What are some of the bad habits of photographers you have observed that should be corrected?

Wow Mel! :) I'm speechless with this post... That's indeed detailed...

Wait lang ha... I'll think of something and BRB... :D

Here's one I noticed...

Equipped with a 8FPS camera, they just keep on rapid firing. Pictures come out lousy.

Here's one I noticed...

Equipped with a 8FPS camera, they just keep on rapid firing. Pictures come out lousy.

a few weeks before i bought my dslr...i attended my cousin's wedding in forbes...syempre, i was curious with the mark II the photographers were using...during the reception, i asked if i could check out the cam...i scrolled around the...shit! like 8 out of 10 photos are OOF! and shot in jpeg. is this the thing with paid shoots? like parang throw lots and lots of darts hoping to score the bulls eye?

and to think my kin paid them a hefty sum. oh well....

I had to erase the original one, because I had some formatting problems. All I've written was in one humoungous paragraph w/c was a pain to read. I don't know if it's just me or it's my setup. Let me repost it in a shorter form. My pet peever are: 1. Photogs who think they are the only one shooting. This leads to parking one's sorry self in the middle of the isle or scenes. It makes it harder for your other team mates to shoot and you deprive the guests their own enjoyment of the event. 2. Popping into the scene without looking or thinking. I've seen many videos where photographters pop in without consideration to other shooters. Mostly, it's the video that is ruined. Other photographers can always take a 2nd shot and no one is the wiser. But sometimes it's a one time thing, like the kiss, so that can be ruined big time too. 3. Wearing, loud colors or white or light blue or worse, uniforms with the company logo or name at the back for all to see. Try looking at a video footage with 3-4 people's back with the company logo from the video at the balcony! 4. Too much chimping Sorry, I had to remove the original post. Having problems with the format. DARN, still having formatting problems! -Mel

Discretion seems to be the best advice to be given to wedding photographers from your post.
IMHO, sometimes I think that a photographer, as a recorder of events, should be less participative or obtrusive in the event itself.

:)
Archie

a few weeks before i bought my dslr...i attended my cousin's wedding in forbes...syempre, i was curious with the mark II the photographers were using...during the reception, i asked if i could check out the cam...i scrolled around the...shit! like 8 out of 10 photos are OOF! and shot in jpeg. is this the thing with paid shoots? like parang throw lots and lots of darts hoping to score the bulls eye?

and to think my kin paid them a hefty sum. oh well....

have you seen the output? i mean, the final product?

Here's one I noticed...

Equipped with a 8FPS camera, they just keep on rapid firing. Pictures come out lousy.

hahahahahhahah you hit the nail on the head...:Grin:

have you seen the output? i mean, the final product?

yeah. pwede naman. nothing as impressive as from the ones i saw from DPP members. to think they were paid really, really handsomely.

but the thing is. what if film yung cam nila. ganun din kaya yung output? kasi it seemed parang tsambahan lang yung nanyari. fire as many as you can, as often as you can...and hope at least 1 can be sold!

yay.

2. Popping into the scene without looking or thinking. I've seen many videos where photographters pop in without consideration to other shooters. Mostly, it's the video that is ruined.
-Mel

I was guilty of this in the first wedding I shot as a principal fotog :(. I didn't realize that I was blocking the video until I saw the video footage itself, and a lot of times I could see my back on it. My wife even teased me that I am the "bida" raw sa video na yun. The videographer is an amateur though, and I am so tensed and pressured being this my first assignment as a main fotog, but even then it doesn't excuse me.

I learned my lesson the hard way. Now I am more sensitive to my surrounding, with regards to where the video are positioned, to where other photographers are, and to where the guests are.

Good thing the couple is my friend :Grin:.

Marco

@jay j,

well ganun talaga siguro, with the proliferation of digital slrs,

or can we say, with the entry into professional photography getting much cheaper and easier.... :)

madami pa rin naman magagaling na pro photogs out there

on the other half of the glass, when i took my friend's wedding, i was being too concious not to be obstrusive with other photogs and the videographer, always giving way and trying to be as considerate as possible that at the end of the day, i was the one left short handed with my takes. tsk tsk!

