What would you do? (Page 2): Couldn't notice if you are male or female. If male, I don't believe you.Of course you noticed. Go a head admit it. No, wait a minute. Maybe your wife was...

boberic Loc: Quiet Corner, Connecticut. Ex long Islander

[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!!
:)

Couldn't notice if you are male or female. If male, I don't believe you.Of course you noticed. Go a head admit it. No, wait a minute. Maybe your wife was with you. ( If my wife was with me I wouldn't have noticed either.)

drmarty Loc: Pine City, NY

Leitz wrote:

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

:thumbup:

MarkD Loc: NYC

They are within their rights to shoot in a public place. Using the pro's backdrops is a different matter. If this took place on private property the owner of the property probably could prevent the moms from taking photos if he/she wanted to.

jmsail365 Loc: Stamford, Ct

boberic wrote:

Couldn't notice if you are male or female. If male, I don't believe you.Of course you noticed. Go a head admit it. No, wait a minute. Maybe your wife was with you. ( If my wife was with me I wouldn't have noticed either.)

To your point if I want to, as Spock would put it, "Live long & prosper" I plead the 5th. A Kamikaze pilot has better odds than a husband answering that question!

Mr PC Loc: Austin, TX

I shot my first wedding as a volunteer for my nephew last weekend in Savannah, GA. He's a millennial with geeky friends. The smartphones and iPads vastly outnumbered the DSLR's and were in every shot. People taking pictures of other people taking selfies. It is what it is. I recorded the event truthfully. I wonder how it will look to their kids 30 or 40 years from now? I now have the greatest respect for wedding photographers and can only imagine what their psychotherapy bills must be like. I did make sure I got fed, which Kelby says REAL photographers never do, they eat ahead of time or have Powerbars.

amehta Loc: Boston

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.

:thumbup: :thumbup: :lol:

I pissed off the pro at my cousin's wedding because of this. Though before the ceremony I tried to introduce myself and assure him that I did not want to step on his toes, but he brushed me off. :-)

BHC Loc: Strawberry Valley, JF, USA

As mentioned earlier, if the pros had any concerns, they could have used closed tents. Actually, if the pros were really good with their backdrops, lighting and poses (as related to camera position), they might welcome the phone camera pictures so that the parents could see the fifference between a professional, studio-type photograph and a snapshot.

If I were a car dealer, I'd love to have a customer take a test ride in a poorly tuned X car before I gave them a test ride in the super tuned Y car I want to sell them. Imagine doing this with a Ford Taurus SE as the X car and an SEL as the Y car.

roxiemarty Loc: Florida

Mogul wrote:

As mentioned earlier, if the pros had any concerns... (show quote)

You obviously have not seen a photo tent. They would not be closed!We, the photographers, would die of a heat stroke, in our 10 by 10 studio. It is a small setup on a field sideline or sometimes, if basketball, in a gym. Team shots are not in the tent. Fla is very hot, sometimes we only have the top , back, and one side to block the bright sun. Outside of each tent, we had a sign saying No photos beyond this point!

Gene51 Loc: Yonkers, NY, now in LSD (LowerSlowerDelaware)

jmsail365 wrote:

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

Your issue is with the organizer. There is nothing you can say to the parent(s). If you have an exclusive contract, and it specifically states that you are the only shooters at the venue, then it is their obligation to protect your rights.

In the real world, the moms will shoot, the photographer will never get that business anyway, and life goes on. It will make you rethink what you are offering - and make it so your images are so much more desirable than what casual snapshot takers can do with their cameras that it makes them want your stuff. You can leverage technology and social media by putting up your amazing pictures on Instagram, Pinterest Facebook, and your website - low res/watermarked of course - but shots that blow everyone away. There are a lot of ways to deal with this issue, but the best way is to provide the value proposition and forget about the sales that you aren't going to get anyway.

kubota king Loc: NW , Pa.

Glad you brought this up .When my brother died of cancer . I took my camera to his son's wedding . I went inside the church where the photographer was taking photos . I was taking photos in between his . My brother and I were very close . He only asked me not to shoot while he was taking photos . I also took some during the reception . Plus I had my nephew and his wife pose for shots that the photographer never thought of which they told me they loved the most . I also took the photos and removed all the wires hanging , shadows that showed up , etc. Nothing was going to stop me from taking photos of my brother's son and daughter inlaw . I know in my heart he would of wanted it that way , we were that close . Tommy

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.

jmsail365 Loc: Stamford, Ct

roxiemarty wrote:

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.

Thanks for your answers! I was especially wondering how the professionals felt about this. Not only were there the 2 photographers but a 3rd person helping to organize and run this event. That's 3 people who need to be paid plus all the other overhead in running a business. The mothers were basically helping themselves to someone else's work product.

RKL349 Loc: Connecticut

jmsail365 wrote:

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

I would not say anything. Cell phone shots frequently circulate through social media. I don't know anyone who shoots with a cell phone who makes 8x10 or 11x13 prints to sell, for obvious reasons.

redhogbill Loc: antelope, calif

of course the mothers were HOT, there is a middle school shoot going on , so the mothers had to be around 34 to 40 years old!! given the age most of us on UHH are , we would think that there grandmothers were HOT!!

revhen Loc: By the beautiful Hudson

At the wedding of one of my nieces we were ordered not to take any pictures by the photographer and this was supported by the father of the groom. Infuriating! Arrogant! As I see it, the primary if not the only people getting pictures from the pro would be the bride and groom and perhaps some of the immediate family. Left a most bad taste in my mouth to say the least. Blah!

dsmeltz Loc: Philadelphia

The constitution trumps the photography company. Period. Even if the mothers were running around with medium format cameras. If it is on public land, in public view, it is fair game for any photographer.

At many foot races this is handled by making sure that there is unattractive junk in the way of the non-company photographers. Yeah, you might get a shot of Johnny crossing the finish line, but the photographers ladder blocks his arm, or an equipment stand ruins the shot.

This should be even easier in a lit backdrop setting with lighting gear and other staff around.