Thanks Bob… I was very inspired by Alice in Wonderland, when the Queen of hearts card men were "painting the roses red" and going for that bit of whimsical childhood magic. I'm also attempting to create a series of storybook type images for our home library, featuring the children, as a summer project.

I absolutely CRINGE when I see spot color, I feel like its almost impossible to do well, and generally looks like absolute crap. but this is one of my daughter (who is an avid painter) that I was playing around with. CC welcome.

This is my neck of the woods :) Great shooting locations!! The seaport is a must, also everyone who said Gillettes castle and the Essex steam train/steamboat…you can take the train to the boat..the boat to gillettes, then catch the return trip a couple hours later…its a great day trip!! I'm also going to recommend Harkness state park (Waterford Ct) is just a short drive away (maybe 20 minutes) and YES Mystic pizza is still open!! if you'd like somewhere a bit fancier, eat at the Captian Daniel packer Inn. fantastic food and Haunted!! also a hidden gem in Mystic is Clydes Cider Mill Its the oldest running stem powered press in the USA and their hard ciders and apple wines are amazing! and its very picturesque New England. taking the day trip to old Sturbridge Village is also VERY cool for a day of historical reenactment fun.

Nice 1st post.

I just posted on this exact topic and believe me I NEVER thought I'd be the type of professional who would walk out on a wedding. And I did.

I have also never had an issue with guests shooting at the wedding and in this day and age there are pleanty of people showing up with professional level cameras and most of them are courteous enough to use a nice long lens and are unobtrusive.
In my experience anyone who does this for a living asks permission to "shoot over my shoulder" so to speak... and I've never had an issue with that either.
Just this summer I had a "uncle bob" who wanted to learn literally shadow me almost the whole day asking questions..it was a relatively small wedding and I was happy to give him some tips and let him play photographer with me... he was very respectful and asked where he should stand so he could take pictures of the action and not be in my way etc... My Bride thanked me for "putting up" with him. but he was sweet and wasn't interrupting my flow..just asked some questions and observed.

In the situation that I did walk out on. Do I wish I had handled things differently? Yes.
Was walking out justifiable considering the circumstances? Yes

It was really a No Win situation. Is it going to hurt my reputation?? who knows.. But I think there is only a certain amount of completely insulting behavior that you should have to endure. and if another photographer takes it upon themselves to hijack your wedding and the Bride and Groom allow it..what recourse do you really have? There is a such thing as maintaining your dignity.

Thanks for sharing the Horror stories guys.. Its good to know I'm not alone.... Just lucky thus far.

Thanks for the laughs as well. The Asian wedding, and the one with the people sitting in the baptismal font..thats just hilarious!

I think most of us are extremely gracious about guests taking pictures at weddings... I've really never had an issue before that couldn't be handled with a "could you please wait until I've finished my shots and then I'll allow family/friends to get a few" or a tap on the shoulder and a hand gesture to schooch out of my way.

It was the sheer aggressiveness of this guy and the complete lack of regard that was so unbelievable. Its hard to imagine that someone could be so downright cocky. I must also be lucky that most of the other professional photographers in my area are such an affable bunch. I've finished up many a bridal show at the bar with my brethren comparing notes and discussing trends.

Thanks for the advice as well... I'm not even going to look at these images until I've been paid. And hopefully this can all be resolved without any more issues. Thank God wedding season is almost over. I'm exhausted.http://www.uglyhedgehog.com/compose_reply.jsp?topicnum=248043#

"a few hundred dollars"??? EEEKKKK that would never happen. I charged them $1500 which is roughly half what my fee would have been for this wedding. And I hacked out the finished products that they would have received if paying full package price in order to keep my end at least somewhat profitable for my time and expertise.

And I don't think I would have been any less pissed if I was doing it for free... You're right about it turning into some kind of competition though. I was there to provide a service.. not to go all pro vs pro in some kind of jockeying for position shoot off.

I'm not expecting a payback, and I do run my business as a pro.
Again it really wasn't about the "cost" of anything... I can well afford to cut a break to my friends and family members.

I was looking for advice on how to handle this sort of extreme situation. I'm not new here, I've been shooting weddings for well over a decade. and I have never had a problem like this. I was just wondering if anyone else had any insight.

see "friends and family discount" and yes, thats considerably less than I usually charge.
The issue really wasn't in the pricing, though in hindsight I'm sorry I did that for them. The issue was in the couple and their family members completely disrespecting our contract and being absolute jerks about it repeatedly.

I have a million of these.

Amehta.. I think you're probably right. at this point I'm not releasing any images until I've been paid in full. and I will NEVER shoot for "friends" again. The entire scene was ridiculous and I am really just amazed that another photographer would act like such a complete douchebag knowing how hard we all work, especially shooting weddings.

