

Dave
 
stumac said:
From one extreme to the other for me as I think you've found out yourself . Had 2 weddings this week and one I could do as I please and the other "Stuart you can take 10 shots through the service and if you take an 11th shot I will stop the service and put you out" that's the worst I've had yet though
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Was the difficult officiant Henry Stevenson by any chance?
 
Livin The Dream said:
So, interested to hear how much movement you wedding snappers tend to have during a ceremony. Appreciate having a conversation first with the officiant and providing you're allowed to, how do you typically shoot the ceremony and position yourself.

I have shot a couple of ceremonies but they were very different from one another. The first, was very traditional and so I grabbed a spot to the side of the groom to capture the brides expressions in the main. The other ceremony was an outdoor event and much more relaxed with plenty of freedom. Interested to hear how you position yourself.

I have a wedding next week that's going to be quite tight, I'm hoping I can move around a bit but will have to see.
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Tbf I havent had a complete constraint over my weddings ive shot. Usually its been a "please move minimally".

The best one i had was use a slow shutter speed, my answer, do you want the photos to be blown?! I think as long as you have minimal interaction and disruption to the service most are fine. However ive yet to meet something really difficult lol!
 
stumac said:
Lol, I think im one of the few that get on with Henry ok. Usually because I do exactly what im told lol
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You are very welcome to him. :)

The first question we ask now when we get an enquiry is who is doing the ceremony. If it's him we just explain we don't shoot weddings where he is involved. ;)
 
f/2.8 said:
You are very welcome to him. :)

The first question we ask now when we get an enquiry is who is doing the ceremony. If it's him we just explain we don't shoot weddings where he is involved. ;)
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Wow , he does ALOT of weddings but as long as that works for you . He's entertaining but I've had worse lol
So don't forget to pass all the Henry ones my way !! :)
 
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Well I can report that it wasn't too bad after all. Sure, I couldn't move, and the video guy got the prime spot to the side of the groom [emoji17] but happy with what I got in the end. Learnt a few things which is the main thing for me and I reckon I've got the PP done fairly efficiently.

The video guy was certainly a bit too pushy for the registrar, if I were her, I would have bitten!
 
I once had a vicar who said no photo's of the service and only two of the signing of the register for which I have 2 minutes. I asked him if I could swop the 2 minutes for 1 and take 10 photographs. He said No.
 
Get the bride and groom to ask the vicar etc. They are paying for the service, they should negotiate, not the photographer.

If they say no distractions, say awesome I hope you throw the crying brats out :)
 
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