Sunbather “ruined” couple’s wedding photos after refusing to move
Jul 3, 2018
John Aldred
John Aldred is a photographer with over 25 years of experience in the portrait and commercial worlds. He is based in Scotland and has been an early adopter – and occasional beta tester – of almost every digital imaging technology in that time. As well as his creative visual work, John uses 3D printing, electronics and programming to create his own photography and filmmaking tools and consults for a number of brands across the industry.
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The UK has been receiving some ridiculously warm weather recently. Scotland recently had its hottest day in over 100 years, and we’re still pretty toasty today – at least by UK standards. One has to remember that this sort of weather is so uncommon here that pretty much nobody in the UK even has AC, except in their car.
As it’s such a rare event, we often take to the local parks and beaches to soak up the sun while we can. One woman in Devon, England, though, decided to soak up the sun just as a pair of newlyweds showed up to take outdoor wedding photos. She refused to move, so they carried on shooting around her.
Lad Bible reports that the couple, Mark Ling and Mandy Cripwell, tied the knot in church before heading out to a local beauty spot to shoot photos. Friends and family in tow. But on appearing they spotted the scantily-clad woman enjoying the sunshine. The guests say they just expected her to realise what was going on and move of her own accord.
We all spotted her there and thought she would move, but she just didn’t. I thought ‘how rude!’.
She was surrounded by wedding guests, the couple were behind her and the photographer kept calling different people over for pictures – so she knew what was going on.
Eventually she got up and left after about 10 minutes of hus being there taking photos – but she still left all her stuff there.
It was bloody rude and disrespectful.
– Natalie Ling, wedding guest
It’s a tough one, really. The wedding party has no more right to be there than she does, and they certainly have no right to make her move. So, she didn’t. And, well, as pointed out in the video above, she was there first. And, they could’ve just gone somewhere else rather than expecting everybody to get out of their way.
On the other hand, it’s supposed to be the happiest day of the wedding couple’s lives, so pretending to be asleep the first time she was asked to move does come across a little selfish. Especially when there appears to be a lot of empty space to which she could go. She was asked a second time to move by the limo driver, and she finally did, however, she left all her belongings where they were in plain view.
Personally, I’d have moved. But that’s mostly just because I hate weddings and don’t want to be anywhere near them.
[via Lad Bible]
John Aldred
John Aldred is a photographer with over 25 years of experience in the portrait and commercial worlds. He is based in Scotland and has been an early adopter – and occasional beta tester – of almost every digital imaging technology in that time. As well as his creative visual work, John uses 3D printing, electronics and programming to create his own photography and filmmaking tools and consults for a number of brands across the industry.
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40 responses to “Sunbather “ruined” couple’s wedding photos after refusing to move”
I get it… But the main photographer should have stepped up to the couple and tell them not to worry that she could be removed in post production. To put them at ease. .
I don’t think it was any more “rude” of her to refuse to move, then it was of them to expect her to. Like the article said, she was there first and it is a public place. Sure, she could have been polite about it and moved, however the article doesn’t say how nicely she was asked to move. I doubt that the couple will be forgetting their wedding day anytime soon.
I love it how the hosts can’t withhold from laughing. :D
I don’t think the sun bather ruined anything. I think it’s funny. One of those unexpected things that make for a great story. I think the super harsh light at that moment is a bigger deal breaker for me anyway. I hope the photographer had a powerful strobe handy.
I think, if I were the photographer, not that I’d ever actually shoot a wedding, mind you, is to have the guests pose around the sunbather. Make her a feature. :D
Easy fix, block the ?…
Looking at the angle of the pictures I think they could have framed it without getting her in. Saying that people can be assholes sometimes. I was at a wedding and had to get 50 guests across a town center road to some gardens, I stood in the road to ensure everyone was getting across ok cars stopped and beeped and thier occupants shouted out congratulations ( realising they probably had about to wait about 45 seconds for everyone to get across) then one guy on a push bike sped straight through nearly hitting guests giving the middle finger and telling everyone to fuck off…no need.
I would have use the opportunity to do a photoshoot of the sunbather. No privacy in public spaces.
It doesn’t seem to be a well chosen place to take wedding photos anyway, with that harsh sun.
Exactly. Worst location for portraits. Sun will wreck images anyway
Did somebody politely asked her to move for a second, of did they just assume she would leave because you started shooting anyway?
Both :)
No one asked her to move.
wrong. Read the article again.
Perhaps try reading the article, she was asked twice. :)
Manners cost nothing, the sun is quit big.
