Being "in the moment" in a 24/7 connected world

 Something happened one day recently that made me think. It sort of piggy-backs on my blog last week about hiring a photographer so you can enjoy your event. I was photographing a wedding and, as the ceremony began, the officiant (many blessings on her house!) spoke to assembled guests and asked them to put away their cameras and phones. She said, "We have a professional photographer recording the event, so sit back and enjoy being in the moment!" There was a low rumble of grumbling but the guests complied and it made my job a lot easier throughout the ceremony. 

How many times have you been to an event which was spoiled by people putting their phone or tablet in front of your view, or a concert where people were taking flash pictures of the far-away stage?  (Spoiler alert: the flash has a very limited range!) How much worse, when the photographer who has been paid to take pictures has their shot spoiled by a sea of cell phones?

Cell phones are here to stay and they can be a valuable tool for capturing every day memories. I often take pictures of people taking pictures with their phones at the events I cover as a tongue-in-cheek comment on today's cell phone culture. They are just one more thing that an event photographer needs to be able to deal with and setting expectations can go a long way towards a happy photographer/client relationship. It's all about instant gratification; we want to have something to show for the event we just attended, rather than waiting for the official pictures. Those cell phone pictures will be on Facebook before I've packed up and left for the day, and that's okay. If they missed the shot, I know I got it for them. Just consider this-how much do we miss by always wanting to get the shot first? There's a lot to be said for living in the moment!