When wedding photographers talk shop, a common topic is how to work around “Uncle Bob,” the proverbial wedding guest who fancies him- or herself a serious photographer with nice gear and is anxious to use it. Typically the discussion centers on how to prevent Uncle Bob from interfering with the hired pro as we work to capture the best images for the bride and groom enjoy.
As a photographer I can appreciate Uncle Bob’s perspective. Photographers are artists, and each one has a different creative vision. It is only natural to want to capture a special event like a wedding with your own style and vision. And perhaps Uncle Bob will have a perspective or vantage point to capture some great images.
Quite frankly, I welcome the participation of photographer guests at the weddings we cover at Vivid Visions Photo-Graphics. They are more familiar with the unique personalities and relationships among the guests, and will often recognize a once in a lifetime photo opportunity that the hired pro may miss. If they can capture such a moment in a photograph, I hope they will, and that they will share it with bridal couple.
However, I do hope, and if necessary will ask, the Uncle Bob of the day to respect my role as a fellow photographer, and more importantly, the hired pro, so I can do the job the bride and groom are expecting of me and my staff. We do our best to not interfere with the activities, but rather record them, and we ask Uncle Bob not to interfere with our work by jumping front of us to grab a shot or distracting the subjects while we are trying to work through the formal portrait session.
In the end, after all, we are all after the same thing-capturing images that reflect the emotion, style and beauty of this once in a lifetime event. If the hired pro and the photog guest worked together, the results can be wonderful.
Brides and grooms, do you have an Uncle Bob coming to your wedding? Tell us how you will prepare your hired photographer for him.
