nathanweddings

Now retired, I photographed more than 1000 weddings and other events. (Really). In the film days I used Rolleiflex (silent) & Hasselblad(not silent) cameras. It's all about common sense & courtesy. During the ceremony stand in the back & use a long lens on the Hassy. If closer use the Rollie.

DebAnn Loc: Toronto

Sorry, but that really is a rant. I photograph weddings for family and friends and I use my trusty dslrs and have never run into a complaint about noise. I have sometimes found that guests using their own cameras can get in the way, but that's a very different issue. Regardless of what you say about mirrorless cameras, many of us don't feel it necessary to change.

E.L.. Shapiro Loc: Ottawa, Ontario Canada

I was not going to respond to this thread because I sometimes experience difficulty in expressing myself in a logical, patient, gracious, and informative manner when I am angry. After reading the OP's complaint, I shut down my computer, took a drive to the dojo, and had a friendly fight with another old geezer- it was therapeutic! My bones hurt!

I have 61 years in professional photograhy and still offer wedding coverages as part of my services. Over the years I have worked with all sorts of equipment, some of which were big, bulkey, and somewhat noisy while being operated. I managed, however, to never become an invasive or annoying distraction at a wedding or any other event. It's a matter of professionalism, planning, timing, precise shootg strategies, and a sense of decorum, respect, good manners, peopl skills, and compassion.

So, why am I angry? These a sub-culture on this forum that surfaces wherever the the topic of wedding photography arises. The OP's rant is typical. Folks who are involved in other aspects of photoghay but never had the experience, pressure, and responsibility of professional wedding coverage, opine on elements of the job that they have absolutely no knowledge of. In other words, they don't know what the Devil they are talking about! Like typical "gearheads," they analyze real or imagined issues by working backward from equipment choices rather than perhaps the photographers' lack of technique or any of the aforementioned social skills.

I remember, as a kid, teasing our family doctor about his injection technique being painful. He retorted jokingly, "I can take your appendix out without taking your clothes off, and you would not feel it"! I loved that- laughed my head off and never felt the shot! My anaoligy is, I can shoot a wedding with a 4x5 press camera, a big old ugly 200-watt-second strobe and you woud hardly notice me"! A bit hyperbolic but y'all get the idea! It's all in the technique, timing, and approach.

Now let's get real. A photograher with all their equipmet can not be "invisible"- I am a big -ugly old guy with a grey beard but I move quickly and quietly. Any experienced and savvy wedding photographer knows how to operate efficiently and unobtrusively. Regardless, as a guest, you need to realize that the photographer is there on behalf of the bride and groom who expect a comprehensive coverage of their weddingg day. These photogahers are not the uninvited marauding Paparazzi- thye there are couple's bequest!

As a long-time wedding veteran, I can tell y'all that not all weddings are the same. Some are comparatively dignified, religious, and quiet affairs - perhas a string quartet or a smooth jazz group at the reception and some are noisy, raucous celebrations extending into the early morning hours. Thankfully, most are normal, fun, upbeat, and congenial events. Many venues do not have concert-hall acoustics, and DJs are usually not sound engineers or audiophiles- they just pump up the decibels to the point of hearing loss! Thank goodness most indoor venues, nowadays, prohibit smoking- one could easily be asphyxiated in the olden days.

Back to th OP's experience. Let's assume the photographers at that wedding were highly competent and experienced shooters and were just doig their job. Perhaps they would go unnoticed by non-photographers but photo-nerds, like me, might pay attention to what they were up to and become distracted. Some of the younger generations of photographers tend to "machine gun" every shot and thus the excessive mirror-slap and shutter noise. They "spray and pray", and I "gun and run"!

Wedding photograhy is a business that requre a hefty investment in gear. You can't expect, even an established photographer, to pack in a large inventory of gear just to suddenly change up to a mirrorless system. You can't expect the responsible photographer to completely abandon flash usage, especially if there is insufficient light to accommodate good exposure, adaquette depth of fied, action-stopping ability, and high IQ.