Interesting thread, but I don't think I can be wedding photographer. :D But I can be someone's private photographer, the only designated photographer wherever she travels. :Grin:

ah, i know a few
1. 2nd photographers tend to shoot the same angle as the main photographer, i always ask my 2nd or 3rd photog to look for their own version of a safe shot instead of just having the same shot as mine.
2. thats right some photogs shoot 2000 images, one frame one concept = 10 shots
3.always looking at the lcd too long and sometimes missing a unique shot

Another bad habit would be... deleting unwanted images on the fly while chimping; in an effort to conserve disk space... Though this may have it's merits, but it's certainly something one shouldn't do specially if documenting key and candid moments... :)

2. thats right some photogs shoot 2000 images, one frame one concept = 10

true! daming kuha, pare-pareho lang naman.

i'm no pro but was fortunate to have been trusted to cover a few weddings. :)

Photographers who wear jeans and loud hawaiian shirts to a wedding. Fake fun shots in the Church altar like doing "the wave".:Scared:

Photographers who wear jeans and loud hawaiian shirts to a wedding. Fake fun shots in the Church altar like doing "the wave".:Scared:

oh pilar this very famous photog wore just that to my cousin's very formal wedding. hahay, was pretty disappointed. tsk tsk! parang di serious. :Sick:

Yung photographers na naka maong na faded and nanggigitatang t-shirt without collars. Thats the reason kung bakit bumababa ang tingin ng mga guests sa mga photographers.

a few weeks before i bought my dslr...i attended my cousin's wedding in forbes...syempre, i was curious with the mark II the photographers were using...during the reception, i asked if i could check out the cam...i scrolled around the...shit! like 8 out of 10 photos are OOF! and shot in jpeg. is this the thing with paid shoots? like parang throw lots and lots of darts hoping to score the bulls eye?

and to think my kin paid them a hefty sum. oh well....

ofcourse they are shot in jpegs. do you think na photos sa events are shot in raw? thats why there's kelvin sa wb. so the photog can be conscious of which wb they need to use before pressing that button. though im sorry to hear the pics that you saw sa high end cam na yun are bad. bad indian i suppose? :P

@ mel, usuallly the main photog and videographer has the right to stand in the middle of the aisle to shoot the march. the pics looks better if the person is marching towards you. and the other team mates, the back up can shoot sa side mo or find another angle or shoot candids or the bride getting off the car. yun nga, usually sa weddings, its team work, so, basically, team mates have to be familiar with how each other works and moves, so they know basically where everyone will be, for example, sa rites, pag isa nasa right, the other one will be on the other side or sa crowd side, that goes along with the videographers, everyone have to be super observant lang as to where everybody are.

ive been fortunate enough to have worked with photogs who are professional in their own ways. kung may pet peeve siguro, its the hunter photogs, though i know they are just doing their jobs to earn a few decent bread, its annoying when THEY jump in the middle of the aisle , and not only that, disrupting the march just to shoot.

miss ems, can you expound on that kelvin thing you said right there? never knew the photogs actually used the kelvin settings....it seems so hard to fine tune... maybe you can give a small lecture here?

thanks po. :)

@chris, kelvin is hard to fine tune only if youre not used to it.
when it comes to white balance, here are the approx equivalent of preset wb to kelvin (as per written in the user manual)
tungsten 3200 kelvin
flourescent 4000 kelvin
daylight 5200 kelvin
cloudy 6000 kelvin
shade 7000 kelvin

kelvin is the measurement used to measure color temp.
once you know (memorized) those basic stuff, you should probably be able to guage which setting you'll be using. for example a predominantly tungsten room setting, would you set your kelvin to 3200? you can if youre not gonna fire your flash, but what if you need to fire your flash? then its gonna jump a notch higher probably 3800 or 4000. depends kasi. you'll just have to learn it and in time, when you get used to it, you'll know it by instinct.

the downside lang sa kelvin, if the lighting conditions keeps changing, i.e. different temp from point a to point b (diff locations) you'll have to constantly change it.

:P
hope im making sense.. :-S

yung mga colorum na photogs na minsan nakikipagunahan pa sa pwesto. ang sarap paluin sana ng lente kung di lang mahal...hehehe.

may naexperience din ako once na habang nagshoot ako as principal photog, yung colorum na photog sinisiko yung lens ko. what did i do? tinatapat ko flash ko sa lens nya. malas lang nya dahil film gamit nya..hehehe

my shots came out well. but that was the last time i shot a wedding. kakapagod ang wedding.

thanks miss ems. yep, you made sense naman hehehe.

was just curious how you actually eye-balled the lights to know the temp to use. I guess, like you said, only experience can tell. Specially when I do use flash.

