Photography Ettiquette: Nancy's last moment.

[Janie]

I was rather disturbed and felt a little guilty and felt invasive seeing Nancy Reagan in her last moment at the coffin, when she kissed the coffin and layed her head there sobbing, but the sound of the cameras going off like crazy really bothered me, actually angered me. Perhaps they could have been positioned elsewhere or someone should invent silencers for cameras!

Anyone else cry at the site of nancy sobbing on the coffin, not wanting to leave her love?

If you go here: http://www.c-span.org/executive/reagan.asp and Click on the red arrow at Interment service at Reagan Library, you can fast forward to 1:08:00 and you'll hear it get quiet when she goes to the coffin, then just click click clickclickclickclick click click....

[natatbeach]

amen to that! glad I wasn't the only one...my husband I actually started to get into it because i felt that the only reason to photograph and have access to a moment like that is simply for profit---I think no one benefits from invading on such a private moment and robbing someone of that moment of grief ... it was HER last moment with her hubby---jeesh----maybe a 1 minute break for the cameras (of all kinds) and maybe just having his pic up on the screen would have served as a more adequate and really shown him/her and the family the "respect" that the rest of the world seems to feel they deserve...

my hubby disagreed and said they would use a moment like that to make it bigger than it needed to be and BAM at the end of the segment it's her in her grief...the media really makes me ill sometimes... that's pretty much when I left

[brianc]

I just happened to flip past seeing that moment and was thinking the same exact thing. Very invasive. but with a life in the public eye I some people are somewhat used to that sort of thing.

[brianc]

there were only three that had the in your face access. And I remember seeing a PBS special on the offical white house photog. So I would think that those guys were there to document the service.

but then again you'd think they'd have learned to be a little more discrete.

[natatbeach]

ya know ? WHY should they have to get used to it...there are things called common courtesy, and kindness, and grace that would have allowed her the same rights as any other grieving widow ... being famous doesn't take away your needs as a human being... I'm just a little opinionated-in case ya didn't notice.... but you do have a point

[natatbeach]

that's what my hubby and also debated on...he said the same thing and I said what you said...three shots at most to their clicking X 1,000 ...geesh...

[Sean Dempsey]

What if Nancy didn't mind?

[natatbeach]

What ifs..... you can wonder what ifs....but the question still remains or rather the subject PHOTO ETIQUETTE...what's appropriate or intrusive...unless I misunderstood. but thanks for playing devil's advocate---you make a good point. ;)

I'm sure in the coming months we will have these questions answered....this will drag out for at least a few weeks if not more.

[Charles Hess]

That's been the downside of the media in recent years...we're getting too much information, getting too close and personal, and getting our eyes & brains hit with things that we don't really need to see and know. I generally turn the TV off when the news media starts getting a little too close, if you know what I mean. In cases like this, I really think that sometimes ignorance IS truly bliss. And today's "Reality" shows on TV ... nauseating, every last one of them.

[dsl712]

I may not agree with the photography right their in your face. But on the other hand it is a historical moment.

The question is how do you balance respect with the need to document history?

I don't have an answer.

Dennis

[Cowgirl]

I myself broke down when Nancy was grieving those last minutes. I too got a bit upset at the sound of the cameras constantly and rapidly firing. It seems to me that a few moments could have been set aside for Nancy and the children WITHOUT the cameras (still & video). A family needs to have their privacy at some point in such a traumatic time in their lives, alone with their loved one. They could have given a moment of complete silence for the family, no cameras, no media - a blackout if you will.

I am proud of Nancy's character and how she has always been a wonderful role model, as well as Ronald. She's had a tough ordeal, and handled it all very well.


Kathy

[Asylum Steve]

Kathy, I'm not singling you out, but just thought I'd throw my two cents in here...

One, I doubt very much is Nancy noticed the cameras going off at that moment. Highly unlikely...

And two, both she and the Reagan family have had MANY MANY private moments with the body of the president over the course of this past week. Yes, that was a final farewell, but it was indeed a public ceremony.

Also, I'm sure that rules and ettiquette for official photographers covering these events is well established, and that Nancy is very aware of it. She would have to know ahead of time whom will be shooting when, and I'm sure if she had any objections, she would have made them known...

[mtbbrian]

I saw those guys too, and they were wearing suits and ties, so I am betting they were there for a specific reason. And there were only what two or three photographers.
So any images we see from the inside were taken from them.
Also, some of these images will be probably used for the Regan Library.
I think they were acting professionally.
Brian

[Sebastian]

I'm with Steve and Brian. Thanks to those photos many who felt really close to the Reagans will get to see her say good bye. I think the mentality changes once you become a public figure. Many things you do, you have to share with the public, because they in a way become your family. He ran this country, he was popular, he still has many supporters. I think the family realizes that and that's why they gave a public ceremony, and access to media. Let's face it, if it wasn't for the public, for their love and support, he never would have become president in the first place. I am damn sure the Reagans realize that, and they want to give back to those that supported them by letting them get a glimpse into this part of his life.

I know damn well that I want everyone that made a difference in my life, and everyone who I affected positively, to be there when I go. I am sure they feel the same way, they just can't afford to send out 250 million invitations, let alone finding a funeral home big enough...

You run the world's greatest country, and the TV and radio and newspapers become your funeral home, and everyone's welcome to give their respects.

[Sebastian]

Some thoughts on the issue from working pros, it's pretty evenly divided.

http://www.sportsshooter.com/message...html?tid=10105

[Janie]

Some thoughts on the issue from working pros, it's pretty evenly divided.

http://www.sportsshooter.com/message...html?tid=10105

The whole thing that bothered me most was the loud "Clicking" sound of the cameras during that moment - don't they have a way to silence them at all? That would have made the moment a little more... civilized, no, endearing? You know what I mean - I don't think it would have bothered me quite as much had I not heard it (although I still felt intrusive!).

[Michael Fanelli]

I suppose y'all will feel the same way when taking those street shots of the poor and homeless...

[Sebastian]

Response from one of the guys doing the shooting, he was there for the Reagans:

http://www.sportsshooter.com/message...html?tid=10165

[another view]

Interesting post. Sebastian's second link to sportsshoter is from someone who was actually there, so he can compare the TV broadcast to how it actually sounded at the location. Microphones don't pickup sounds exactly like our ears hear - much like film and digital sensors don't capture images exactly as our eyes see them. The cameras could have very easily seemed louder on TV than Mrs. Reagan heard them from where she was.

The photographers who were chosen to do this assignment aren't just the lucky ones whose names were picked out of a hat, they're among the best out there and were chosen because of this. Mrs. Reagan - a former actress herself, who has been a public person since the 50's - is probably used to the cameras.

[Photo-John]

There are quiet cameras. The pro Canons and Nikons aren't quiet at all. But a Leica rangefinder is. And so is the Leica Digilux 2 I've been using.

I don't feel too bad for most people in the spotlight. They chose their path and the spotlight is part of it. They had benefits, but there's a price to pay. A loss of privacy is part of the cost. Reagan was a public figure and it was a public event. If I were there, I would have tried to be respectful, but I would have taken pictures. That's what I do.

[darkrainfall]

I have to agree with Brian, Steve and Sebastian... but then again I'm currently finishing up a journalism major and I do photojournalism.... I'm not perfect, but I do try to make sure that I stay sensitive to those who are suffering. Whenever possible in sensitive situations I arrive early to let those in charge know that I'm there and to lay down any "ground rules"....
Also, my nikons are not quiet, however I do have a "silent mode" where the noise is reduced somewhat as well as the amount of burst shots I get.... and I do use that for quiet, sensitive situations and for things like weddings.