anyone else photograph funerals?

Bob Michaels

Bob Michaels

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I wonder if anyone else out here is photographing funerals like some do weddings? Of course there is no money in it but I don't shoot for money anyway.

I have shot a number of funerals as part of my documentary work. All people I knew as well as their family members through my documentary work. But I always had the freedom to approach it on the basis on the potential for one image that would work for me in a exhibit. I do have two funeral photos in my current "South Apopka - Religion" series.

I photographed a funeral yesterday as the request of friends to create a record of the event. I only knew the deceased slightly. But his boyfriend and his extended family is a group I have photographed for about 7-8 years. They seem to appreciate that I unconditionally accept everyone in the family as there is a large number of gay males, opportunistic prostitutes, children with unknown fathers, substance abuse and periods of incarceration. The deceased was a gay male with AIDS who died of a drug overdose.

Yesterday I approached the photography from the standpoint of creating a record for them, not making one photo for me. I tried to create a story from arrival of the hearse and friends to the gathering after the service. Today, I delivered a CD containing about 35 still images and a 3 minute video of singing in the church that hopefully is a cohesive story of the events of the day. As expected, there are no meritorious photos I can use, this was for them not me.

Anyone else photograph funerals similar to what one would do at a wedding?
 
No, but I have often thought it a pity that we don't do this more. Sometimes it is the first time two brothers are together in years. Other funerals it is the last time someone is seen in reasonable health. Many can't remember anything of the day and wouldn't mind a photograph to supplement the experience. That sounds like a wonderful gift you gave those people.
 
Only when asked. And I only agree if I have a personal connection. For this one, the father of the deceased is a good friend of mine.

Requiem09-L.jpg
 
I shot a funeral for work twice. The first time was a high-profile guy who was a big part of the city's history. I snapped a single shot of the mayor, three aldermen and the fire and police chiefs as pallbearers and went home. The second was the son of a trooper (and a really well-liked guy) who was killed in Afghanistan. The 2,000-seat church was filled to capacity, and those were just the people who knew the kid personally. I was one of three shooting for my paper (it was a block from the office). We three were the only ones in a media circus with a crapload of annoying TV crews who didn't get yelled at by the other cops, the Patriot Guard Riders or the family. Damn, that was a cold morning...
 
Actually, I'm considering this for paid assignments. In The Netherlands, having a paid photographer record a funeral is upcoming.

There's two sides to this for me.
1) I really dislike staged shoots, as are most weddings in The Netherlands: gotta get this and that shot, do it like this not that, etc. I find that very depressing and have difficulty putting an effort in.
2) I'm truly interested in the tension that exists in photographing depressing, sad or even horrendous events. I find the tension between the envisioning of the event on the one hand and the effort of creating an image as beautiful as possible from it on the other hand, most exhilarating.

There's a permanent battle on how to create a good shot (lighting, composition, focus, framing) and content (sadness, decay, death, loneliness).

I shot the funeral of my grandmother last spring. I went along as a favor to my mother and father, having lost contact with my grandmother for good reasons many years ago. The funeral did not get me down, the shooting surely lifted me up. That's when I knew.
 
I took some shots at my father-in-law's funeral about 5 years ago. My motivation was the same as others above have already stated (some recording of the event, some folks might not be around in a few years, family together which is a too infrequent event, etc.). Got nothing great photographically, but turned out to be of value to our family particularly when one of my wife's sisters had a life-changing massive brain hemorrhagic stroke 2 months later.

As for particulars, I shot with a Hexar AF for its silent shooting capability and, out of deference/respect/concern for how it might be perceived, I did not take nearly as many shots as I would have liked. In some respects, I think it would have easier if I was not part of the immediate family since that would have allowed me more physical distance and freedom from some of the service responsibilities.

All in all, with approval and proper respect, I think shooting a funeral or memorial service is a wonderful idea.
 
I've beewn a working musician all my life, and a few years ago I realized that I was playing more funerals than weddings. That was the tipping point for me. I now just play for my own amazement.
 
Yes...I will take a camera (Olympus 35-S) with me to document the day...have done it for a former Boss, relatives, family of friends and former co-workers...most people will give you a weird look but after when they see the results they understand....always use B&W film...
Some of my better shots of my wife with her family were taken at the cemetery...
If the deceased is former Military the Color Guard portion of the ceremony can really produce some emotional photos...(well at least for me)...The handing over of the folded flag gets me every time...
Camera of choice is something that is very quiet...the Olympus 35-S has a leaf shutter and is super silent...plus it's not all that flashy...
 
Coincidentally, I photographed my aunt's memorial service a week ago. I knew we were going to scatter her ashes in the surf at the beach Sunday morning. I had it scoped out in advance. The family would be standing on the beach looking east and my cousin would be knee deep in the surf with the ashes. I knew the only place for me to get a good shot was standing further out in the surf than my cousin, like me being waist deep. So I brought my Nikonos loaded with 10 year old Kodacolor 200, the only 35mm color negative film I had. I prided myself in sorting all of this out in advance.

But the night before, we decided to change the time of the service from 10AM to first daylight at 6:30AM since the Beach Patrol warned us not to do this (It is technically illegal). So I had to shoot in the incredibly dim first daylight with no flash. It was just lens wide open, 1/30th, and wonder just how thin the neg will be. I am amazed what a scanner can pull out of a neg so thin you can hardly even see it.
 
I took a paid job to shoot a family portrait after a funeral. Everyone in the family present, which never happens with most families.

It was bad. The images were bad. The vibe and energy were terrible. Worst family portrait I have ever done.

Now why was that? Well, it was awkward. The mood was somber. Nothing I could do could get that happy go lucky look on people's faces. There were women weeping as I was trying to pose them. I had no idea how to get a good portrait out of them and I did a terrible job of it. Nothin in my bag of tricks to put people at ease would have worked and I certainly didn't try the usual wedding tricks - which for me is always humour. So I was unprepared, had no idea how to deal with the people and the results sucked. Won't be doing it again if asked
 
I'd feel odd doing it. I did go to a viewing and took a photo of a good friend's dad. This was done for his mom. Not sure why she wanted a picture of her husband in the casket. The only photos I want of loved ones are shots when they were alive, because that is what I want for memories.
 
I really wanted to take photos of my Dad's funeral. Especially at the end, with his casket sitting there on the beir, and no one else around. But it would have upset some of my siblings, so I left the camera at home. I would do it though for someone else, if asked.

PF
 
Sorry to keep popping into this thread, but I just recalled shooting at another memorial service a few years ago. The service was for the mother of a very good friend of mine who had lived a long and amazing life. So while it was a sad event in some ways, it was also a celebration of her life and spirit. My friend knew that photography is a hobby of mine (I had even taken what turned out to be the last portrait of her when the three of us had breakfast together a couple of months previous) and he asked if I would take some pictures. I took the obligatory group family shot, which I thought turned out just okay, but also took some nice spontaneous portraits. My favorite though was one of my friend in an emotional embrace with his cousin who is more like a close big sister to him. They both thought the picture was wonderful and were so happy to have it. That picture alone made it worth bringing my camera that day.

-Randy
 
I only do it as a favor, for close friends or relatives.
And I agree, BW works best, medium to high contrast especially.
Haven't tried to do it on film, but here's one from my humble 50D and a fungus affected Rokkor 50 1.4


For All We Know by jwicaksana, on Flickr
 
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