Don’t be this person

[Mark Suszko]

Nice to see they dressed for the occasion too. You can infer by that that this is a person who wasn’t raised with all the niceties, so they won’t really get why you’re mad. As uncouth as this person was, they are someone that the couple invited, so blame the bride.

A practical way to deal with this sort of shot is a tripod with a very high elevator column, just go higher, over the top of the obstructor. Or move your own camera and patch it over later with an audience or officiant or Groom cut-away that you presciently shot earlier in the day. I know the lower angle is more dramatic and artistic. But part of being a pro is being able to deal with the unexpected with ingenuity and grace under pressure. Absolutely nobody will sympathize with the photog who acts our, even in cases like this where it is justified. So play it cool, improvise, adapt and overcome.

Your ‘shopp did make me smile, though.

[Aaron Cadieux]

Hey Mark,

I had multiple angles and options to work around this in the edit. It still made me mad though. I don’t really have the stomach for weddings, but this one was for a friend, so I was already in bad mood to begin with that day. I have a new found respect for wedding videographers. It’s a hard way to make a living.

-Aaron

[Aaron Cadieux]

I also didn’t make a scene or anything like that. I just figured people on this forum could relate to this.

[Mark Suszko]

Oh, I DO, I do relate to it. I’m glad you kept your cool when it happened and that you had a strategy to cut around it. And I agree weddings, done right, are a hard business.

I got out of doing them when the DV revolution began and my profit margins went too low, along with the number of hours required no longer fitting into my life (kids, full time job with unpredictable schedule, etc. ) At some point, I did the math and it told me my time was better spent with the wife and kids every weekend, a decision I do not regret at all…

But I *could* have chosen to double-down at that time, invest more time and cash in the new gear and all, take out loans for DV gear and an edit suite, only, it would have forced me into a consumer space where I was competing with bigger, more established operations, and I would have to charge just as much as them, losing my niche of basic, quality work for the budget-conscious crowd. To make my monthly nut, I would have had to work an extra 25 hours a week on top of a demanding full-time job. And I would have no time for family. Sometimes, money is not the first consideration. If you’re smart.

[Brent Dunn]

I don’t hesitate to go tap them on the shoulder and let them know to move. I love it when the isles have ribbon blocking the guests from entering the isle. I try to have someone directly in the middle during this time to help prevent this.

I usually have a 3rd unmanned camera. I sometimes get some interesting shots of people walking directly in front of that camera, not realizing it’s on. I’m starting to elevate that camera up high.

Brent Dunn
Owner / Director / Editor
DunnRight Films
DunnRight Video.com
Video Marketing Toolbox.net

Sony EX-1,
Canon 5D Mark II
Canon 7D
Mac Pro Tower, Quad Core,
with Final Cut Studio

HP i7 Quad laptop
Adobe CS-5 Production Suite

[Martin Curtis]

Camera mounted industrial laser is the fix you want. The smell and pain of burning flesh is enough to move the most recalcitrant view-blocker.

[Dave Haynie]

Yeah… I pretty much do them, but usually by request (and for some reason, the last three were in California, despite my living in South Jersey) and a bit of prodding.

For video, which is usually what I do at weddings (though I did one stills gig last June), these days I would have three cameras going, at least one on a high tripod or boom.

As a videographer and photographer, it’s amazing how oblivious regular folks are to cameras. I’m in a music group up in Princeton; we meet every few months to play random music together. For one of these, last February, I decided to bring along a good camera, put it on a tall tripod, and not worry too much about it. It wasn’t a tiny setup. And yet, people walked by as if it were invisible. There was one dude standing in front of the camera for an entire set (they’re blocked in 10 and 15 minute chunks), completely unaware of the camera 2ft behind his balding head.

I think I’ll have to invent a sonar device for unmanned cameras, that detects people in the way and does annoying things until they more…

-Dave

[Lisa Talley]

[Martin Curtis] “Camera mounted industrial laser is the fix you want. The smell and pain of burning flesh is enough to move the most recalcitrant view-blocker.”

LOL. Sometimes I feel the look on my face is capable of doing this. These people are everywhere and it’s a really painful experience when you’re as short as I am, seems like EVERYONE is able to get in my view’s way, even 5 yr olds. My main solution is just more cameras, quick feet… and counting to 10. However, I like the “tapping them on the shoulder” idea, better than my head exploding all over the bride’s dress, that would just be unsightly.

Lisa Talley
Sacramento Video Production

[John Davidson]

I’m shooting a wedding for a friend this weekend with the FS700. I’ve explained to the bride that if this happens, she’ll spend the next 40 years hating whoever gets in the way – at 240 fps. Hopefully when I chat with the official photographer she’ll also stay clear.

I’m also bringing a squirt gun.

John Davidson | President / Creative Director | Magic Feather Inc.

[Dave Haynie]

[John Davidson] “. Hopefully when I chat with the official photographer she’ll also stay clear.”

Good luck.

I shot a wedding once that featured not one, not two, but THREE official photographers. Seems the Happy Couple had contracted a Pro, only to have their friends, also a professional husband and wife team, free up for the wedding as well. No matter where I pointed my cameras, a photographer would soon step up.

But I did arrange access to all of the stills, which did prove handy for fill-ins, so I managed to work around most of the intrusions. But from then on, I always ask to meet with THE ONE OFFICIAL pro, well in advance of the event.

[John Davidson] “I’m also bringing a squirt gun.”

A paintball gun full of pepper balls couldn’t have helped me that day….

-Dave