Anyone ever shot a memorial service or funeral.

[Kbarredo]

I was asked by my father in law to shoot the memorial of my brother in law who passed this monday. at first I thought hell no. then I started to realize it gives me the chance to show how many people loved his son. Anyone ever had this experience.

 

[Kbarredo]

And don't worry I the memorial is just speeches and talking. There will be no casket.

 

[pkae1989]

Is it weird I had a dream about doing that last night? I guess it just depends on the family and what they are comfortable with.

 

[Kbarredo]

Is it weird I had a dream about doing that last night? I guess it just depends on the family and what they are comfortable with.

yeah not really moments you want to remember.

 

[Overread]

It's not the first thing many think to photograph, however like many major family events, a funeral can bring together a family and often have many distant relatives and friends attend. This creates something people do want to be able to record and remember, even at such a sombre sitting.

It's something to shoot very respectfully and not be jumping around with the camera and I'd expect most of the shots you'd get would be group shots just after the service as well as the large number being from the more informal meeting after (since most do have a general eating/socialising phase after the service). During the service a shot or two to show those who have come to show their respect; but you likely won't be looking around for candid shots there.

 

[pgriz]

I've been asked to put together slide-shows of some family members, to create a visual "life of..." story. The very first one I did five years ago, and at the time some other family members thought it would be very tacky to do so. In the end, we were able to get enough visual material to put together a very powerful remembrance, and each family member got a copy. It ended running about 20 minutes, and documents a life of 70 years, with photos starting at a very early age, through adulthood, kids, moves, grandkids, and the final long goodbye. We still watch it from time to time, and it's guaranteed to cause a box of tissues to be used up.

Following the ceremony, we had a get-together and I photographed people talking, reminiscing, sharing their emotion. There were impromptu speeches, songs of remembrance, quiet moments... That too went into the family "archives" and all got copies of whatever what shot that day. It's not about the photography, it's about people, emotion, respect, and pain. Yet pain shared, is a pain that becomes easier to endure. And after the bitterness of pain dies down, the memories live on.

But it doesn't always have to be sad. My mother-in-law said she wanted the same treatment, but she didn't want to die before we'd put together something. So for her 80th birthday, we (hey, family activity) put together a retrospective on her life. She sees her family as her achievement, and so kids and grandkids featured prominently in that one (along with the early stuff, including some great-great-grandparents shots). We had about 100 people there - and all got copies. It's becoming a family tradition...

 

[Derrel]

I was hired to shoot video of a double funeral for a junior high school-aged boy and his elementary-school brother. The funeral was held at an Elks Lodge, and had probably 350 attendees, making it the largest funeral service I've ever been to. While getting into the car to drive the roughly 50 miles to the service, my right eyeglass lens popped out of the frame and shattered on the ground. It was a very difficult thing to video, for several reasons. With all the junior high schoolers in attendance, the degree of crying and wailing was much,much higher than when adults make up the majority. The fact that the two boys died in a tragic automobile crash, when their 21 year-old cousin wrecked the car, made it just seem so,so sad. The kids lived in a fairly small town, and virtually the entire junior high was in attendance. There were many,many tributes given. It was a very draining experience for me.

About two months later, the kids' father contacted me and thanked me profusely for the video I had shot. He was deeply moved by it.

 

[Forkie]

I was hired to shoot video of a double funeral for a junior high school-aged boy and his elementary-school brother. The funeral was held at an Elks Lodge, and had probably 350 attendees, making it the largest funeral service I've ever been to. While getting into the car to drive the roughly 50 miles to the service, my right eyeglass lens popped out of the frame and shattered on the ground. It was a very difficult thing to video, for several reasons. With all the junior high schoolers in attendance, the degree of crying and wailing was much,much higher than when adults make up the majority. The fact that the two boys died in a tragic automobile crash, when their 21 year-old cousin wrecked the car, made it just seem so,so sad. The kids lived in a fairly small town, and virtually the entire junior high was in attendance. There were many,many tributes given. It was a very draining experience for me.

About two months later, the kids' father contacted me and thanked me profusely for the video I had shot. He was deeply moved by it.

