I've been asked to photograph a local fireman's funeral. He was a longtime member, and recently passed from Alzheimer's. My friend from the fire company said it was ok with the family that photos are done. However, I imagine I'll just be getting pictures of the procession and such. I don't plan on doing graveside shots of family, but any tips on what is appropriate or good things to look for would be helpful. Thanks.
I would go with a longer tele something like a 200mm f/2.8 or 300mm f/4 so you can get portraits without getting in peoples face... stay to the outside and don't get in anyones way...
if you had a 100-300mm zoom with f/2.8 that would be perfect...
personally I'd lay off the flash... but that is just me...
don't be shy... if you are going to take photos... make sure they are good ones...
@lislee75 I agree with @icywarm You want them to be good ones. You were asked to take them and this is an example of times when people want photos at a funeral ... the procession is good, but you might want some family shots from a distance. These are probably photos they'll display somewhere.
@icywarm@terek55 Thanks for the tips! I do have a 200 mm which would be good for the outside part of the procession, which is what I'll mainly be getting. I may take some inside photos well before the service in our Church.
In addition to the above, I think shots of the flowers would be nice. I wish I had pictures of all of the flowers at my father's service. I remember services, when people place roses or flower petals on the casket or grave site. These flower petals might be nice to take a picture of. I have another idea, but it won't form itself into words. If I can think of how to express it, I will post again.
Tell a story. That was the very first thing I learned about photography. It doesn't matter if you are shooting a wedding, portraits, sports, or even landscapes...the important thing is that you tell a story.
Plan ahead. Think about what will be involved with the funeral and plan your shots accordingly. A story has a beginning, middle, and end. It has characters, emotion, and conflict. It has a setting and a mood. Treat it as if you were writing a short story on the funeral, only you are shooting still photos instead of writing paragraphs.
Here I am again. Here are my other ideas. We had powerpoint of photos of my father. Some families have a poster with a variety of photographs on it. There is usually a guest register book. There might be a flag that is presented to the family. I have an image of what the inside of the chapel looks like still glued inside my head. However, the family might like a picture of the outside and/or the inside of the building. I thought about this person being a firefighter. Here, there is a certain ceremony for a firefighter's funeral. I looked these protocols up on the Internet. I did find these online. I did not copy the URLs to those. However, I did copy the link to the photographs a photographer took at a fire fighter's funeral. Perhaps you can ask the family if there will be a full or partial fire fighter's ceremony and then be prepared for this. http://imageevent.com/ralf/pitt/firefighters
@jasonbarnette Thanks for the comment. I truthfully didn't think of telling the story in that way, with the pictures. I think primarily because the person from the fire company asked about the procession. I know, though, that the family would probably enjoy the story told the way you suggested.
@daisy Thanks for the link to the website and the suggestions. I will keep all those in mind. I belong to the Church the funeral is held at so I'm going to go in early and get some shots, before people arrive. I also like the flower idea. I will also try to look up some protocols before I got. Great ideas!
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if you had a 100-300mm zoom with f/2.8 that would be perfect...
personally I'd lay off the flash... but that is just me...
don't be shy... if you are going to take photos... make sure they are good ones...
Plan ahead. Think about what will be involved with the funeral and plan your shots accordingly. A story has a beginning, middle, and end. It has characters, emotion, and conflict. It has a setting and a mood. Treat it as if you were writing a short story on the funeral, only you are shooting still photos instead of writing paragraphs.
@daisy Thanks for the link to the website and the suggestions. I will keep all those in mind. I belong to the Church the funeral is held at so I'm going to go in early and get some shots, before people arrive. I also like the flower idea. I will also try to look up some protocols before I got. Great ideas!