Reception Photo Challenge Ideas

Providing your guests with disposable cameras is a great way to capture candid moments from a guests point of view. However, I would strongly discourage you in providing your guests with a list. The reason is simply that instead of being able to enjoy the celebration of the day, they will be charged with watching your every move in order to capture a specific shot. If specific shots are what you desire, it would be better to invest in a photographer or assign that task to one or two friends/family members.

Hope this helps.

Best Wishes!

Thank you for your response. We are going to have a photographer. We were trying to give our guests something fun to do, given it's not a Wedding itself. I know for my sister's wedding, she wanted all candid shots, not posed shots and her photographer didn't giver her what she wanted, nor did she stay to even capture candid shots she wanted. I don't want that kind of dissappointment at our Vow Renewal given we don't have any shots from our Wedding Day, but I can appreciate where you're coming from as well.

Sounds like a very creative idea!

Print a card from cardstock (or business cards) and place it under the disposable camera. Number that camera with the table number. Have the note read something like this:

"To my friends and family

Each table has their own camera so that you can make photos of this special day. I challenge each of you to capture a "candid & unique" moment of someone at the table. They can be on the dance floor, talking, etc, etc. When you are done, just leave the camera back here on the table for someone else to use.

In the coming weeks, my husband and I will develop all the film and post it to "insert web address here". Each table will find their shots under their table number/name."

Set up a shared gallery ahead of time on one of the photo sites taking note of the web link. Then, post the shots to those galleries. Also, share another gallery as most sites now can have others upload their pics, too. That way you can get their digital camera shots too.

Thank you to the last two people who got my concept for having the cameras on the table. We're having a Crawfish Boil/BBQ as our Reception and I know my side of the family is from the Midwest, so it's a new idea to them. I was going to include on the talbe a note with the cameras telling the guests to have fun with the cameras at their own table and capture candid shots of the guests they are seated with, like take a picture of someone you just met (nobody you personally know) at our event, or someone enjoying cracking open the crawfish, or someone having a good time on the dance floor, nothing like them following my hubby and I around with the camera with the shots we're having our Photographer take. I know that's their job. My friend placed cameras on the tables at her wedding and very few guests took pictures and thought it was a camera a guest left behind. That way if the guests knew what the cameras were there for and could help us out by taking additional pictures we'll have them

Some of the shots I was also going to ask the guest to caputre and be creative about were "Something Old" "Something New" "Something Borrowed" "Something Blue" which there will be plenty of blue things, since it's one of our colors. I think it would be fun to have those types of pictures and when guests, or other family and friends who weren't able to attend, they'd find those more of conversation topics after the event than it just being something just a photographer took, and instead of being harassed by guests to see the pictures, I can post them to see. I had a hard time of getting candid pictures from my sister's guests at her wedding this past July to make Picture CDs for her to remember her wedding by, besides the ones her photographer took and having relatives constantly ask me if I have a link to her Wedding Pictures besides the ones I have for her CDs. For it being an Anniversary and a Vow Renewal anything goes and since it's not formal, I just want our event being fun.

I think leaving cameras at each table and giving guests a list of "fun" photos to shoot is a fabulous idea. It's a great extension of the common idea of leaving disposable cameras laying around for guests to use - it gives them inspiration to take more pictures and will help stir conversation. I might just steal this idea for my wedding! Thanks for the good idea!

Thank you AmyLeigh. I'm glad you think it's an idea you'll have to use for your Wedding. I kinda wished my sister or cousin had something like this at their weddings, given my cousin's wedding, I couldn't do much dancing pregnant, and my sister's I couldn't dance much with a very sprained ankle. It would have given me a way to help them get as many pictures of both of their Weddings as they could possibly have. I think it gives the guests to help with the pictures, especially those who are Camera Happy, and I want my hubby's and my guests to say we were original with our Vow Renewal and maybe even some of them want to steal our ideas too. I know with the kids table the little ones don't know how to use a camera and we will have a 10 & 12 year old at their table and letting them get pictures of the little ones especially of our son being goofy and what not and them having a good time too. I want as many pictures as possible from my hubbys's and my vow renewal.