I guess it's not really for me to judge, but I can't imagine for the life of me why anyone would want photos, let alone a video of a funeral. It takes all sorts to make a world I guess

 

[Ryan L]

I guess it's not really for me to judge, but I can't imagine for the life of me why anyone would want photos, let alone a video of a funeral. It takes all sorts to make a world I guess

Most funeral homes video the memorial service now days. I have seen it at 2 different ones this year.

 

[Netskimmer]

I took photos of the flowers at my dad's service with an instant camera, this was several years ago, before my interest in photography really took hold.

It felt a little weird taking pictures but There were so many arrangements from different people, the funeral home almost didn't have room for them all and the director said he thought it was the most he'd ever seen at a service. (he could have just been saying that though) I wanted to record just how many people outside our family cared for him. Even though it has been several years, I still can't bring myself to get them developed.

I guess it's not really for me to judge, but I can't imagine for the life of me why anyone would want photos, let alone a video of a funeral. It takes all sorts to make a world I guess

Most funeral homes video the memorial service now days. I have seen it at 2 different ones this year.

You are not having a good year.

 

[Ryan L]

You are not having a good year.

No sadly I am not. Good friend in a car accident, and my grandmother from natural causes. Life doesnt always seem fair, thats for sure.

 

[CCericola]

Here you go. It wasn't so strange back in the Victorian era.

The Thanatos Archive

 

[Derrel]

I was hired to shoot video of a double funeral for a junior high school-aged boy and his elementary-school brother. The funeral was held at an Elks Lodge, and had probably 350 attendees, making it the largest funeral service I've ever been to. While getting into the car to drive the roughly 50 miles to the service, my right eyeglass lens popped out of the frame and shattered on the ground. It was a very difficult thing to video, for several reasons. With all the junior high schoolers in attendance, the degree of crying and wailing was much,much higher than when adults make up the majority. The fact that the two boys died in a tragic automobile crash, when their 21 year-old cousin wrecked the car, made it just seem so,so sad. The kids lived in a fairly small town, and virtually the entire junior high was in attendance. There were many,many tributes given. It was a very draining experience for me.

About two months later, the kids' father contacted me and thanked me profusely for the video I had shot. He was deeply moved by it.

I guess it's not really for me to judge, but I can't imagine for the life of me why anyone would want photos, let alone a video of a funeral. It takes all sorts to make a world I guess

Well, imagine suffering through this scenario, which is exactly what actually happened: the father lets his kids head to the seashore for a daytrip with their cousin. On the way back, they are hit head-on by a loaded semi truck with a 70,000 pound load...all three of the youngsters are killed...the man has lost two sons, and a nephew...the memorial service was the friends of the children, coming up to the microphone and pouring out heartfelt memories of his two kids...something to cling to, I suppose...a way to see tangible proof of how the friends and classmates of his children felt about them...

 

[Netskimmer]

You are not having a good year.

No sadly I am not. Good friend in a car accident, and my grandmother from natural causes. Life doesnt always seem fair, thats for sure.

No it doesn't, my dad was healthy, and in his early 50's. He had a bad stomach ache and went to the ER, he was dead a few hours later... My mother worked at the hopsital he went to and the day he died she got "downsized." It was like "We're so sorry about your husband, oh and your fired." She wasn't the only one, they were pretty much finding excuses to get rid of anyone who had worked there a long time so they could hire kids fresh out of college who would work cheap. They fired something like 30 people that year, all over 40 and all that had worked there for over 10 years.

 

[MattK0138]

There were a few people who took pictures at my brothers funeral it was military though. I can tell you as long as you are subtle most people won't even notice you are there. I was ao grief stricken I had no idea until I was given a DVD later on. I would just try to stay away from a bright flash at key moments. Maybe take photos from the back as people walk in. Or use a remote with the camera on a tripod for certain parts so your not standing there with a camera in hand to cut down on awkwardness for peace of mind. I am new to photography but just remember they asked you. Good luck I hope it works out if you go through with it. I would maybe ask people not in the immediate family to share a good memory with you about the person outside somewhere separately so you could possibly catch a happy memory in time. You could write a little synopsis of the story for the family so they remember the joy the person brought and not so much the funeral. Just my thoughts. The happy moments I share with people about my brother are what gets mw through it.