Cellphones at weddings?
Photographers put question in focus.
Ah, wedding season.
The sun is shining, the children smiling, and guests styling.
The bride comes flowing down the aisle, and the photographer looks up to get the perfect shot of the groom’s reaction — but there’s just one problem; Uncle Joe in the front row has his cellphone out, blocking the photograph.
Just like many others at the ceremony, Uncle Joe was simply trying to create a memory for the bride and groom, and himself.
Local wedding photographer Zach Wheeler says guest photography at weddings is a growing trend.
“It’s tough to be watching the crowd at all times, while trying to get the perfect shots,” said Wheeler.
“So a couple of times a year I find the glowing cellphones in the my photos. It’s pretty distracting.”
“Our philosophy is that we try to document the day, rather than stage moments,” said Wheeler.
“So for the most part we won’t ask guests to move out of the way. So that makes it difficult for us to work around the cell phones or cameras.”
Therefore, Wheeler encourages the bride and grooms to ask their guests to refrain from having their cellphones out during the most important moments of the day.
“The ceremony, the first dance, first kiss, and the exiting of the venue are really the moments the couples will treasure,” said Wheeler.
Bride-to-be Brittany Elliott will be tying the knot in September. She recently decided that her wedding would be one without cellphones.
“Everything’s going to be happening so quick for us,” said Elliott. “I just want to be able to look back and enjoy the photos, not have someone’s screen showing up in every picture.”
Photographer Amy Fitzpatrick says that although she’s not quite sure if an ‘unplugged’ weeding would work in this day and age, it would be beneficial for everybody.
“Do you ever come home from an event and feel like you saw the whole thing through a screen?” asked Fitzpatrick. “That’s how a lot of wedding guests must feel nowadays.”
Fitzpatrick told The Telegram that not only can cellphones be a distraction, they can also alter her photos.
“During the first dance everybody crowds around to get their shot of the bride and groom,” said Fitzpatrick. “With all of those flashes going off, they can blow out my picture. And my pictures are the ones they’re paying for.”
But, like most wedding choices, a cell-phoned or cellfree ceremony is probably a decision bvest left to the happy couple.
It’s their big day, after all.
“During the first dance everybody crowds around to get their shot of the bride and groom … With all of those flashes going off, they can blow out my picture. And my pictures are the ones they’re paying for.”
Amy Fitzpatrick