What annoys you when you are photographing at crowded events.

[Phoenix]

I love swamps where the only thing that photobombs me are silvergulls and the odd angry windsurfer.
At the Oz Day Fireworks show I joined in with the throng.

I wonder if other photographers get as frustrated as me when they are photographing in crowds (I left out things that didn't effect my photography).

Feel free to choose multiple annoying items in this poll and then vent below. You may find this cathartic..or it may just cause you to push that smoking, swearing, littering, I pad user into the Swan River.

Maybe none of them annoy you and it's just me being a grump.

a. Photobombing staring head, at least she could have smiled.

.

b. Photobombing selfie stick, seriously..they might as well do this at home.


c. Photobombing... just take your pick on this one depending on your POV, there's so much wrongness here.


d. Photobombing flags ... yeah I know, first I want the flag then I don't


e. Photobombing attention seeker, maybe thinks he will be discovered?


f. I pads and I phones held up in the air (especially when they wave them around or hold them crookedly).

[loose cannon]

Oh dear, where do I start.

I kinda like a. because I see the plane getting tangled in her hair and she ends up in, oh I don't know, Detroit or somewhere.

Don't do much thronging but had to tick e. because I have to deal with clowns like this in pubs when I'm shooting bands with the added bonus of a) they are seriously in my face and b) they are blind rotten drunk.

As long as they have a good time during their 1/100 of a second of fame who cares if they slop their drink all over my camera when they throw their arms in the air.

None of the others apply to me and that's probably a good thing....for them. As Billy Connolly once said on stage when dealing with an annoying heckler "Don't let the long hair and beard fool you, I'm no hippy, I'm into violence"

And you don't need a crowd to be photobombed Jo. Had the beach all to myself till this dude turned up and parked on the boat ramp with headlights on high beam for 15 minutes during the peak of the storm.

Had to put my hat on to stop my head exploding!

Great thread btw.. I feel better already.

[Phoenix]

Pano time on that one! Thank you for venting with me.

[seaslug]

Try not to let anything like that annoy me. When you choose to work in that environment, you work with what you've got. Just another challenge!

[Phoenix]

Well with that attitude you may live a long long time.

[millicat]

Greg,. I am sure you have encountered many a fish that has interfered with taking the perfect shot of something else ...

[seaslug]

Never even been close to getting a perfect shot of anything Anna. If I get out after a dive with half a dozen shots I like, then I'm happy!

[P Plates]

Can be annoying and honestly I just don't get this constant need for selfies (must be an age thing). My biggest annoyance when photographing fireworks locally are people using flash. Sometimes I think my tongue will start bleeding I'm biting it that hard.

[Phoenix]

haha...oops I mean.. so sorry.... would have been a good one to add!

[millicat]

I love taking selfies because really, half the time noone else is going to take a photo of me .. you should see how many I have of me and the YAPS dogs lol.

With photobombing I get it when I'm trying to take photos of animals and people end up walking past ..

Oh trying to take a photo at a school assembly can be challenging .. friggen ignorant parents everywhere eh ! lol ..

[Phoenix]

I can relate to the people bombing your dog pics! I didn't put selfies up as an option.. just the selfie stick! I am waiting for the next generation of parents to take selfies at their kids assemblies.

[sejac]

I agree with Greg. I take a lot of crowd photos at WOMADelaide, and I always just try to make the best of each situation, and move on. Sure, it can be annoying when someone doesn't behave and cooperate with me, enabling me to capture that great shot, but just as often, opportunities present themselves that you didn't expect or imagine.

When I want to capture a scene - people doing something for example - I might just sit down nearby for a bit, try to look inconspicuous, and keep my camera in it's bag and just look carefully for potential shots. After a while, the camera comes out and away I go.

Using a longish lens also helps. I like a 70-200. Good DOF and I can keep my distance without getting in peoples' faces.