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Old 26th March 2015, 11:20 PM
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Default Photographing a funeral

Have you ever photographed a funeral and if so what reaction did you get from the relatives/mourners?
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Old 27th March 2015, 07:48 AM
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I have thought about this and decided on balance that I did not want to intrude with a camera at that particular moment.
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Old 27th March 2015, 08:46 AM
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I photographed my Mom's funeral so I don't think it's the same. I also gave compact cameras to my nieces and nephews.

I would only do it with explicit consent of the bereaved. And it may well depend on your relationship to the deceased, family, relatives and friends.
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Old 27th March 2015, 10:59 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by MartyNL View Post
I photographed my Mom's funeral so I don't think it's the same. I also gave compact cameras to my nieces and nephews.

I would only do it with explicit consent of the bereaved. And it may well depend on your relationship to the deceased, family, relatives and friends.
Its my mothers funeral I am considering taking photographs of, she is 93 and still alive and kicking. We discussed her funeral the other day and she cannot decide between the full religious service and the simple straight from the chapel of rest to the graveyard option. She does not want any fuss just a private family burial. Personally I find the church services never seem to do justice to the person being buried. everyone who is there she know enough about the deceased already and if they don't respect them why are they there. Photographs would be taken discreetly from distance.
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Old 27th March 2015, 12:33 PM
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No I haven't - and I would have thought it would be an absolute no-no unless you were specifically invited by the family.
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Old 27th March 2015, 04:52 PM
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Quote:
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Its my mothers funeral I am considering taking photographs of, she is 93 and still alive and kicking. We discussed her funeral the other day and she cannot decide between the full religious service and the simple straight from the chapel of rest to the graveyard option. She does not want any fuss just a private family burial. Personally I find the church services never seem to do justice to the person being buried. everyone who is there she know enough about the deceased already and if they don't respect them why are they there. Photographs would be taken discreetly from distance.
Ok Norm, then if I were you, I'd just run it past your family members. None of my 5 brothers or sisters minded. I also took photo's in the chapel of rest and formal portraits in 4x5" at the reception.
Although I must say I didn't feel up to processing the films until 6 years after her passing and I've never made a single print and perhaps I never will.

For me, the whole picture taking was part of the grieving process.
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Old 27th March 2015, 07:35 PM
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Just remember that the funeral and wake is an opportunity for you to celebrate their life. How you do that is a personal family matter and not for anyone else to say.

At the instant that my mother died, to my surprise it crossed my mind that I would like to take a photograph. I hadn't thought about it in advance and I didn't have a camera with me. It didn't happen.

Last edited by Argentum; 27th March 2015 at 07:38 PM.
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Old 28th March 2015, 03:56 PM
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I've seen articles now and again in magazines about undertakers offering the service.

I've taken pictures at the meet afterwards as you often see people and family that you haven't seen for ages. And of course, I ALWAYS photograph the flowers.

Main thing for me though is to make sure you take loads of pictures of friends and family whilst they are alive, as they give much better memories than funeral pics do when you look at them after someone passing.

Maybe one day we as a country will celebrate peoples lives more when they die, as they do in Mexico (and other countries / cultures)?

Saying that, during some research recently for a Uni project, in Victorian times it was taken as the norm to take pictures of the deceased (especially children) laying in their open coffins. Don't know when that tradition fizzled out?

Terry S
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Old 28th March 2015, 06:18 PM
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make sure you take loads of pictures of friends and family whilst they are alive

Terry S[/QUOTE]

I regret not taking enough pictures of family and friends. at the moment my my teenage sons hate having a camera pointed at them but I steal candid shots and insist on the occasional family portrait. I had my 15 year old niece killed in a car crash 20 years ago, the only photographs I have of her are annual school photos.
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Old 29th March 2015, 07:44 AM
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I've done a few funerals professionally over the years but always to a brief from a funeral director. I've never felt the need to take a camera to a funeral with which I had some personal involvement but I think as long as the immediate family (and perhaps the celebrant) are OK with it there should be few grounds for objection these days. After all many funeral directors now have a staff member or contractor shooting video at their funerals and you can also bet that some thoughtless dill will pull out a phone camera at the most inappropriate time. Just remember too the old adage that funerals and weddings can bring out the best and worst in families.

A serious photographer will shoot a funeral using only available light and from well back or above so a fast tele lens is your friend if you have one.
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