anyone else photograph funerals?

[Bob Michaels]

Interesting to read responses which appear to reflect personal views about funerals in many cases.

My photography is always focused on communicating information by telling a story, so that influences my approach to photographing funerals. Some of the funerals I have photographed had the purpose of obtaining one image to help tell a part of a larger story.

The funeral and subsequent gathering I photographed last weekend was to tell the story of that day. This was so his friends would have something to remember him by. There were no previous photos of the deceased. They actually used a police booking photo on his funeral announcement. There will be no grave site as there was no money to buy a casket, burial vault and grave yard plot. The funeral service was with a rental coffin and he was cremated afterwards. So all that remains of the deceased is memories, a cardboard box of ashes, and the photo story I did of his day. I think I did an adequate job considering the objective.

I photographed my aunt's memorial gathering a week before. She lived most of her life in Jamaica and left a family of Jamaican grown children and grand children. She had died months before but her service was planned to coincide with a family party celebrating Jamaica's 50th anniversary of its independence. Add in Usain Bolt's performance in the Olympics and it became a great trifeca for her service to be a part of. I hope I made a few photos that tell that story.

I encourage everyone to pursue their own beliefs. I only suggest that everyone approach the photography at funerals situation with an open mind.

 

[mike rosenlof]

I've been to a few funerals of family members, and they were not terribly sad occasions. The deceased were loved, they lived good lives, it was their time and it was OK. I have photos from only one of them, of relatives all getting together, and I'm glad I have the photos. I wish I had photos from the other times.

I would not want be, or to have someone acting as an "official" photographer and posing groups and the like, but informal documentation can be great.

 

[jtm6]

After my grandfather's funeral service, everyone came over to my grandparents' house. People started taking a pictures of everyone else since events like that were the only time everyone got together from around the country, and not everyone was going to be able to make the next one, if you know what I mean. After a minute, everyone started concentrating on my grandfather's brother and ultimately swarmed him like paparazzi. He lived a very modest and low-tech farmer's life and probably had more pictures taken of him in one minute than were taken of him in the last decade. I was the only person to realize how uncomfortable that must have made him feel.

I've since made it a point to photograph people individually or together without extra special attention to anyone that we're thankful is still with us.

 

[jtm6]

So all that remains of the deceased is memories, a cardboard box of ashes, and the photo story I did of his day. I think I did an adequate job considering the objective.

Your work was probably something remarkable and of great importance.

 

[Pablito]

I would not.

people deep down want to forget, so I think it's best to let them.

Not human nature as I've known it. People want to remember.

 

[sepiareverb]

I shot at my grandfathers service at the funeral home a few years back, the fellow in charge said that more and more people were taking pictures every year. This in NJ.