I photographed a really fun wedding last weekend for friends Miki & Joey. I think I must be getting old though. I haven't been to a lot of weddings in the last five years, but things seem to have changed. And not for the better.
Before the ceremony, there was an announcement to "please turn off or silence your phones." Okay, that made sense...of course there was that one person who didn't and we all knew it when their phone started loudly playing "Cocomo" during the ceremony while they fumbled around trying to turn it off.
But I digress. What I want to comment on is the growing number of people who feel the need to document every moment of their existence. During the ceremony, I counted about ten people taking photos and video with their phones. I swear a few of them never actually looked at the ceremony except on the screen of their iPhone. I mean, really? What ever happened to just being there and enjoying the moment?
So as the official photographer, there I was moving around the room, trying to be unobtrusive as I sought out a variety of good angles to capture the beautiful ceremony. All the while I was working around people holding their phones over their heads to get good video, or even getting out of their seats and duck-walking up the aisle to get a good photo. Oh yeah, and cue the guy with the phone that plays "Cocomo" for the second time in a 20- minute ceremony!
As a photographer, I know I'm often guilty of hiding behind my camera and not simply enjoying life au naturel. But as I grow more aware of the ever present nature of smart phones, I'll remind myself as I now remind you readers...
Please put the camera down occasionally and just appreciate the feeling of being part of the life that's happening around you. If you miss something, I'm sure somebody else got a picture and you'll likely find it on Facebook in five minutes!
Before the ceremony, there was an announcement to "please turn off or silence your phones." Okay, that made sense...of course there was that one person who didn't and we all knew it when their phone started loudly playing "Cocomo" during the ceremony while they fumbled around trying to turn it off.
So as the official photographer, there I was moving around the room, trying to be unobtrusive as I sought out a variety of good angles to capture the beautiful ceremony. All the while I was working around people holding their phones over their heads to get good video, or even getting out of their seats and duck-walking up the aisle to get a good photo. Oh yeah, and cue the guy with the phone that plays "Cocomo" for the second time in a 20- minute ceremony!
As a photographer, I know I'm often guilty of hiding behind my camera and not simply enjoying life au naturel. But as I grow more aware of the ever present nature of smart phones, I'll remind myself as I now remind you readers...
Please put the camera down occasionally and just appreciate the feeling of being part of the life that's happening around you. If you miss something, I'm sure somebody else got a picture and you'll likely find it on Facebook in five minutes!