As Ron and other photographers who did wedding photography alluded to, the success in this kind of work is in planning and communicating. The photograher has to consult with the wedding couple in advance and ascertain what their expectations are as to coverage and then inform them as to the photographer's visibility and participation in the day's events. Good photographers network with clergy, officiators, caterers, wedding planners, DJs or musicians, florists and decorators, and other folks who perform service at weddings, to ensure smooth cooperation.

The attached image is my imaginary built-in oscilloscope readout at an average wedding reception. I have always said that wedding photography is not for the impatient or faint of heart. As for guests- some may requre dark glasses and earplugs!

jamesl Loc: Pennsylvania

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Robertl594 Loc: Bloomfield Hills, Michigan and Nantucket

Understood. Thanks for your reply. Having a fair bit of knowledge, when I hire a photographer next, my questions will be specific to the event. If it is for my other daughter's wedding or a quiet event, I will absolutely require a mirrorless camera to greatly reduce or eliminate the noise. When people ask me to refer them to photographers for weddings and other events, it is part of my referral process. I do not photograph weddings or Bar Mitzvahs, but I am asked to frequently.

Hal Masover Loc: Iowa and Florida

I've been a wedding photographer for many years and shot many weddings. I have never once heard this complaint about me or any other wedding photographer. I have two DSLRs that create terrific images. Unlike mirrorless cameras their batteries last all day. With mirrorless you better bring 3 batteries. But according to you, I'm thoughtless and rude and should spend upwards of $15,000 to replace my two camera bodies and their lenses and carry extra batteries for each camera just in case I might irritate some imaginary person who has not yet been at my weddings. There are reasons to buy new equipment. This isn't one of them. I'll pass and continue using cameras I know like the back of my hand to create images that have been making brides and their families happy for many years. Thanks for the heads up. If you see me at a wedding please introduce yourself so I'll make sure not to stand anywhere near you.

jaymatt Loc: Alexandria, Indiana

I am NOT a wedding photographer, but I have several friends who are. I'll be sure to tell them to get rid of all their old DSLR equipment and buy new mirrorless because I read here that you said to do that. Yeah, sure I will.

Dan' de Bourgogne

Well spoken = a reasonable comment!
BTW, nobody is asking if all the burstes from flash shot by the guestes are disturbing (or not?) the official photographer.

Robertl594 Loc: Bloomfield Hills, Michigan and Nantucket

I think you are eloquent and effective in communicating your point, so thank you. I am sorry that you became angry about my post. Maybe something else is the issue and you are using me to blow off some steam. That's ok with me. I am not offended. Please continue to read.

As I go through life, I like to keep perspective in the center stage of my interpretations of experiences, when I am formulating my opinions and thoughts. I am not the only one who knows things and I respect the opinions and thoughts of others. I like to think that I am reflective, forgiving and thoughtful. The point of my conversation was to express my annoyance that was also experienced by a few rows of the wedding audience and to hopefully generate some awareness among those who photograph events. I actually like to sound of my DSLR, makes me feel like I may be capturing something important. However, there are times when the sound of a shutter is absolutely inappropriate and should not be heard.

The perspective I am referring to is the time element of how we transition from one thing to another. I do not think it is reasonable to expect that all DSLRs should or will be replaced all at once. I do think that if people are aware that they cause issues in certain environments, then they can begin to think about an eventual transition which will be ultimately beneficial from a technology advancement perspective. It also becomes a competitive advantage to own tools that do the jobs better than older tools. A camera is a tool especially if you earn a living from it or use it to create art. It can be a big selling point, if you know how sell it. Unfortunately, it is also the cost of doing business.