Is there some sort of number to act as some sort of a guide to add to your ambient temp when you use your flash?

My pet peever are: 1. Photogs who think they are the only one shooting. This leads to parking one's sorry self in the middle of the isle or scenes. It makes it harder for your other team mates to shoot and you deprive the guests their own enjoyment of the event.

2. Popping into the scene without looking or thinking. I've seen many videos where photographters pop in without consideration to other shooters.

Mel, this is so true...

I went to a great wedding over the weekend in Caleruega, I'm not a paid photographer so I stayed near the entrance of the church and shoot whatever I can without being "in the scene... During this ceremony, a lot of the older folks wanted to take photos of the event but the cameramen and video crew is ALWAYS in front of them blocking everything...

After the ceremony where individual group photos were being shot, naturally some folks want to have their own pictures taken with the celebrants using their own cams, after a few seconds, the camera men were saying things like "ok tama na kami naman" in a hushed tone (but I can hear them from a row or two away...

Wala halos makapic ng maayos na guests, which was quite sad coz the bride/groom had an intimate wedding where there were only less than 50-70 people in the church.

During this ceremony, a lot of the older folks wanted to take photos of the event but the cameramen and video crew is ALWAYS in front of them blocking everything...

After the ceremony where individual group photos were being shot, naturally some folks want to have their own pictures taken with the celebrants using their own cams, after a few seconds, the camera men were saying things like "ok tama na kami naman" in a hushed tone (but I can hear them from a row or two away...


:P the thing with the ceremony, i can understand the photogs and video people, kasi we are paid to shoot the event, ceremony included, details like ring being put sa finger, couple holding arrhae, veil, cord being put. paid photogs would try to cover it at every angle. syempre its better that the paid photog gets the good shots, imagine nalang kung naka upo lang sila palagi, tapos mas maganda pa shots ng guests diba?

though with the individual group shots, kawawa naman talaga yun couple pag ganon ang sinabi ng photog. usually, dapat yun photog would even get the cams of the guests para pati yun assigned photog ng friends of the couple makasama sa shot, tapos shoot din yun photog with his own cam, para lahat makuhaan :P

cheers guys!

i recently attended a wedding where i was always blocked by the official photogs or the video crew. Thats just the way it is. You're job isnt to take pictures, youre there to share the occasion with the couple. Your taking pictures is an aside to being a participant. Dont get mad that they are blocking your view coz thats their job.

Although the guests could take pictures, the photogs definitely do not have to give way. Of course common sense would dictate that if you see someone shooting you do not block their view intentionally. Thats just being courteous. But if you find yourself consistently being blocked just put down your cam and wait for another chance. or maybe shift a lil bit maybe another angle is avail for you.

kelvin is the measurement used to measure color temp.
once you know (memorized) those basic stuff, you should probably be able to guage which setting you'll be using. for example a predominantly tungsten room setting, would you set your kelvin to 3200? you can if youre not gonna fire your flash, but what if you need to fire your flash? then its gonna jump a notch higher probably 3800 or 4000. depends kasi. you'll just have to learn it and in time, when you get used to it, you'll know it by instinct.

the downside lang sa kelvin, if the lighting conditions keeps changing, i.e. different temp from point a to point b (diff locations) you'll have to constantly change it.


very well explained ms. ems. :) learned to use kelvin as well (turo ni master jong) when i upgraded to a D200 although i'm still adjusting since i was so comfortable with the S2 Pro's WB.

cheers!

sir jason, can you share some tips sir regarding kelvin adjustments? :D

sir jason, can you share some tips sir regarding kelvin adjustments? :D

a bit OT: i'm no pro but speaking from experience, when shooting weddings and other events, you should be aware of any changes in lighting conditions. lots of factors affect the quality and quantity of light, like video lights, fluorescents or light bulbs, natural light (is it bright sunny or cloudy?), light coming from a tinted glass, etc. now with kelvin setting (and with other WB setting as well), as ms. ems mentioned, you should adjust promptly ("timpla") whenever needed. it really all depends on the quality of lighting present during your shoot. so always check your LCD for any changes. if you're not happy with the output, adjust, adjust 'til you're happy


hth. :)

wouldnt that be a lil hard given the nature of wedding photography? its hard if you have like 2 sets of video lights that are of different temps and then counting that fact that the ambient will be of a different temp and then you have your flash.

im already going crazy thinking where i should start hehehe

I hate it when photographers take pictures and videos of the guests while they are eating. Habang sumusubo ka kukunan ka. A lot of people find it so annoying.

