Drones the next big thing for couples getting hitched
WASHINGTON: Inez Edwards had no clue what a drone was. But when the bride-to-be’s photographer suggested it as a way to get some stunning aerial photos of her outdoor wedding, Edwards was sold.
In October, at a hotel in Washington, a drone buzzed overhead as she walked down the aisle.
“The drone captured every person walking into the ceremony without them knowing,” Edwards said. “That was pretty cool.”
The couple and their photographer first experimented with the drone at rehearsal and found an altitude where it could hover so that the noise wouldn’t be a distraction.
Edwards and her husband are part of a budding trend. Drones outfitted with a camera are increasingly being used to document weddings as couples are drawn to the aerial perspective.
“Drones are the hot topic in wedding photography and cinematography,” said cinematographer Justin Fone. He began filming weddings 14 years ago, and started using a drone last year. He has witnessed a technology arms race to record weddings.
“When we first started, it was just a camera and a tripod,” Fone said. “But now it’s a camera and tripod, a slider, a jib, a crane, aerial shots.”
Although commercial drone opera- tions are illegal without a Federal Aviation Administration exemption, the FAA hasn’t levied much in the way of penalties.
Many drone operators concede they are working in a legal grey area. They say they take precautions to fly safely, such as not flying directly over wedding guests.
But not everyone is convinced that drones belong at weddings.
Illinois photographer Bruce Solko, who has shot weddings for 30 years, said the trend “is going to be one of these things that will happen quick and will die quickly”. “Brides are a different beast. Because when you screw up their wedding, you take away from their day, they’re going to be p**sed,” he said. – Washington Post-Bloomberg