The Problem with Wedding Guests with Cameras Perfectly Explained In A Single Photo

If you’ve been to a wedding recently you’ve probably noticed this; if you make a living photographing weddings you’ve definitely seen it: more and more guests these days watch weddings through their smartphone screens as they photograph and record every moment of it. God forbid Facebook won’t get to see the entire ceremony.

While many photographers have a hard time with this trend, Thomas Stewart posted a rant along with several points for couples planning a wedding to consider. The post has gone viral and could be the boost needed towards unplugged weddings.

“The feedback from the general public has been amazing, and generally very positive,” Thomas told DIYP.

The photo alone is enough to convince anyone in his right mind that wedding guests need to put their cameras down and go back to being guests, but Thomas’ post is definitely worth a read as well:

In case you were too lazy, these are the four points he presents to couples planning their wedding:

1. Guests with cameras (phones, iPads and “regular” cameras) get in the way of the professional photographers and ruin shots.
2. The same guests will get in the way of the couple.
3. Photos taken by guests are for the most part useless and of low quality.
4. (This one’s too good to edit, so you’re getting the full version): Imagine you’re in the middle of your wedding ceremony. You’re elated. You decide to take a quick glance towards your guests as you’re sure they’re sharing these happy moments with you, possibly even shedding a tear of their own. What do you see? NO FACES AT ALL AS THEY ARE ALL HIDDEN BEHIND PHONES AND CAMERAS! I highly doubt this is the way you want to remember your wedding ceremony.

The Facebook post has been shared over 60,000 times, received over 90,000 ‘likes’ and almost 20,000 comments.

Being posted on the internet naturally the post attracted trolls claiming that he is bad at his job and that he needs to deal with the influx of technology, but for the most part his message was very well received.

“Many, many comments from brides who are getting married and who are now considering an unplugged ceremony; lots of people tagging their engaged friends, and others saying they wish they’d done this,” Thomas told us, adding that all his past clients have been super supportive as well.

So what can we all take from this?

1. If you’re a guest at a wedding leave your camera at home or in your pocket. If you just have to get a photo for Facebook, make it quick and make sure you’re not in anyone’s way.
2. If you’re planning a wedding, you should seriously consider a sign at the entrance (or even on the invitation) asking guests to enjoy the ceremony and leave the stills and video recording to the strangers who aren’t there for any other reason.
3. If you’re the photographer and you encounter the same problem, have your clients read Thomas’ post. Then ask them to consider an unplugged wedding. You can thank Thomas later.

You can see more work by Thomas Stewart (mostly without interfering guests) on his website and Facebook page.

Wedding guests reading this might also want to read ‘10 Ways to be a Better Wedding Guest‘.