Guest Photography and etiquette at weddings

So you've been invited to a wedding and cant wait to have a go at taking some photos for the couple. There are some things you should consider these are just a few

1. Check with the couple first whether you will be permitted to take photos. Some ceremony locations do not permit flash photography at certain times during a ceremony or at all. Some photographers will not permit photography at certain times.

2. Co-operate with the professional photographer at all times. It will be fairly obvious who they are. Try not to get in their way, the couple had probably paid good money for that person to be there and you may have ruined a fantastic shot by paying no attention and walking in front of the photographer.

3. Never ask the professional photographer to get out of the way! Obvious you say, believe me it does happen. I personally think this is disrespectful to the couple, they have paid money for the photographer to be there and usually the photographer is working quite hard and with a limited time frame to get the photos the couple would like.

4. Dont try and duplicate the photo the professional is trying to do. These days the couple is likely to be receiving the photos on disc, do the couple a favour and take different photos from the pro, this will give them a much more complete coverage of their day.

5. Be prompt to arrive when requested for a photo and prompt to leave when finished. Any time wasted is eating into the couples private time with the photographer. Even a few minutes can make a big difference if the couple are working to a tight schedule.

6. Pay attention to the photographer. This mainly applies to when family photos are being taken. Always listen to the photographers instructions and not "uncle joe" yelling out off to the side. If your not paying attention this increases the amount of times photographs have to be retaken and again eats into the couples private time.

7. Give the photographer room to work. This mainly happens again with family photos. Ideally it would nice for a photographer to at least have a couple of metres clearance on all sides, because they may need to change their position at anytime . It could be quite expensive for you if you happen to trip the photographer over with several thousand dollars worth of equipment in their hands, I'm sure the photographers insurance company would be quite quick to contact you for reimbursement. Also again it just slows the process down if the photographer is continually having to ask people to move.

Just a few thoughts to help the couples day run a lot smoother!Let me know your thoughts!