I love being a wedding photographer! To be the trusted photographer to record one of the most important and happiest days of someone’s life is such an honour – and a huge responsibility, of course. Sometimes everything doesn’t go exactly to plan, though. Oh, what the heck, let’s be honest: at every wedding there’s something that doesn’t go exactly to plan, but I don’t let that bother me – I adjust and do my best under the circumstances.
Here is one thing that can go wrong… missing the first kiss! As a photographer, you may have only one specific small spot at the front where to take photos from, so when someone blocks your view and you can’t move (or don’t have time to!) to take the shot from a different spot, you miss the first kiss! When the person who blocks your view is the registrar who has just told the couple they can kiss and then moves right in front of the photographer so that the camera can’t see the kiss, it’s very frustrating.
This has actually happened a few times to me now, the registrar moving into the space between me and the couple just at the time of the first kiss. Usually I can move quickly to take the shot from a different spot, but really, I wish I didn’t have to do that and draw attention to myself when the couple are kissing. I like to stay as ‘invisible’ as possible during the ceremony – not moving around ‘to get the shot’ like a paparazzi or something.
So any registrars and celebrants reading this – please don’t block the photographer’s view of the couple at this crucial moment!