Jaja: Isa pa yun hehe..

As for "priority" ang pros, I don't think they have the instant right to have a better view than the parents, siblings, ninong/ninangs etc especially if it's no longer an intimate, once-in-a-lifetime moment such as group photos.

fellow photogs in the scene keep on snooping in your photos and tinkering with your camera when not in use without the consent of the owner... :Mad:

I have attended quite a number of weddings and sadly, a lot of photographers disregard the "consecration of the host." They still shoot and walk around, not being mindful of that special part of the mass. I never noticed this until a priest-friend pointed it out to me. Maybe it would be better to stand in one place and take pictures OR to not take any shots at all during that time. :)

Sheila: Technically, if it's "sanctity" we're talking about, shouldn't there be no coverage at all during church weddings if that's the issue?

I have attended quite a number of weddings and sadly, a lot of photographers disregard the "consecration of the host." They still shoot and walk around, not being mindful of that special part of the mass. I never noticed this until a priest-friend pointed it out to me. Maybe it would be better to stand in one place and take pictures OR to not take any shots at all during that time. :)

It is prohibited to shoot from 1st reading up the homily. It's also prohibited to shoot during consecration. All must kneel down during that time including the photographers. During this time, you can do all your backshots. It is also not advisable to take candid shots because it may distract the guests.

These rules are applicable to all catholic churches, however, most churches are not strict about it. Manila Cathedral, Mary the Queen, Shrine of Jesus, San Sebastian will ban you right away if you violate them.

[QUOTE=David Tong]Sheila: Technically, if it's "sanctity" we're talking about, shouldn't there be no coverage at all during church weddings if that's the issue?[/QUOTE

Oh, that would be awful don't you think? But I do get what you mean because I asked that same question too. It is just a matter of acknowledging Jesus Christ even for a few seconds...sign of respect and/or adoration (adoration, if you are Catholic). It's like standing up when the national anthem is playing. :)

@shiela - in some churches in cebu, they would brief the photographers not to take pictures or roam around unnecessarily in some parts of the mass celebration :) which is nice, you get to rest :D

@david - talk about sanctity, my friend (who was a mormon) got married years ago and we were informed that we couldn't get inside the temple during the ceremony (including the photographers). I remember someone telling me that only fellow mormons that have reached a specific status are allowed inside.

OT: are you theveed in the car forums? :)

Otep: That's a better approach for everyone involved, the photographer knows the church rules, the ceremony (religious) proceeds as it should and the clients understands that there won't be any shots taken during that time...

OT: Yes, po...

Sheila: I don't wanna get into the religious side of thing (not a religious folk hehe), but you're right about the question of where to draw the line between religious proceedings and the desire of the client to capture as much intimate, spiritual moments in the "holy premises"...

My fave moment in weddings usually are the bridal march (and expression of parents), during the flower/rice/bubble exit and pics of the couple with barkadas.

Luckily, they're all outside the timeframe of the mass... (oh, I'm not a pro so I'm not concernd that much about the events in between hehe).

@david - that's true kasi it's better that the church people orient or "warn" you beforehand kesa naman yung magugulat ka na lang at napagalitan ka :)

OT: hehehe thought so, was active in the NB forums before up until they blocked them from our office :)

[QUOTE=dinolara]It is prohibited to shoot from 1st reading up the homily. It's also prohibited to shoot during consecration. All must kneel down during that time including the photographers. During this time, you can do all your backshots. It is also not advisable to take candid shots because it may distract the guests.

These rules are applicable to all catholic churches, however, most churches are not strict about it. Manila Cathedral, Mary the Queen, Shrine of Jesus, San Sebastian will ban you right away if you violate them.[/QUOTE


...and here I am thinking that the consecration is the only part where shooting should be prohibited. :Grin:
Now I know the reason why churches have a list of accredited photographers.

