I hate to tell my friends and relatives, "I told you so..."

...but I will!

A new study shows that photographing a venue or event doesn't detract from the enjoyment of it and may enhance the experience for the photographer.

http://www.imaging-resource.com/news/2016/06/16/new-research-support-your-shutterbug-habits-enjoying-a-moment-and-photograp?utm_content=buffer37e0c&utm_medium=social&utm_source=facebook.com&utm_campaign=buffer

If you click through to the paper referenced, it covers the method and things like the different results for shooting positive vs. negative experiences. It's pretty interesting if you feel like slogging through the academia-speak.

Dave

Great article Dave! I was just at my granddaughter's wedding taking tons of pictures and wondered whether I missed some enjoyment by trying to capture the moment with my camera instead of my heart. But, it seemed to me, I was more aware of what was going on than others who were with me. What I can tell you is that when I posted 96 of my best pics on Smugmug for family and friends to share, everyone was glad I was snapping away. Not that my pics were as good as the professional photographer, but I did capture some magic moments the photograper missed.

I wonder what other viewers views are. Like say at a wedding when crazy cousin Dave is constantly getting in the way of the pro photo/videographers. It also seems to leave out the people that love to use their flashes. They might be enjoying it, the others not so much. Great the person shooting is having fun, but in a shared venue/event it's not all about them.

I wonder what other viewers views are. Like say at a wedding when crazy cousin Dave is constantly getting in the way of the pro photo/videographers. It also seems to leave out the people that love to use their flashes. They might be enjoying it, the others not so much. Great the person shooting is having fun, but in a shared venue/event it's not all about them.

I suspect they are assuming common courtesy...and people who know how to turn their flashes off. :)

Though courtesy seems to be less and less common as I often find myself the minority camera user in a forest of phones and pads being held overhead by people who will snap a dozen shots, post them to SnapChat, Facebook or Instagram and never look at them again.

Progress!

Dave

Like this, but in theaters while standing infront of others?

Four years ago my son got married, I was told I could not bring a camera to the wedding, rehearsal dinner was fine, brunch the morning after was fine but not to the wedding "we have professionals hired for the day/night". Yeah, right. day of the wedding I gave one of my cameras to my brother, one to an old friend with instructions to give them back to me after the ceremony. When all was said and done, I had the pictures of my family and friends that I wanted and I had a wonderful evening. Being a photographer is a big part of who and what I am. I was blessed to have a great career working as a photographer. When I don't have a camera with me I am pretty much lost. It may not work for others but it works for me. Oh, I did make it a point to stay well out of the pros way, that is a courtesy we all need to remember.

At my nieces wedding, it was just like you describe, guests "fighting" to get closer for their pic with their P&S or phone. The official camera guy and girl were so patient with them. I would have not had the same patience.

Meanwhile I stood back with my 6D and several lenses and inconspicuously got great shots. A couple of times the official guy could see what was going on and offered for me to get in and take a photo. I didn't need to. It was possible to get all good photos I wanted without hassling anyone. It just needs some "consideration", an attribute some people don't have.

Great article Dave! I was just at my granddaughter's wedding taking tons of pictures and wondered whether I missed some enjoyment ...... but I did capture some magic moments the photograper missed.

And I think you have nailed it, it is those magic moments that others can photograph which will mean more to the family than a duplicate of the official photographers photo (and not as good at theirs).

Like this, but in theaters while standing infront of others?

 

A couple of years ago, my husband and I were in Paris at the Louvre and I was trying to take a picture of the Mona Lisa with my camera but had to wait for at least 15 minutes until all the people with iPads and other tablets put them down. I never even knew people actually carried around tablets and used them as cameras.

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Wait until you meet the selfie stick crew Lady 831.......

So, to reassure you about my granddaughter's wedding that seems to have started all the wedding nightmare stories, my camera doesn't even have a flash (haven't bought one yet), I stayed in my seat for the whole ceremony (but as grandmother of the bride I was on the first row, but not at a particularly good angle), never lifted my camera above eye level, and NEVER stood in the way of the professional photograper! As a matter of fact, part way through, the photographer asked me if I would take a pic with her and the bride and groom. I never asked anyone to "pose" for me - everything I took was candid. After family and friends saw my pics on smugmug, a typical response was, "I didn't even know you were taking my picture." My camera is an A7ii and I had my Sony FE 24-240 mm lens. As the grandmother, I TRIED to be as dignified and unobtrusive as possible!