The disposable camera idea is oft used, and well regarded. You'll get plenty of good pictures, and good coverage of all your guest. Just be sure to emphasize that they return the cameras to you at the conclusion of the event. As for the list, tear it up and toss it. That will discourage guests from taking any pictures at all.

*Don't forget to give disposables to your wedding party as well, since they will have a great view of the action.

For those who posted that placing the cameras on the tables but not letting the guests know what kind of fun pictures that I want the cameras used for, thank you for your replies, but your suggestions defeat the purpose of what my hubby and I want the disposable cameras used for.

I know we will be giving our photographer a list of all the pictures we want them to take, but in reality, no photographer takes all the pictures that the bride and Groom request that they take. I don't want my guests taking candid shots of my hubby and I stuffing our faces or pictures of really random things, such as ceiling fans, mustard bottles (I saw this in a friend's wedding pictures and thought what were these people thinking?). I appreciate you letting me know to give the bridal party cameras too, but they'll be sitting at tables with the other guests, not our table and not together (they'll be seated with guests they know), so they'll already be included in the pictures with the other guests.

I might actually reconsider this idea. Someone posted on another discussion about Canditto Machines which are about the same price as having a disposable camera developed. With our invitations eventhough I know guest will bring their cameras anyway, is make an insert letting them know that we are having one of those machines and if they own a digital camera to please bring it with them and be kind an upload their pictures taken on their cameras onto the machine and we will pay for the CDS to be copied onto CDs, or memory cards right there and then for us (no cost to them) and let them take whatever pictures they want. I think the Canditto Machines are a fabulous idea and know the guests will be responsible for their own cameras instead of paying for cameras that some might accidentally bring home with them. Had my family known about that, it would have saved me the hassle of making picture CDs from my sister's wedding and not getting pictures from other guests.

That sounds like a fun idea, but I've heard that brides who have done that are very disappointed since most of the photos are dark and/or don't turn out at all. If you can find some good cameras, go for it.

Trina, did you mean with the cameras or the Canditto Machines? I think the Canditto machines will be easier that way if any pictures don't come out, oh well, and more pictures can fit on a thumbdrive or CD than just on a role of film and only getting 27 pictures per camera. My hubby and I have a digital picture frame which having the pictures after from a Canditto Machine we can easily load them on there and have them displayed as opposed to having pictures printed out that might get distroyed.

Hi,

I actually think both ideas are great! I've never heard of the Candito machines, but they sound great. Is there a reason you can't have the machines, AND still leave a "scavenger hunt" of fun photos to capture as well? with their cameras that will then be downloaded. You could end up with an extraordinary amount of really wonderful, creative and fun shots because each person who "plays" will have their own vision of what you mean. And realistically speaking, if they dont want to play, they won't, so I don't think there will be a problem that they will not have fun because they are too busy being your "candid photographer". Most guests come to support the couple and want to do those types of things for them anyway, they are not really there for the cake Personally I would have a great time doing that as a guest.

LoveTwice, thank you. Your idea makes a lot of sense. I hadn't heard of the Canditto Machines until someone actually posted this on another person's discussion about having a friend take pictures. My sister all she wanted really were candid photos from her wedding, not the posed pictures (that is a photographer's job) but I think including everyone in the fun of capturing candid shots of us especially since neither one of us love being in front of the camera, we prefer to be taking the pictures, it would provide a lot of memories that we don't have from our actual wedding day, but it will let everyone in on the fun of helping us get as many pictures as possible. I was also going to make a website after and include all of those pictures so that way if anyone liked particular shots that they were in or of us, they can get them without having to ask us for them. The canditto machines are great since they take no time at all to upload your pictures on the machine and put them all onto file

Files* and you own all of the rights to them and cost the same amount as having a single role of film or disposable camera developed in less time. The whole thing about my hubby and I is we're a fun couple and adding a little bit of fun to a reception helps keep the guests occupied, even those who have 2 left feet on the dance floor but love to take pictures. I more than likely won't completely nix the idea and keep it and let those who wish to help caputure pictures for us contribute and those who don't want to don't have to, at least letting them all know to bring their cameras with them will give them a heads up that all pictures that they take will be appreciated and will be shared memories for all.