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I've heard people complaining about "Uncle Bob" taking pictures at events. From context, it sounds like Uncle Bob is an annoying guy with a camera?
What is an "Uncle Bob"? What is the background of the term "Uncle Bob"? Is he based on an actual individual, or is it more a stereotype?
Uncle Bob is not actually your Uncle Bob.
Uncle Bob is the derogatory term used by professional and semi professional photographers to describe a 'man with a camera' and occasionly someone with 'all the gear, no idea'. There isn't a clear definition of Uncle Bob, and he can be found in many guises, this is my experience so feel free to mix and match:
In the context of a shoot, Uncle Bob is usually a very affluent gent (or has enough money to spend on some prosumer or pro gear) whose photography knowledge is usually at amateur levels, whose company was asked for by the event attendees, but whose photography was not.
He has a habit of wanting to "talk shop" with the photographers who are being paid to work the event and generally, gets in the way. Sometimes he even tries to shoot over your shoulder as you pose a subject.
Uncle Bob is very eager to share his work, and to his credit, gets some keepers. But, he'll always deliver faster than you and his keepers could mean lost sales to you.
I remember one of my first gigs ever - and was using a 20D with a 50 f/1.4 and 100 f/2 to photograph a dance recital. I was the official photographer and ran the cards out of the auditorium every 5th dance or so, so that we could sell on-site. I got stopped by Uncle Bob on one of these runs; his question was why his photos were not coming out like mine (1 Series + L glass in his hands)? Classic Uncle Bob. (My response was, "I'd be more than happy to discuss after the event, but in the meantime, we'd appreciate your business if I've taken any shots that you like")
But, as photographers, I think it's important to note that we can all become Uncle Bob. We all want to shoot, we all like to shoot, and sometimes, we are the ones invited to an event where our company is wanted, but our photography is not.
So, don't be Uncle Bob.
One of the defining characteristics of Uncle Bob is the effect he has: he is somebody with a camera, who must be managed in some way, or whose repeated actions have a cumulative negative effect on those around him.
The canonical Uncle Bob prototype is usually found at weddings (as mentioned in the other answers as well):
Uncle Bob is the guy standing 10 ft behind and to the side of the wedding photographer also shooting the group shot. He might be polite enough to give plenty of space out of consideration to the photographer, but unaware he's still causing problems because some people in the group shot are looking at him instead of the photographer.
During the reception, everybody has their smartphones or point-and-shoot cameras taking pictures of the couple cutting the cake, and all of the other events in the reception. But Uncle Bob is the one whose flash is repeatedly ruining the photographer's shots of the special moments.
The dead giveaway in these situations is when the wedding photographer has to tell the wedding planner (or whoever the wedding party has chosen as "person-herder") to manage Uncle Bob, who is making it difficult for the wedding photographer to capture the shots the wedding party are paying for. For instance, see Jay Lance's answer to the question, Should I have a wedding contract provision for actions outside my control?, where he specifically has an "Uncle Bob" clause in his contracts.
But Uncle Bob can also be found elsewhere. In the question, Photographic courtesy?, the OP was trying to record an unamplified vocal performance in a high school gymnasium. In this case, Uncle Bob's camera was making excess noise with focus confirmation beeps for each shot. Had he known (or thought) to turn off his focus confirmation beeps, I don't think he would be Uncle Bob.
An Uncle Bob situation exists (for you) when either of your parents has a male sibling named Robert. In photography, particularly event photography, it refers to someone (not the hired event photographer) with a camera and little, or no, awareness of his getting in the way of the professional hired to photograph the event. We don't call this person an Aunt Roberta because women typically have far more innate awarness of situational propriety than do men.
