Wedding drink?

#1 03-09-2005, 02:28 AM

I recently shot a wedding where the video guy had a few too many drinks and it was obvious.
He was dancing with a few girls and had a 'real ball' but I think it looked very unprofessional.

I have always had a beer at the end of the night, just before I go home. I usually organise my rolls of film, now CF cards and keep one camera on for any surprises. But when I pack up... I try and get a quick beer in before I get into the car for home. Just one. Calms the nervs after a long day.
When I get home I have a few more to make sleep easier.

What is the professional opinion of all, about having a drink/toast/wine with the dinner...whilst at work??

Regards,
Bill.

Mike_Guilbault · #2 03-09-2005, 09:11 AM

I don't. It's usually the bride or groom that suggest I have one... but remember, the other guests don't know that and there may be some potential future weddings there that may notice you tilting one back and not understand that you were offered. The drive home is my unwind time and once I get there... go for it!

Charles_Bandes · #3 03-09-2005, 01:11 PM

Personally I think it's my professional obligation to be as lucid as possible for the whole night - and I think it looks unprofessional if the wedding vendors are drinking, even if it is at the b+g's suggestion. So I stick to water/coke/coffee and ask my assistant to do the same. And man, at the end of the night I'm tired and I often have a long drive ahead of me - the last thing in the world I need is a drink before that drive, I want to make sure I get home safe! [img]/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]

Very frequently the b+g (usually the groom) will offer me a drink as a sign of hospitality. I just politely decline "thanks so much, but I'm on duty" [img]/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]

Delane_B_Rouse · #4 03-09-2005, 01:17 PM

IMHO, drinking ANY alcoholic beverage while working is unprofessional behavior. Things may be a different down under but professional behavior should still be easy to define. I'm not judging you but if you NEED to drink a beer to calm down then you might have other problems...

dbr

David_Buzzard · #5 03-09-2005, 05:58 PM

I limit myself to a glass of wine with dinner, if I'm staying for the evening part of the wedding. If it's a really small wedding, I might get offered a glass of champaign to participate in the toast, which I will drink some of, but then I'll ditch about half way through.

I find that any alchohol at all during a photographic job impairs your work. You might be able to function fine after a few beers, but try doing a cross word puzel and see how you do on that. It takes the edge off the fine response part of your brain that you need to shoot. As far as getting drunk and dancing with a guest, no way!

David Buzzard

MarkLe · #6 03-09-2005, 10:36 PM

No drinks. Not during the ceremony at least. the glass of wine I drink happens at the end of the reception (usually) and with the... video guys most of the time. But after your post I will pay attention to them [img]/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]
But I have to say that they don't drink while shooting-time.

Just like you saw it, others can see it as well and it doesn't look good. Regarding the dancing with the girls part that would be an ABSOLUTELY NO. Just few days ago I was talking to another photographer (stuck with MF) and we were just talking about this: you do it once and your credibility and integrity is compromized.

Eric_llasenko · #7 03-09-2005, 10:44 PM

I agree with most of the others and make it a point to never drink while working a job. I think it looks unprofessional and can lend to gossip among guests, "That photographer was drinking!" etc...
Cola and water only for me - and I go so far as to ask bartenders to pour cokes into a water glass so it does not look like I'm chugging a cocktail. I'm too tired after a long shoot to drive after any kind of drink anyways!

FWIW, the comment about photography being affected by having an altered state is right on. About 20 years ago I was covering the annual "Hash Bash" pot legalization in Ann Arbor, Michigan for a news agency as a stringer. People were smoking openly EVERYWHERE and I was shooting for several hours already when I was doing some ultra-wide/macro shots of some college kids passing a "ganja" spleef (about a foot long!) between them when they offered me a drag. What could it hurt - I enjoyed that kind of thing occasionally in my youth, so I took ONE drag and passed it back to them and resumed shooting for several more hours at the event with no problems. BUT, when I got the 20 or so rolls of slides back the next day, we were doing the edit of the shoot and you could see an OBVIOUS change in my shooting style starting almost right after that innocent little hit. There were many more "artsy" angles and crops from that point on, which was not necessarily a good thing for a photojournalism assignment. My editor in NY commented on the film when she got it that week and made a little snide comment about wondering if I had too much fun on that assignment. I denied it and was not busted but did learn my lesson. Job first, play later! [img]/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/cool.gif[/img]