So I'm editing my boss's photos and I'm kind of amazed at how many shots of the videographer he got. I thought to myself, he must have been having an off day where he just couldn't find the right angle or something. Then I saw this photo and decided it wasn't him, it was over load on videographers. OMG!!! Thought that you guys would find it funny.

Click to view attachment

I agree with your statement. Wow.

That is funny!

LOL - yeah, I just shot a wedding where the bride's father is a wedding videographer. So, I had 3 videographers to work around! Luckily I got along very well with the bride's family, so I was able to make a couple of requests and he was very respectful of not getting in my way (and I reciprocated that to the videographers as well).

When you OSP'ers shoot weddings, do you ask how many videoographers there will be? just wondering.... I know some people have it stated in their contract that they are the only photog present.

Thanks,

Patrick

Wow! I wonder if they got the footage? LOL

I usually talk with the videographers before hand, but I'm pretty sure that these people were guests at the wedding. I think the bide and groom had asked them to do this for them, so not much professional courtesy on hand.

It reminds me of yesterday... 2 pro videographers, and it's been exhausting to get them out of the frame all day long ! I had to run all the time to avoid them. There was also a complete lack of respect in their attitude : they could stand in front of the ceremony and not feel bad at it !

I think one of the problems is related to lenses... The video cameras often don't have wide angle lenses (AFAIK, their wide end of the zoom looks like a 40-50mm to me), and the videographers tend to see everything zoomed in... And I think they tend to get closer and closer and not use their zoom range (not all of them, obviously).

Yesterday, the videographers were often at 3-10 ft from the bride and groom during the ceremony (!), while I tend to shoot from 15-30ft from them... because my lenses range from 16 to 320mm, I can get a wide shot and a closeup without moving too much to reduce disturbance.

I know it's a paradox... but I think that the wider lenses you have, the more you learn to shoot from a distance.

Most of the time, the bride and groom tell me that I was invisible... On that last wedding, I just couldn't work the way I usually do.

But I got my revenge when the couple exited from the church... I was shooting at 16mm and stood in front of the videographers :-) and I refused to let them shoot with me during the posed shots at the reception to reduce the disturbance.

I don't know how we could deal better with this kind of problem... should I include in my contracts who I will NOT work with ? LOL

Cheers
Chris

I never get too close during the ceremony - but at the reception, I'm up close with my 10-22.

The last 3 weddings we shot we ended up with surprise videographers. One of them was a husband and wife team (very nice couple). They were in alot of our shots...some we could photo shop and some we couldnt. I would love to show her what what we had to shoot around. Alot of good that would actually do us now after the fact but I think one day I am going to put together a small album of shots to show them what can happen.

This is getting typical...ppl with little point and shoots are standing in front of us at critical times! It is shocking!

And of course the old joe with his camera kit that he just bought and follows you around to get the same shots you are getting.

what do you guys do short of tap them on the shoulder and say HEY!

Kerri

10-22 is THE answer... you can't get much wider, so you can get closer...

When the couple gets out of the church, I always have the 10-22 on my 30D... If I can use it at 22, fine, but if I need to, I know I can stand in front of amateurs with the wide angle of view.

And my 10-22 is also getting more and more use during the reception, since it allows "I was there" shots... the pics look like you are among the guests, or the dancers... The only drawback : it's VERY intrusive, and some guests try to get out of the frame... but most of the time, they don't realize how wide your lens is... It's disturbing for guests, so you must work fast, since most of the time you have only one chance to get the shot...

During the ceremony, I'm using the 10-22 differently, to get shots of the whole environment.

I recently had a wedding where the grooms father was a professional videographer as well.

4 pews from the front, both sides, DUAL SEATED TV quality live view Sony Cameras. 2 operators for the top stable cameras. 1 Camera man in the back of the ceremony. 1 Camera man ON THE PLATFORM, I kid you not in every wide angle shot.

I moved more in that wedding than I usually do, and I'm a MOVING photographer. I had to get an angle. I purposely left shots with the camera men in their gallery.

Then dad was shoot over my shoulder all night, especially during the formals where I had 1 camera man, and Dad with his new D50 with softbox.

If it was anyone BUT dad, I would of said something. At the reception I mentioned to him politely, "Man, I wish I had a great shot of you and your wife but you've been running around all day with a camera around your neck." He stopped shooting much after that.

All in all though, I made it work. I'll post a shot sometime. These camera men in the 4th pews killed my wide angle shots of the church, totally ruined that shot.

-tmiller
Tim Miller Photography
http://tmillerphoto.com