Photo Crazed Guests, iPhones and the unplugged wedding

You know, i’ve been wanting to write a long winded blog post for sometime about how intrusive wedding guests and their iPhones, cameras and yes, even iPads have become. ( I even have my own name for those guests: iPadders – fell free to steal that, btw )    They stand in the aisle, block the photos you’re there getting paid to capture and cause distractions during family formals where everyone is looking at THEM and not you. Once upon a time it was a small issue to deal with – now it’s like having an team of paparazzi’s behind you as you’re trying to work. At times, they even push you out of the way–no joke. Perhaps i’ll come to YOUR job, hover over you and poorly attempt to do what you’re doing simultaneously while you’re trying to get work done.

I understand the basic drive behind this, but it has gotten SO out of hand now that it’s become so easy and accessible for everyone to ‘get the shot’. It’s not that i’m even worried that they’ll ‘steal’ a photo and i’ll ‘lose a sale’ – its simply an awful distraction for everyone involved. No one is connected to what’s going on anymore or in the moment- they’re all busy hiding behind their devices. Where do these images end up? Do they get framed or forever sit on a memory card? What kind of image are you REALLY getting 100 yards away with an Android phone and teeny-tiny flash?

Crap – that’s what.

And what’s worse, is they immediately post their dark, blurry shots on the couples facebook page. Isn’t that what we all want? Our facebook feed filled with bad photography?

I could go on forever, but the reason i’m posting this now is that even CNN has caught on to this trend and has a great article here

as well as this amazing one on Offbeat Bride – which says it all!!!

So read on – take it to heart and maybe–just MAYBE – one day again i’ll get to photograph the bride walking down the aisle with out an army of bald heads, elbows and glowing screens in my way.