A rule I have for photographing weddings is to never photograph anything that could be illegal or could potentially embarrass someone.
I call it basic human decency.
So when I heard about this photography studio posting an embarrassing, damaging video online and it being reported in the media, it did have me scratching my head.
It would seem obvious that if you see something extremely embarrassing or even illegal, you don’t make it viral. Or even better, you spend your life honing your art so that you see the things worth remembering when you photograph.
It’s true, dead drunk grooms aren’t something I’ve ever seen. I don’t get weddings where their plan is to get as plastered as possible and embarrass themselves and everyone else. So rather than two drunks in front of my camera all day, I’m there to see the romantic, fun moments that most people miss.
What happens when people set out to drink excessively? And the photography studio sees severe intoxication as something funny worth sharing with the world?
It’s two juvenile mindsets crashing together.
The media want to make this a copyright issue, which is simply ill informed (see my post on copyright here). The groom is naturally at fault for his drinking. The studio showed no respect or decency in posting the embarrassing behaviour online. And gosh… to add to this, it seems the studio in question subcontracted the work, when the clients were expecting the owners to work for them. This isn’t about drinking, copyright, or subcontracting.
This is about knowing the character of the person you’re commissioning to photograph your wedding.
Which is funny as I touched upon this in a recent interview with Brides, the UK’s #1 wedding magazine. See this extract below and the full interview here.
What are the three most important questions for couples to ask their photographer, in your opinion?
You need to look at their work first, and love it. Not like, but love. Then, you need to see if you get on well with them personally, as you’ll be spending a fair chunk of a very important day with them. Make sure you get both of those, not one or the other.
There are lots of smaller questions about logistics, organisation, etc, but I feel like there is only one you need to ask which will tell you whether they’re someone you can trust and wish to work with. Ask them this: “What is your method for photographing the right moments on my wedding day?”.
It’s that simple. Make sure you get a detailed plan. That way, you’ll know if your photographer is just going to take a stab in the dark, or actually knows what they’re doing.
See the report here: http://www.refinery29.com/2016/09/122252/bride-suing-wedding-viral-video
Or the clip from NBC. Note, you will have to endure a 30 second commercial first. Good luck.
