Footage has surfaced of an angry priest yelling at a wedding photographer — as a petition, calling on clergymen to stop their “rude” and “aggressive” behavior toward snappers, was signed more than 900 times in the U.K.
Last week, over 900 people signed a petition started by photographer Rachel Roberts, declaring that “problematic” vicars are a “huge issue” in their industry and need to be more considerate.
@julieannewhytephotograph Debated if I should put this out there, but this happens way to often to photographers & videographers, before I started recording I was only in this place for 2 minutes – he marched over to me to tell me not to take photos ect & I was explaining that I have been paid by the couple & I have to take photos – this is the responce to that, then he stands so close me trying to intimidate me. This is not even half of what he done, he was then apparently looking for me after ceremony, I was not hiding from him. Pointing fingers in my face, so many witnesses to prove I said & done nothing. Carfin Grotto – Father Grant.
♬ original sound – Diaryofaweddingphotographer ❥
The petition stated that vicars are often “rude, humiliating, aggressive, and abusive” to wedding photographers in the U.K. and make it difficult for them to take photos inside church premises.
The petition comes after a viral TikTok video, posted by wedding photographer Julieanne Whyte, shows an intimidating priest yelling at her to prevent her from taking shots.
Whyte says she initially debated posting the video, which has amassed over 2.6 million views, but knew that she had to highlight the abusive incident as “this happens way too often to photographers and videographers” in her industry.
Tension Between Wedding Photographers and Clergy
In an interview with the BBC, Roberts said she was driven to start the petition after seeing a video on social media of a wedding photographer being “spoken to really aggressively” by a vicar in front of a church full of “horrified” wedding guests.
Roberts, who has been a wedding photographer for six years, says she has had clergy members ask her to hide behind pillars or to stay at the back of the church and only take one photo.
The wedding photographer says that one vicar threatened to pause the ceremony and kick her out if she took photos at the wrong time.
Meanwhile, another vicar demanded she stay in one place and not make any noise — but allowed children to freely roam in the church and play in the aisles.
Roberts says that the tension between photographers and the clergy had been an ongoing issue in the wedding photography industry for a long time.
She started the petition in a bid to make sure something was done to reset the relationship between vicars and photographers.
Clearly, Roberts is not the only one to feel this way — as hundreds of wedding photographers reportedly signed the petition in a little over a week.
In an interview with The Times of London., former U.K. Archbishop of Canterbury Dr. Rowan Williams admitted that some vicars can be a “complete pain” and “over-controlling” with photographers. But he says it is “not unreasonable” to ask photographers to be respectful.
Back in 2013, a video from the U.S. of a minister stopping a ceremony to tell off photographers caused a stir and is well worth a rewatch.
Image credits: Julieanne Whyte.