Manufacturing companies upgrade their CNC equipment to stay ahead of the competition as the newer controls offer multi-axis controls, easier user interfaces for programming, closed-loop feedback and QC, faster cycle times enabling better and faster and more reliable output. That's one of the ways manufacturers stay competitive. I don't think the photography industry is that much different. Yes, you can still get great images from older cameras, but this whole conversation is about utilizing new technology to provide a better experience for both the photographer and his/her clients. You can choose to stay with older technology, you will get great images, but eventually, it will be equivalent to showing up to a writing competition with a vocabulary of 200 words and a period and a question mark, compared to someone with a 25,000 word vocabulary, and understanding of the period, question mark, comma, semi-colon, parentheses and an exclamation point. The story will be better and the listeners will be happier with a better experience.

I am sure that you are an absolutely brilliant wedding photographer. You have years of experience and capabilities and it sounds as though you have the sensitivity to work with all parties concerned. Those are real assets.

Thank you all for listening in and providing commentary on this topic. I really appreciate everyone's thoughts. Some agree with mine, some think I am out of line. I can deal with a wide range of opinions, as long as it is done with respect. That is how I learn.

Thank you

DebAnn Loc: Toronto

JD750 Loc: SoCal

Everyone seems to be circling the wagons around their favorite gear. Would it not be better to ask what is the best thing for the customer, the bride and the groom and the guests? Shouldn’t their needs be the focus of the conversation ?

Robertl594 Loc: Bloomfield Hills, Michigan and Nantucket

Makes total sense to me. As they guy who pays for the wedding and a guest, I agree with your prioritization. As the payer, we want the bride and guests happy, and as a guest, I want the payer to know I had a splendid time and everything they did was wonderful.

Robertl594 Loc: Bloomfield Hills, Michigan and Nantucket

I am sorry you are so offended by my comments and feelings. Don’t really understand why you are so angry with me. I must have hit a nerve. Sorry.
Do you scold your clients as well when they ask something of you that is not what you want to do? I believe no one has told you that your DSLR is noisy. Maybe you should ask them. If nothing else, maybe you will now hear it when it is quiet around you. Although, it really represents the sound of your importance. Until you are there with your cameras doing your job and the noise is glaringly absent, it is then that people realize what a great job you are doing. When you are there clicking away, people just digest your noise as a part of your presence

This topic was not supposed to irk such ire, but to poll opinions of people in the industry. It seems as though many choose not to hear my question/comment and become very defensive to my experience based observation, for what reason I can actually imagine. It’s seems like people are getting angry about a comment equivalent to “I don’t like your 85mm f/1.2”. That’s really silly but that what it feels like.

I think we have beaten this topic up enough. I got what I needed from this conversation, and much more.

Please remember that I love photography and everything to do with it. I am not passing judgement, but expressing something that I experienced and was curious to learn what others feel. Sure seems like a lot of people are very passionate about this.

E.L.. Shapiro Loc: Ottawa, Ontario Canada

Essentially, I am not a philosopher nor do I hold a degree in advanced business administration or corporate affairs. The goings on in international manufacturing corporations as to pre-emptive retooling is far above my pay grade.

Anyone who selects a wedding photographer, or any other specialized pro, strictly on the basis of their equipment is like making a seriously bad mistake. I can write a tome about the required skill sets and technical savvy that far supersede cameras and lenses.

Professionalism includes proper and appropriate equipment choices. A fairly current top-of-line DSLR system is far from antiquated or useless. At the end of the day, the client ends up with the resulting images, not the equipment.

The folks that are writing this approach would likely be offended or at least amused if someone was admiring their fine landscape, macro, wildlife, bird, or sports photography and saying "Gee- you must have a great camera". Actually, that is a kind of ongoing joke/gripe on this forum that applies to everything other than professional work!

A 25,000-word vocabulary and perfect grammar? Not me! Born, raised, and somewhat educated in Brooklyn, New York. College- mostly technical. If I were to write a book, I'd have to hire a professional ghost writer!

Best regards!

Robertl594 Loc: Bloomfield Hills, Michigan and Nantucket

I think you and I are the minority here. I have two black eyes and a broken arm now. Lol 😂