A wedding photographer has hit out at guests who spend their time filming and taking photos on their phones during the ceremony and reception.
In an open letter, photographer Hannah Mbalenhle-Stanley, revealed that wedding guests could often inadvertently ruin her professional shots – and she provided a perfect example.
She argued that not only can a person with a phone spoil a perfect image of the bride and groom on their wedding day – but they are also limiting their own enjoyment of the day.
Mbalenhle-Stanley took to social media and posted: “To the girl with the iPhone… Not only did you ruin my shot, but you took this moment away from the bride, groom and father of the bride.
“What exactly do you plan on doing with that photo? Honestly. Are you going to print it out? Save it? Look at it every day? No – you’re not.
“But my bride would have printed this photo, looked at it often and reminisced over this moment as her dad walked her down the aisle on her wedding day.
“But instead – you wanted to take a photo with your phone, blocking my view and taking a photo that you will not use.
“Guests, please stop viewing weddings you attend through a screen but instead turn OFF your phone and enjoy the ceremony. You are important to the bride and groom.
“Let me do my job – and you just sit back, relax and enjoy this once in a lifetime moment.”
The post went viral and has been shared or liked hundreds of thousands of times.
The vast majority of people agreed with Mbalenhle-Stanley but some argued that people don’t mean any harm and that the incident was an unfortunate accident.
Mbalenhle-Stanley responded: “It’s my JOB to capture the moment – and we can never get that back because her phone was out. People should know better and have more respect for the bride and groom.”
She suggested that phones and devices should be handed in a and kept in a basket during the ceremony.
This would allow people to enjoy both the wedding and the reception and ‘see it through their own eyes’.
She said: “My main focus of the post was to make people aware of how often we rely on our phones when the real world is right in front of us.
“This moment cannot be redone – so I wish people would enjoy this one-in-a-lifetime moment and see it with their eyes instead of living it through their screens.”
For more from Hannah Mbalenhle-Stanley, visit Hannah Way Photography https://hannahwayphotography.com/
Or visit her Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/hannahwayphoto/