fighting at a wedding yesterday.

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rocketman122

Senior Member
it was around 1:30 in the morning. dancing...the groom was on the stage with the dj and I was shooting him. then I noticed him stop and look over to the bar area and I look. a big fight. 50-60 people going crazy. it was the brides side. many family members are not on speaking terms for many years. I run over and at first I was trying to see what was happening. then I started shooting. in the most perfect time I had my fisheye on and had just some great pictures.

I know many say why photograph it. because I can and wanted to. and because im there to document. good bad, whatever. and I wanted to go back and look at them and laugh.

a very expensive venue. about 600 people were invited. huge place. people were rich but low class- mafia kind. I was a freelance photog in this venue. first time working for this photog. and this is his clientele. I was recommended to him by another photog and winter is slow so I said, yea why not.

the other 2 videographers and other stills photog were scared they would get stabbed. I couldnt care. but I guess because im a tall bodybuilder I didnt get much trouble. ive done some of the worst weddings you can imagine. muslim arabs were you felt you wouldnt get out alive. haha.

and after it was all done, those family members left and it was back to the dance floor haha. after all that, dancing? low class people and disrespectful to the BG. it was quite a night. finished at 2:30. im tired and fatigued. I always need a day to recoup after a wedding.
 
wud

wud

Senior Member
Wow, that sounds crazy. How disrespectful, to fight at a wedding.. but maybe obvious, as family who normally don't talk or see each other, have to meet at these weddings (and of course liqueur makes it even better).

Recently I was looking at the images of the mom who were beaten by her husband, in front of their kids. One part of me are screaming NO, get the kids out of the way at least (she DID call for help, before shooting). The other part of me says, well. Its her job. Could it be that she are actually doing a good thing? (You can see it here: Photographer as Witness: A Portrait of Domestic Violence - LightBox)


When crazy stuff happens, you mostly react by instinct. I haven't been around anything yet, with the camera in my hand, so I really don't know if my reflect would be to shoot it. I do know, I run towards what ever happens, without thinking.
 
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rocketman122

Senior Member
When crazy stuff happens, you mostly react by instinct. I haven't been around anything yet, with the camera in my hand, so I really don't know if my reflect would be to shoot it. I do know, I run towards what ever happens, without thinking.

most people react by just looking in awe. the other photogs were scared and in shock. like your reaction, I ran towards it like an idiot. you can get hurt in these situations. I just wanted to look back on the pics and laugh a it at how stupid people can be. I can understand if it was a friend of someone that came but not your own family members.
 
wud

wud

Senior Member
rocketman122 said:
most people react by just looking in awe. the other photogs were scared and in shock. like your reaction, I ran towards it like an idiot. you can get hurt in these situations. I just wanted to look back on the pics and laugh a it at how stupid people can be. I can understand if it was a friend of someone that came but not your own family members.
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I dont think we can blame others, for their instant reactions. I do believe its instinct. Like I scream when I see a huge spider in my kitchen sink, where my husband doesn't. Believe me, I would love NOT to scream as it's really not gonna help anything lol.
 
BackdoorArts

BackdoorArts

Senior Member
When my best friend got married his cousin was at the start of what became a rather ugly divorce. Her husband was an old family friend as well, and was at the wedding. Lets say the groom's family was a strong mix of Cajun and whatever else crawled out of the swamp for a night on the town - great people to hang and party with, but things can get ugly very quickly. In this case, the proceedings happened outside and involved tire slashing but thankfully no stabbings. Yes, we went back to dancing, because who the hell wants that to be the last moment at a wedding?
 
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Bill16

Senior Member
I'm not sure what I would do in that type of situation, since becoming a photographer is a recent thing for me. But I doubt I'd run towards the fight since I wouldn't be interested in it enough to risk getting my face beaten in and my Nikon broke. But I do think I'd try to get some shots from a more safe distance. Lol :D
 
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Mfrankfort

Senior Member
Ya. I wanna see the pictures. Wish a fight would have broke out at my wedding so I could have beaten up a few in-laws. haha. Juuuuust kidding. Sort of... lol
 
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rocketman122

Senior Member
I had to blur it out. dont want a lawsuit suit but you can see there's tons of people together and they are not on the dance floor dancing and they are not doing a group hug ;) haha

there were more on the other side of the venue. its a huge place that can take 800 poeple or so. I have more pics but cant take the chance to upload anymore.

Image - TinyPic - Free Image Hosting, Photo Sharing & Video Hosting

click on the pic and then use your mouse wheel and press ctrl at the same time to zoom in.
 
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Millie

Banned
why were you still there at 1.30 am ?? first dance and gone....
Always go wired so if they get stroppy and punch you for some reason ..pissed up girls and testosterone youth you have the evidence for court.
 
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rocketman122

Senior Member
sorry thats all I can do. dont need a lawsuit on my hand. what did you expect? full raw file? and if you ever get in that situation I recommend you dont post these photos or it can ruin your reputation and your pocket. without the couples permission you cant post any picture online. and I was shooting for another photog so I dont want any problems.
 
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rocketman122

Senior Member
Millie said:
why were you still there at 1.30 am ?? first dance and gone....
Always go wired so if they get stroppy and punch you for some reason ..pissed up girls and testosterone youth you have the evidence for court.
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weddings start at 1 or so at the salon and finish between 1 to 2 am on average. I dont live in the US. its different over here. we stay till the end. weddings here are a big show. conservative and discrete, it is not. no, no problems with fighting. im a big boy.
 
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