The only "favor" I did was deferring payment until after the event and gave them a "friends and family discount" something we all do from time to time.. Otherwise it absolutely was a business transaction and I kept it professional on my end.

I may just need to vent here... But I had a situation at a wedding yesterday that has Never come up before and I'm not sure how to handle it.

I stupidly agreed to shoot a friends wedding (note to self: go back to that friendship/ business dosen't mix rule) I agreed to a rate Insanely below my usual charge, and didn't get a deposit. (because they're friends, and I apparently am an idiot) <--- None of this is the issue I'm just giving some background.
This was all done with the understanding that they're planning and funding a wedding, just had a baby..etc..etc.. and that they would pay after the envelopes were opened. (and they most certainly didn't cut any corners elsewhere)
I OF COURSE had them sign a contract and am good on my end.

Now these "friends" have a cousin who is a wedding photog. and a good one, who refused to shoot their wedding saying that "they couldn't afford him and that he wanted to enjoy their wedding as a guest"... both valid reasons in my book.
When going over the contract I clearly explained the clause where I was to be the exclusive photographer (a standard in everyones contract) as I clearly explained every nuance and what rights and responsibilities they entail for us both.

The "photographer cousin" who dosen't even bother attending the ceremony, shows up at the reception fully equipped and proceeds to be a total pain in the ass. Shooting the event like he was the person hired to be there..stepping in front of my 2nd shooter to "get the shot" working the room with zero regard for where he was in my images.. most of my dance shots have him in the background in angles that should have been clean.
needless to say I was severly annoyed. I tried to play it cool..gave him a laughing, "you're hired! where should I send your paycheck?" and showed him The great shot I got of him... In the background of my 1st dance shot... perhaps I should have been more clear, but I was pretty sure I had gotten my point across and this guy is no stranger to the industry. Though he is apparently a complete stranger to professional courtesy. I took the groom aside as well and expressed my concerns and he responded with "oh its just what he does for a living, don't be jealous" (which really pissed me off)

At this point I'm just trying to get through the night and this wedding that I'm regretting more and more as the event goes on. When the DJ alerts me that its time for the bouquet toss and asks where my bride and groom are... So I go looking for them and find them outside with "the cousin" and his wife... This guy has my bride and groom knee deep in mud on a hillside outside the hall with all of his lighting, softboxes etc.. set up. taking formal photographs of the couple. (which had already been done hours before)
Straw that broke the camels back. Needless to say I'm seeing RED at this point. I grabbed my second shooter and told him to pack up we were out of there. This was a clear breach of contract, and obviously that clown had no regard for the timeline of the event, or the work the other vendors were putting into keeping things running smoothly.
I was stopped at my van by the Father of the bride (who was a tyrant and had told several guests that he "hated" me.. a man I had met twice and had been nothing but polite and professional with) There were some heated words and he told me I had no right to dictate the actions of his guests. I responded that I did when his guest was a professional in the industry who had been stepping on my toes all night long and that my contract clearly states that I have exclusive rights to photograph the wedding and that guests may take photos within reason but they aren't to interfere with the contracted photography, and that what the cousin did went well beyond the pale of that reason and he was welcome to finish up the reception as he had taken it upon himself to shoot the event.

at this point my mud covered bride and groom have come off the hillside and get in the conversation.. I point out to them how we had gone over this and that I was completely insulted by their actions..to which they responded that they thought that "I was joking" when we went over the contract. (My contracts are clearly printed in black and white??)

In the end I went back in (I really should have just left in hindsight) Shot the rest of the reception and called it a night.
I went home with a raging headache and a very bad taste in my mouth.

Nothing like this has ever happened to me in all my years shooting weddings. I've had plenty of situations with family members who are also photographers politely asking me what my "rules" were for guests shooting.... or asking permission to also shoot my family formal poses after I had finished my shots..I always happily allow it. I am by no means one of those militant wedding photographers who have to "own" the event.

I am doing my best right now to look at this pragmatically and decide how to handle it. I'm not even sure I have a course of action. Not one penny has exchanged hands at this point and I'm really feeling like this friendship is permanently damaged and that I've been shown a complete lack of respect both as a friend and as a professional.

Anyone ever encounter something like this and have any advice on how I should handle it?

Shooting the air shows is so fun!! Just caught the blue angels in RI and wow!! was also very impressed by Rob Hollands performance. I was shooting at about a F/10 most of the day..manual focus (auto just kept losing track of the planes) and shutter speeds between 1/600th - 1/1000...

Photographer. without a rights release client cannot legally duplicate images.

Canon ef 300mm F/4L