hail mary shot 

(n.) A technique where a photographer raises the camera high above his head to get a picture of the crowd surrounding him. Very popular up until the sixties when the Rolleiflex cameras of the day permitted viewing from below on their groundglass finders, now re-gaining popularity because the swiveling LCD screen on many digital cameras allows the same maneuver.

Since he could't find a ladder or step-stool, the wedding photographer took several hail mary shots of the crowd.

hail mary shot by Williewanka September 23, 2006