There's no getting away from it - everyone has some kind of camera at weddings these days. Whether its the keen amateur with the SLR kit or the gran with her camera phone, its par for the course that people will be competing for the best position when photo opportunities arise.
As the official photographer for the day, I could "pull rank" and ask people to move out of the way, stand at the front and get a picture, whilst annoying all the guests that were trying to get theirs.
But I don't. I let the guests get on with it and I try to stay out of their way when possible. Why shouldn't they get the chance to take some pictures too?
This picture is a perfect example. We were all crammed into the small vestry at the chapel where tea and cakes were being served - lots of people in not a lot of space. Instead of elbowing my way to the front of the crowd just to get a fairly dull picture of Aoife and her bridesmaid smiling at the camera, I used the guests as part of the frame. Standing on a bench behind them gave me this unusual angle - much more visually interesting and telling the story of the day without disrupting it.
This way everyone's happy - the guests get their pictures, and I get the interesting, unusual and storytelling pictures that I'm being paid for.