I covered my cousin’s wedding today because my mom asked me to. I don’t really fancy myself a very good wedding photographer, perhaps just someone who can deliver decent documentary shots of the day’s going-ons. It felt different shooting today because I was covering my own family, instead of some stranger’s wedding. I was no longer an outsider. Anyway, like most Chinese weddings in Singapore, the dinner would inevitably lead to family portraits or table-to-table shots.
[It’s really a mechanical process whereby the photographer just goes to each table with the newly-weds, ask the people to stand closer, count from 1 to 3 and snap…for about 5 to 50 times (depending on how wealthy the newly-weds are)]
My relatives wanted family portraits on the stage, the aunts in one picture, the cousins in another et cetra. I just don’t understand this “cultural” thing about family portraits at weddings…is it a process where people try to remember that they were at so-and-so’s wedding 20 years later? Or maybe it is one of those few times when the entire family is gathered, which gives them the right to ask for a family portrait?
Halfway through the shots, it sort of dawned on me that I wasn’t in any of the pictures taken today. Does that negate my being in the sequence of events, as the lens became a barrier, and I, an observer/outsider? I wondered what would come to my mind years later when I look at this set of photos, would I say that I was there at the event, or would I say that I was there capturing the event? (Not sure if the difference is really noticeable) I’m sure someone has probably intellectualized on this issue on the photograph as a collective memory but I just can’t recall anything at the moment (I did wake up at 5am!).
I’m sorry if this ramble is rather cryptic, I’m still trying to formulate something out of these passing thoughts. Anyway comments on this issue would be appreciated.
p.s. I’m not sure why but my rechargeables (12xAA) totally died on me today. I encountered err 99 on my camera twice. The autofocus is going wonky. I’m glad this wasn’t a paid shoot!
My last comment on this blog on Yoonki Kim never showed up on this blog for some reason, but I’ll try again. Your experience is the perpetual dilemma of the wedding photographer, and your description of the event also fits perfectly with any heavily family based culture like italian or greek too. To these groups, (very often) the record of the event is the most important, especially everyone who was there. If I can put it this way, more individual based societies are more likely to want what many photographers would call “a good photo”, from slow shutter, candid moments etc, with less emphasis on every aunty being recorded.
Hi Lazy Aussie, my apologies if your comment didn’t show up. Maybe it got caught by askimet as spam and I deleted it accidentally! I get about 60+ spam comments each day, sorry if it’s an oversight on my part.
Back to your comment, my solution for this dilemma is just to give what the client wants, which in this case, would be group photos with everyone’s face sharp and clear. I’ve been put in too many tight spots in the past for my propensity to cut heads, blurry (flash snyc) shots and capturing people at candid moments (=fat arms etc).
The question then becomes, why is the record of each individual at the event so important to these cultures?
No prob yaoh, I have to sift through hundreds myself in my more controversial blog The Worst of Perth.
http://perthworst.wordpress.com/
My experience in a past life was with mostly Italians in Australia. As a young guy who loved photography, it was frustrating that these people had zero interest in what I would call interesting photos, but you are right. What they want is what is most important as a wedding photographer. There would be no point in getting a superb candid shot that you would appreciate yourself, if you missed some of the inlaws group shots! I think you would already know if you are from that culture how important family groups are. Doing Aussie/english weddings on the other hand, they were most interested in great bride and groom shots, particularly candid or apparently candid and would only order the most essential group photos grudgingly.
I struggle with that as well - I photograph a lot of events that I consider myself a part of, and yet I’m not appearing in any of the photos. What does that mean for me? It’s a bit of a struggle, I admit, because I do like being photographed and would rather not disappear into anonymity, but I also want to give my friends very good photos.
hey, i covered a wedding today too. It was really refreshing to do so. I was feeling really rusty. Likewise, i am thankful it’s not a paid shoot. Also, no family portraits(taken by paid photographer) or table to table to shots. Amazing!I really enjoyed this one.
Lazy Aussie: Heya, Perth can’t be that bad, there might be another Gemma Ward hiding somewhere.=) I spent a month or more in perth. Stayed at Subi and I really digged the Subi vibe. Bu I am really glad you are bringing out the flipside of perth, really interesting!=)
I think that’s the dilemma that most photogs face when they cover an event for someone they know? On one hand, the photog know the people, so it’s less of a “job”. Yet because of that, they are not part of the merry-making crowd. But I see my friend being so proud of the wedding album that he managed to put together for his friend (not the table-to-table shots la) So in a way he is also part of the whole wedding process. (Which, I think is too lengthy and only for “face” but that’s another topic.)
Also, I take a lot of photos cuz I have a horrid memory. I always start reminiscing when I look through my photo album, and often I don’t remember taking the photo. Wah, very lor sor! =P
The people you know are the worst wedding jobs. It is very hard if not impossible to enjoy yourself if you have to be a wedding photographer. If friends say that they want you to have a good time, they don’t actually mean it if it impinges on the photo record! I will only take casual candids for friends weddings, and insist they get someone else for the main shots. Otherwise you can only be a worker, and usually a free one at that. Hey Marvin, thanks for your comment. I had only just retuned from Subiaco to cover it for Worst of Perth! (the architecture for the railway redevelopment) My Flickr stuff does show the better side of the city though.