This isn't new or unheard of, there is nothing original about this post but I just wanted to give you my thoughts on mobile phones and uncle Bobs at weddings.
Uncle Bobs by the way can only be described as trigger happy DSLR users who have upgraded confidence with the ability to go beyond the general mobile phone user and leach on to the photographer like a mussel to a damp rock.
The way I see this whole unplugged wedding thing is this...
We all have mobile phones, capable of snapping photographs which aid in keeping our memories at our fingertips. Brilliant! We all have social media, a great tool to share our memories with others who are not at a certain event etc. Great! But we have to assess the worth of both of these things when it comes to big events like weddings.
For example, if you are at your family members wedding, there she is, the beautiful bride in her shimmering gown, walking down the aisle.. this is a memorable moment for you. One to enjoy to the full. But wait, you decide to focus on the back of an iPhone screen, putting your heart and focus else where in order to share it with someone else (who will also watch it on a screen) and someone who wasn't even close enough to you or the bride to be invited to the day anyway ... It seems kinda pointless to me!
Considering most of your other friends and family members are in the same room, why can you not share the moment with them by just being in the room?
Now credit where credit is due, Jen - I am not criticising your photo here just using it as an example ;-) Check this out...
Great photo, I especially like the motion blur, but what makes this a runner-up for the next wedding industry award is the grain and composition.
I'm just kidding, but this can sometimes go beyond a joke! I've seen awful examples of plugged weddings where people have restricted the hired photographer's view just for a snap like this!
What's worse, I've seen examples where people have even restricted the grooms view of his bride as she walks down the aisle just to get a snap like this!
But as I mentioned earlier, It bothers me more that we have an awful habit of being glued to our devices even in beautiful moments instead of living them.
I am not saying that I don't understand, I do! But it's sometimes great to discern whether certain moments in life are better to share through a device with people you care less about or to be immersed in the beautiful moment with people you care a lot about.
OK so a few photographers will say 'but a good photographer will move and adjust his / her composition in order to get a good shot' ... well that's exactly what I do but it doesn't make this any better. Does the bride appreciate the above picture or would she rather people be in the moment and wait for the photographer to share one like the below?
Not to mention, us photographers are paid a lot of money and I have to say mobile phones / iPads and DSLR cameras look messy on photos. Check out the image below, this is a close crop just for illustration purposes so excuse the quality.
Final Thoughts:
Future brides, I certainly recommend having an unplugged wedding for 3 main reasons.
1. It allows your guests to LIVE the moment they were invited for.
2. It allows the official photographer to get more aesthetically pleasing images.
3. It stops any problems which may arise with regards to restricting the view of either the groom or the official photographer.
Food for thought any how.
JB//