Ali:
Sounds as though you were a bit offended by the priest's remarks to you. There
is another view to be considered here--the priest's. You didn't say where you
were taking photographs when the priest admonished you for taking pictures in
the "sanctuary." The word "sanctuary" is used in several ways. One usage is for
the entire interior (ministry area) of the church. A second usage is the altar
area. I suspect that the "sanctuary" in this case refers to the altar area of
the church. In many churches, this is considered to be a particularly sacred
area. I don't think the priest was being hard to get along with. Actually, it
sounds as though he priest was being quite nice to you, depending upon what you
were doing.
Your description of what transpired makes it sound as though you were (or
wanted to be) around or behind the priest and taking photos during the actual
wedding ceremony. Many--if not most--priests or ministers consider the wedding
ceremony as a religious observance and therefore do not appreciate a
photographer (or any other person) who positions himself (or herself) behind
himself (or herself) in the altar/pulpit area and who takes pictures
(especially using a flash!) in such a way as to detract from the ceremony being
performed.
I did not allow a photographer to do that during the many wedding ceremonies I
performed, unless the photographer could be positioned in an unobtrusive area,
stayed put and used available light for the photos. I never allowed a
photographer to be moving around behind me during the ceremony and detracting
from it. To me a church wedding is a religious ceremony. That's why it is in a
church, temple, etc. How would you like some photographer to interrupt one of
your religious services by moving around behind or beside the minister and/or
popping off flashes during the ceremony? Many would view that as sacrilegious.
Unfortunately, a lot of people who request marriage in a church today do it
because they consider it traditional, not necessarily because they view it as a
religious ceremony. Yet, I suspect that most officiating ministers, priests,
rabbis, etc., view it differently.
I allowed photographers to take photos of the bride walking down the aisle and
the bride and groom exiting the sanctuary. That's it, except for photos taken
under the conditions mentioned above. However, I always agreed to allow the
photographer to take photos reenacting the ceremony after the fact. That way
the photographer could stand anywhere he or she had the most advantageous
position and arrange people for desired photos. With this arrangement, I felt
that both interests were served. Other photos in and around the church were OK
with me. The only restriction upon the photographer was no photos during the
actual ceremony and the religious ceremony was honored.
My point? The priest may have been as offended by your actions as you were
about his.
This is one retired ministers viewpoint. YMMV. But, if anyone disagrees with my
wedding policy, I'd suspect he or she is a lay person, not a minister. ;o)
>
> On 19/05/2008, at 12:36 PM, Ali Shah wrote:
>
> I photographed a traditional American Christian
> wedding on Saturday.
>
> I ran into a bit of a problem n the Church when the
> Priest told me to stay off the 'sanctuary' and then finally
> telling me that he would kick me out' if I didnt stay off
> the sanctuary.
Does this mean that you ignored his original request(s)? If so, you were
presumptuous.
> He also cornered me after the ceremony
> and told me that very Church has its own policy and if
> it had been another Church...I might have been kicked
> out.
If it was for anything but a wedding, you would have been long g-o-n-e.
> I had asked the Bride to make sure that I could walk
> around freely and she assured me that it would be OK.
Did she ask the priest about that or simply make an assumption?
> Both Bride and Groom were apologetic afterward anyway.
I suspect they were embarrassed for misleading you. But, the basic error was
yours, not theirs. You assumed that they had the authority or permission to
give you the OK to do whatever you chose to do. The priest let you know that it
wasn't, but apparently you didn't listen. His comments to you after the
ceremony may have saved you some major embarrassment in the future. Chalk this
one up to a learning experience...and next time...ask the officiating minister
before you assume anything. That's good advice for all wedding photographers,
whether "newbie" or "oldie."
BTW...you took some interesting photos. Good work.
Robert
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