Why should they move? Getting married or being a wedding photographer doesn’t make you special…….I’d have stayed put. ?
dont take pictures in public space then if you want to be alone
As a photographer, this was a public place, there were people resting here => I would have had the decency to choose an other place to shoot.
(And that comes without saying that it is always important to have a backup plan.)
An the other end, if i were this lady, i would have moved without anyone asking me.
Stubbornness is never helping.
What moron photographer would shoot in full sun anyway. First part of video shows shade cast by trees. Should be shooting in shade. Only thing that harsh light is good for is sunbathing
I’ve not read one mention of asking her to move for the pictures. Plus, that area would be terrible for pictures.
Guess you did not read the entire article. She was asked once and pretended to be asleep and finally moved when the limo driver asked, but left her crap.
So, her stuff is crap? Is that because she refused to move from a spot she had landed on first?
Everybody’s stuff is crap. It’s just a phrase…
You know, like when you’re a kid and your parents says “Tidy up your crap in your bedroom”. They do know you’re using the bathroom like a good little boy. That’s not what they’re asking. :)
Did you apply and pay for a permit to shoot in that location, and do you have $100,000 liability insurance, no aww too bad. Move along now.
100% on the sunbather’s side. If you’d be in a park and a super-loud group of people came over where you are and started making a giant mess around you, and then had the nerve to ask you – who were there first – to leave, how would you feel? Just because it’s a wedding, it doesn’t excuse the situation, it could just as well be a large family planning a picnic and bbq.
Clone tool in photoshop
Some public parks will allow you to purchase a permit with the city and rent the time to photograph at the park.
If they had a permit or pass, yes. Otherwise, not my problem.
If you look at the angle of the group it only the women with the cellphone shooting over the sunbather
now everyone’s angry.. good
Doesn’t even look like she’s in their shot. (my internet is too slow to watch the video atmo)
I would’ve had the party stand around here so they would cast a shadow on her. Can’t sunbath with no sun. ????
Crappy light anyway. Good for the sunbather!
I don’t know, they say she was rude, but, as someone who shoots outdoors all the time, you have to work around people. That’s the nature of the business. Wedding parties can be rude, too. I was once doing a photoshoot in DC, a portrait session with one person. Had planned this prime spot, and went when the lighting was perfect. I was there first, with my client taking shots. Had a list of poses I wanted to get done, although it shouldn’t have taken more than about 10-15 minutes.
But, after only a few minutes a wedding party shows up with their photographer and crew. Same thing, they basically surrounded me, pushed me and my client aside, took over the whole location without even asking even though we were there first AND in the middle of a PAID shoot, just like them. Just because they were a wedding party, they just expected us to give up the location to them, they were more ‘important’ than us. I ended up getting less than half the shots done I had planned in that location because of them.
So, you can argue either way for the sunbather, but the expectations of wedding parties that everyone would and should get out of their way is also a bit iffy as well.
Paid shoot… did you book the space? If so, a phone call to the organisation you booked with should have put paid to the other group showing up to take over. If you mean paid shoot as in you were hired for some pictures… well that’s a moot point. If you didn’t reserve the space, shitty attitudes aside, they’ve got every right to be there too.
The thing I’m not getting is did you speak to the photographer for the wedding party and ask them to wait fir the 10-15 minutes that you needed since you had set poses and wouldn’t need more time than that to capture? Because that seems a perfectly reasonable request.
It is what it is, two ‘parties’ trying to enjoy the park. Why should they be granted free run of any place they so choose?Buying a permit would only allow one to shoot, though, not ‘rent’ the entire place! Right? I don’t know.
For the wedding-goers to call her rude, though? I think the rude ‘party’ IS the wedding party! Nah!
From reading the article, it seems that no one even asked her to move. I would bet, especially being a woman, she would have gladly moved over a few feet to allow a Bride to get her Wedding pictures. It is truly conjecture on my part, but because no one actually asked her if she would mind moving over a few feet and explaining that she was in the shot – this situation is not newsworthy.
If I were in her place and someone politely asked me to vacate that space for the duration if the shoot, I might have moved. If they just showed up and expected everyone to get out of the way… nah. Fk them. Generally if a space is booked for photography, there are markers put uo ti say it is reserved.
The situation depends on how you are asked. The sunbather has every right to stay put, but any reasonable person would happily move. I suspect someone in the wedding party had little tact when they asked the lady to move, and she felt she wasn’t given an option so she stood her ground. Unless you have paid to use the area, no-one has a right to make someone move, especially when they were there first.