@David: I'm not religious. Not a professional photographer either, just a newbie. I got reprimanded by my friend (who is a priest) last year for fixing the train of our bride-friend during the consecration. I was too engrossed with my duties as a maid of honor haha! And since I am into photography right now, he just warned me. I have to be obedient or else hehe:Grin:

@Otep: There are churches that provide written rules for photographers too. I think it's Mary the Queen (?). Couples are also provided with copies to put everything in order during the wedding ceremony. Wow, the Catholic Church is lenient compared to the Mormons (Church of the Latter Day Saints, right?)

Ive shot weddings at the Union Church in Makati and the Church Of The Holy Trinity in Forbes here they dont allow flash photography and photographers are restricted to certain areas near the altar. Most shoots are done on High ISO and long lenses...the photojourn style of shooting is best applied where the photgrapher is just and observer himself and has the threat of being banned if he/she violates the rules. A lot of observers find it better and gets the photographer to be more creative with the way he captures his images.

@chris, kelvin is hard to fine tune only if youre not used to it.
when it comes to white balance, here are the approx equivalent of preset wb to kelvin (as per written in the user manual)
tungsten 3200 kelvin
flourescent 4000 kelvin
daylight 5200 kelvin
cloudy 6000 kelvin
shade 7000 kelvin

kelvin is the measurement used to measure color temp.
once you know (memorized) those basic stuff, you should probably be able to guage which setting you'll be using. for example a predominantly tungsten room setting, would you set your kelvin to 3200? you can if youre not gonna fire your flash, but what if you need to fire your flash? then its gonna jump a notch higher probably 3800 or 4000. depends kasi. you'll just have to learn it and in time, when you get used to it, you'll know it by instinct.

the downside lang sa kelvin, if the lighting conditions keeps changing, i.e. different temp from point a to point b (diff locations) you'll have to constantly change it.

:P
hope im making sense.. :-S



In shorts.. and visually..

http://www.3drender.com/glossary/colortemp.jpg

yeah. pwede naman. nothing as impressive as from the ones i saw from DPP members. to think they were paid really, really handsomely.

but the thing is. what if film yung cam nila. ganun din kaya yung output? kasi it seemed parang tsambahan lang yung nanyari. fire as many as you can, as often as you can...and hope at least 1 can be sold!

yay.

I don't think there's something wrong on rapid firing as long as you produce the output the client is expecting of us photogs. I use a 40D, which is almost always set on burst mode (6 fps). I shoot as often as i can never wanting to miss anything (a blinking subject etc). To me its fairly an advantage to use these feature. At the end of the day, if 1000 of my 3000 shots were used/printed, that should be good enough for me.

cheers....:)

wouldnt that be a lil hard given the nature of wedding photography? its hard if you have like 2 sets of video lights that are of different temps and then counting that fact that the ambient will be of a different temp and then you have your flash.

im already going crazy thinking where i should start hehehe

A little OT.:

I have my own video crew. And usually I let them bring filters so they can match the video lights with the ambient light.

Tip: If you're shooting midday (9am-3pm) and there are lots of sunlight coming in, use a blue lee filter on your tungsten (3200K yellowish) video lights. The video lights will match the sunlight (5200k) and you wont get color shifting. You can set your WB to sunlight.

sometimes playing with your WB will get you more dramatic shots:Grin:. I personally like my shots warmer.

wouldnt that be a lil hard given the nature of wedding photography? its hard if you have like 2 sets of video lights that are of different temps and then counting that fact that the ambient will be of a different temp and then you have your flash.

im already going crazy thinking where i should start hehehe

A little OT.:

I have my own video crew. And usually I let them bring filters so they can match the video lights with the ambient light.

Tip: If you're shooting midday (9am-3pm) and there are lots of sunlight coming in, use a blue lee filter on your tungsten (3200K yellowish) video lights. The video lights will match the sunlight (5200k) and you wont get color shifting. You can set your WB to sunlight.

sometimes playing with your WB will get you more dramatic shots:Grin:. I personally like my shots warmer.

Last year i shot a wedding with another pair of photographers. One of them had their cell phone all through the service and people were calling him. I was not impressed, It was very disrespectful to the client. :(

This is a nice thread, glad I read this before attending a wedding this afternoon :)

Will be very cautious and considerate. :)

Selling photos (with calendar or "Newsweek" frame) after the wedding :)

My friend said the worst habit to build as a wedding photog is sleep with the bride. I'd have to agree.

Vic, you jackass :))

hahaha hey it was funny when he said it, thought I'd share. :D