What would you do? This Saturday I was down at our local track. There was a professional photography group there and it was middle school football pictures day. They had tents, lines &...

jmsail365 Loc: Stamford, Ct

This Saturday I was down at our local track. There was a professional photography group there and it was middle school football pictures day. They had tents, lines & signs set up for the teams & cheerleaders. They were organizing the groups for team & individual photos. As the 2 professional photographers were shooting one of the teams, 2 mothers were in back of them shooting the team on their cell phones. I'm thinking nothing prevents these Mothers from sending their photos out to other parents possibly costing this group business. So I was wondering what would you do? Would you ask the Mothers to refrain from taking the shots or just ignore them which is what seemed to happen?

mcveed Loc: Kelowna, British Columbia (between trips)

If I was the professional I would keep my mouth shut. If I was one of the mothers and one of the professionals asked me to refrain from taking pictures I would tell him to jump in the lake. We photographers are very jealous of our right to take pictures, particularly on public property, and resent anyone threatening that right. Besides if the mothers were asked to stop taking pictures that fact would very soon be known by every mother of every team member and the sale of prints would plummet.

Leitz Loc: Solms

jmsail365 wrote:

This Saturday I was down at our local track. Ther... (show quote)

As long as I was getting paid for the shoot, I wouldn't concern myself about it.

cockney greg Loc: London E17

I don't think they would be too worried about cellphone pictures.People tend to order their photo as it's taken to make sure they have a reasonable picture rather than the off chance of getting a shot from someone not necessarily in the right position for the shot.

rpavich Loc: West Virginia

jmsail365 wrote:

This Saturday I was down at our local track. Ther... (show quote)

Who are you asking?

A bystander?

The pros?

If I were a bystander I'd not interfere...not my business.

If I were the pro I wouldn't say a word...do you know where cell phone shots look good?

Yes..on cell phones and no where else.

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

jmsail365 wrote:

This Saturday I was down at our local track. Ther... (show quote)

Thankfully, we don't have photography police. How many times have we seen rants here because the police stopped someone from taking pictures. If someone prefers a cell phone shot to a professional photo, that's their choice. If the photographers wanted total privacy, they could have arranged that.

juicesqueezer Loc: Okeechobee, Florida

mcveed wrote:

If I was the professional I would keep my mouth shut. If I was one of the mothers and one of the professionals asked me to refrain from taking pictures I would tell him to jump in the lake. We photographers are very jealous of our right to take pictures, particularly on public property, and resent anyone threatening that right. Besides if the mothers were asked to stop taking pictures that fact would very soon be known by every mother of every team member and the sale of prints would plummet.

:thumbup:

roxiemarty Loc: Florida

jmsail365 wrote:

This Saturday I was down at our local track. Ther... (show quote)

As someone who worked for TSS youth sports photography, we did not say anything about team shots as long as they, the parent, wasn't disrupting our schedule. But they were not allowed to take the individual portrait with our backdrop in our photobooth tent. We had a sign saying so, and stopped them if they tried. We just said it was a copyright issue. Most want those sports cards and plaques anyway.

Cdouthitt Loc: Traverse City, MI

So in the same regard if a bride and a groom hired a wedding photographer, you'd tell everyone else that they were not allowed to take pictures?

Only if the moms were getting in my way would I say something, or if they showed up with a rig fancier than mine.

Db7423 Loc: Pittsburgh, PA

Cdouthitt wrote:

So in the same regard if a bride and a groom hired a wedding photographer, you'd tell everyone else that they were not allowed to take pictures?

Only if the moms were getting in my way would I say something, or if they showed up with a rig fancier than mine.

"or if they showed up with a rig fancier than mine" LOL. ;)

Swamp Gator Loc: Coastal South Carolina

Were any of the moms hot?

Cdouthitt Loc: Traverse City, MI

Swamp Gator wrote:

Were any of the moms hot?

good point...One might need an assistant...to help out.

roxiemarty Loc: Florida

Cdouthitt wrote:

So in the same regard if a bride and a groom hired a wedding photographer, you'd tell everyone else that they were not allowed to take pictures?

Only if the moms were getting in my way would I say something, or if they showed up with a rig fancier than mine.

The difference between sports photographs and weddings is a huge one. Weddings are a once, usually, in a lifetime event. And no one should get in the way of the wedding photographer hired by the family! Just because someone has a big " rig" doesn't make them a good photographer. And the league has contracted with this youth sports company to do their portraits! Would you be allowed to hang around and take school photos, with their lights and backdrops? I think not. Almost the same. Just sayin'

jmsail365 Loc: Stamford, Ct

[quote=rpavich]Who are you asking?

I'm asking the UHH. I'm honestly curious to see how the pros & also the amateurs on this board feel about this. If it were me I would probably let it go but not be happy about it.
Sorry to say I did not notice if the Moms were hot!!
:)

Jackinthebox Loc: travel the world

[quote=jmsail365]

rpavich wrote:

Who are you asking?

I'm asking the UHH. I'm honestly curious to see how the pros & also the amateurs on this board feel about this. If it were me I would probably let it go but not be happy about it.
Sorry to say I did not notice if the Moms were hot!!
:)

Moms are always hot, about their kids. You want to get them mad? Try stopping them taking pictures of their kids. Cell phone or P&S or bridge or DSLR. Only a fool tangles with a mad Momma bear.

professional Photographers are not fools, but the OP could be a fisherman v/s a photog. :oops: