Comments on: How Would You Photograph a Funeral?

By: Bridget S

Bridget S — Sat, 16 Jul 2011 13:27:05 +0000

I just want to thank those who left comments regarding photographing a funeral because I was asked a couple of weeks ago to do just that…and I had never heard of such a thing. I googled and found these postings which helped me make a decision to do it, though I’m not sure I would do it again. I can’t say I followed all of the advice here, as the culture of the family is very different and they often have photos taken at funerals…of EVERYTHING! There were even people with point and shoot cameras just clicking away all day. The rules I had to break were that I was expected to capture the faces, the open casket (of a baby no less), and the grief. It was difficult as I’m a close friend of the family, and I did lose my composure a couple of times. But I ask anyone to try to stand behind a camera for hours capturing the grief of friends who have lost their child and not lose their composure. My personal weakness was witnessing the 5 year old sister grieve. Some photos were so beautiful , sad, and moving that I still can’t look at them without crying. But I am grateful for this posting as my initial reaction to the idea was rather morbid. My only advice would probably be to base your decision on whether to photograph a funeral on how close you are to the family (the closer you are, the more difficult it will be) and what you believe you can handle emotionally. I personally would refuse to ever do a child’s funeral again, as it was too much for me.

By: Rob

Rob — Wed, 29 Jun 2011 23:41:38 +0000

My Father passed away in March of this year and my sister arranged to have a photographer at the viewing and funeral (I also brought my own small Canon pocket camera and snapped a few photos myself). It was an LDS funeral so no photos were allowed in the Chapel during the services itself. However, many photos were taken at the viewing (including the family posing in front of the casket) and many at the graveside (he had full military honors). When I 1st thought about it, I wasn’t sure how I would feel about having these types of photos taken. When it was all over and we had returned home, my sister sent us all a disk with all the images. I am so happy to have them, I created a book and had it printed for my mom and the family. I understand why people feel weird about it. I don’t want to see the photos of my Dad in the casket all the time, but I take great comfort when I see the family gathered together to honor such an amazing man. I agree that each person may feel differently, but in my case, it is something that I will cherish through my life. He was very sick when he passed and actually looked better in the casket. If you are a legitimate photographer and would like to see the album, please send me your email and I will share it with you.

By: Lisa Beachler

Lisa Beachler — Thu, 19 May 2011 12:05:26 +0000

I’ve photographed a couple, not so creepy if you understand it’s more for the living then the dead. One was for a friend who was famous, he had a military personal as an pall bearer, when they went to put him into the hearse, this strong brave man, fell to his knees, I was overtaken with emotion and…. missed the shot. That was 7 years ago and to this day I think about it.

I did some research and photographing the dead is actually something that they used to do in the 1800′s, NOW that was creepy and if you look it up, they would prop the dead people up and shoot them in sitting positions.

I don’t care for the family pics around the casket that to me is tacky but again, if I am being hired to cover an event, that is what I do. Cover the event for my client.

I also stay out of the way, zoom lens as much as I can, camera down at times that are not being photographed, it’s a different type of venue, you’re not there to capture “that expression, or emotion” like a wedding. It’s more journalistic and covering an event!

By: E. Gonzalez

E. Gonzalez — Thu, 19 May 2011 05:48:05 +0000

I was asked several years ago if I could photograph a funeral. This was 10 years ago. Since then I have photographed several of them. It’s sad, but it really does bring comfort and closure to family members. I put the pictures on a DVD with music and the compliments I get are amazing. They don’t even know I’m there taking pictures, and I also use a zoom lens. I won’t take pictures of the deceased unless they insist. Families usually do this for the healing process. It really helps them.

By: Tony TPN

Tony TPN — Sun, 05 Dec 2010 00:14:36 +0000

I recently did a funeral set…
I try to be discrete all the time…
here’s the link
http://www.tpnphotography.com/blog/?p=127

By: Peter Phun

Peter Phun — Sun, 21 Nov 2010 16:23:28 +0000

As a former news photographer, I had to cover my share of funerals. They are never easy especially since news photographers have to identify the subjects in their pictures.

It’s one thing to take a good picture, then the really difficult part is to go up the people and ask their names and how they are related to the deceased.

That means dress respectfully to blend in.
http://peterphun.com/blog/2010/11/18/photographiing-funerals/

By: rodger whitney

rodger whitney — Sat, 19 Jun 2010 18:22:45 +0000

When I photograph a funeral, I remain as discret as possible, using zoom lenses to avoid having to be closer than necessary and stay out of the eyes of as many as possible. Flash is a LAST resort, and certainly not in the church. The quality is not as high as for a wedding, but, for a funeral, discretion and not interfereing with the natural flow of the action is priority 1.

Good Luck

By: Patricia Fry

Patricia Fry — Thu, 08 Apr 2010 18:16:47 +0000

I have done wedding photography for about 15 years mostly for family and friends. Recently we had 3 funerals in 4 months and I was asked to take photos. I treated it much like a wedding. Our funerals have specific parts: Viewing (at the funeral home when family come and give their condolences usually open casket), Church ceremony, graveside ceremony, luncheon, and family get together after.
i shot photos for each of these sub-categories and created a slide show for each one. Capturing emotion while being inconspicuous and resulting in tasteful photos is a bit of a challenge, but I found it quite easy to come up with about 500-750 pictures quite easily. The graveside pictures converted into black and white easily and I added the punch of color (red roses) to several for effect. The families have loved them all.
Just remember to capture the day and the emotion and you will do ok.

I will post photos asap (got to figure out how)

By: Mindy

Mindy — Thu, 26 Nov 2009 21:29:29 +0000

One of the most poignant photos I’ve ever seen was taken at the funeral of a stillborn baby girl. The picture is of her parents sitting together at the graveside in the snow with a blanket across their laps, looking up at balloons that were being released. Their faces are tear-stained, but they also have a tender joy in the symbolism of the balloons heading for the sky. I haven’t seen the image in a few years, but it certainly stayed with me.

Many grief and bereavement counsellors (including me : ) have written about “remembrance photos” and their importance to the families of stillborn babies. Baywood Publishing and Centering Corporation are two book publishers that have resources specific to these issues.

By: WBC

WBC — Wed, 04 Feb 2009 02:38:47 +0000

I am by no means a professional photographer, but recently decided to get back into what used to be a hobby of mine (well before digital) in the days of the darkroom. Somehow I had come across this thread and skimmed it pretty quickly for no particular reason.

About a week ago, a senior member of our sangha had passed away and the pagoda (a Vietnamese Buddhist temple) held the services. Now, I am part of the english speaking sangha at this particular pagoda, while it is in turn run by the local Vietnamese community.

So I made the mistake of bringing my camera with the intention of getting some retakes of the statues I messed up on a previous shoot after the ceremony was over.

On the way in, one of the Vietnamese members (a kindly old lady) was all happy about the camera and asked if I was going to take pictures because they wanted to get some. I told them I was not planning on it – that’s when another kindly old lady joined in and said I really should. Remembering parts of this thread I told the that I could take some photos after of the rememberances, and flowers and such – they let me go at that point.

Whew. At this point, it is worth explaining – and I am not sure if its a culture thing, or just the locals – that the Vietnamese sangha there does not DO anything without taking pictures of it. If a picture was not taken, the event simply did not exist (I exaggerate, but you get the point). These two were also the ones that kept the pagoda open for me late to do the previous shoot.

So I go and sit down for the service tucking my camera under my seat to avoid people staring at me.

Just before the service starts, one of them comes running up with a camera and thrusts it at me and tells me I have to take pictures now… I mentioned I was going to do them after, but she immediately counters with the age old Buddhist parry ~ “The Monk wants you too!” ~ referring to the Vn Monk that was performing the ceremonies.

For non-Buddhists, imagine trying to say no to your priest, when he does not really speak English, so all you can convey to him is that you are not going to do what he has asked. There is no easy way to explain why…

So I can’t say no at this point. I tell her okay, but I will use my own equipment (I don’t recall what she had for a DSLR, but I was more familiar with mine. Once again my mental agility kicks in and I head for the back of the room. I got well in back, and hoped that I could pull off shots with my 200mm and VR.

I got two shots off when the other nice little old lady comes running up and says “nooooo – you go to the front” and pushes me up the side and puts me against the wall right next to the family.

Now almost everyone in attendance was not Vietnamese and probably had the same qualms about this I did.

Well, what I did next was probably already covered in this thread, and I will just credit it all to the above:

1. Made sure the flash was off
2. Braced my strap against my arm and my elbow on my leg
3. Took photos only of the monk, laypeople assisting and the altar.

I did take one of the deceaseds son when he got up to make a speech. He also asked that his fathers wishes included everyone in attendence hugging someone they did not know. The ensuing chaos of that made for an easy way to get a shot of the crowd.

I also approached the family after and they seemed to have no hard feelings and I apologized for having done everything, which they blew off.

My biggest regret was that I missed a great shot of a Buddhist monastic hugging a Minister. Would have been great.

The photos themselves needed some adjustments after, but I did get a few that came out pretty nice.

Thank you to everyone above for the ideas