+ 'celebrity juling' syndrome

this is one of the many big issues a lot of my fellow friends faced nowadays. you prepared yourself for the job, you brought along the necessary gear, you wear your 'uniform' for your marketing & promotion, thinking you'll be the only one the guests will see strutting your stuff out ( especially if there are potential customers or brides-to-be among the guests ). but as soon as you stepped into the preparation room to say hi to the couple, BHAM!! another team ( i've also been to a wedding when there were even TWO! ) of photographers are already snapping away the couple enthusiastically. what should you do? act cool? or continue looking stunned at the door? hehehe..


for clients, they will say "you have to accept the challenge-lah" or some "i suka kalau ramai-ramai photographer ni, banyak angle!". some even say "sorry-lah ya, ada orang sponsor last minute!..." or " ni my best friend, dia suka-suka je nak belajar" so on and so forth. but whatever the reasons are, i am not against the idea of having more than 1 photographer from different companies but there are issues the pengantin have to take into consideration. 


first of all, angle blocking. simply put, wedding photographers are angle freaks. in order to story-tell the event in the most creative manner, any good wedding photographer will go to great lengths to capture a moment in a different angle. sometimes the shot has been planned beforehand. i do know some photographers who uses their vast experience.. who have covered at the same venue over & over & over again, still check the floor plan, before everything starts. planning makes perfect, isn't it? they know when and where to shoot, to get that special shot for the client. 


when the moment is up, the poor experienced photographer stationed himself at the spot he first planned. he waits, eagerly to snap. he's waiting for the right moment. suddenly, PAP!!! 2-3 photographers from the other team(s) covered the couple from the poor chap's lense, also scrambling to get an angle. and that's it. a precious moment is gone! a potential 'meletop-kinda-shot' has gone. repeat? i don't think so! :-). it works differently if you get a few photographers from the same team or company or brand. not only they're already used to work together, they would know when and where to stay off from each other's angle and also usually well equipped with walkie-talkies  to communicate with each other. with different teams, i don't think we are allowed to yell to each other in a wedding. kekeke...


secondly, bored couple. i've been to a wedding whereby the unofficial photographer was always 'sticky' to the bride & groom. ke mana saja pengantin pergi mesti dia ada. all sorts of poses and actions dah disuruhnya pengantin tu buat. so when the time comes for the official photographer to shoot, they will give this look as if to say " hey, kitorang dah penat la pose! ". but hello!.. this is for the official photographer! we are the ones to prepare your album! and 'segala maknekaa' things that we've promised to give to the client at the end of the day. if we were not allowed or given this kinda look, how do you think the album will look like nanti? horror beb... hehehe


well, i know there are many other problems stemmed from this situation of banyak photographer, but i think i'll leave it to the clients to consider the ups & down of having more than 1 photographer ( or team of photographers ) from different teams on their big day ( from 1 team is OK :-) ). but this last problem is unfortunately very apparent in these events. i would love to call this ' celebrity juling' syndrome. ( tiada kaitan dengan mana-mana persendirian mahupun kumpulan yang bernama sindrom ). hehehe..


fortunate to capture a few celebrities' weddings, i always have this problem when it comes to group photo or just a simple portrait shot of the couple. why? it's because not just you who wants those shots, there will be many others next to you kelam kabut wanting that shot as well. i could remember when i was doing the shoot in Jakarta for Ashraf Sinclair and Bunga Citra Lestari, i had to have someone to stand next to me to signal Ashraf and BCL to look at me during the group photo session. next to me? berpuluh-puluh if not hundreds of other photographers. as the result, most of the shots, one will look at me and the other at someone else, and it's vice versa in a minute later. macam mata yang juling lah. sangat difficult to see at the same direction and in this case, at the same camera. and in many of my clients' weddings, this syndrome always occur during the cake cutting. hehe.. 


well, again, i'm not against having more than one photographer from different teams in an event, but please get the pros or the ones who has vast experience if you want to have more than one, because they should know how to avoid being in each other's frames or being a nuisance with one another. they'll know how to work seamlessly and not only you will save yourself from getting ruined pictures as the result from inter-framing of photographers, you could expect great photos from 2 pros, whom most likely will cover your event with different views from one another, without being in each other's frames! kekeke...


however, no matter what we as the photographer thinks, the call is still yours! hehehe. so decide wisely ya! :-P majulah photographer perkahwinan tempatan untuk negara! hehehe... 

cheers,


min
pretty peektures