Does photography ever play a role in death?

I'm not sure exactly how to word what I'm trying to say, so please bear with me.

People use photography to capture nearly every happy moment that they encounter in life. Its a way to preserve the memories that are dear to us and capture that emotion for future generations to appreciate.

One of the most "emotion-rich" events in life, is probably the end of a life itself. Understandably, that is not an event or feeling that we want to go back and revisit in the future... and I suppose it is probably for that reason that photographs surrounding death are considered "taboo".

However, We see images of death in the media on an almost daily basis, but they are usually from far off places and they depict people who live lives "unlike our own".

I guess what I'm trying to ask (as delicately as possible) is whether or not photography has ever played any sort of role in the death or dying process for any of you?

I'm not sure if this makes any sense at all... but I hope I've made SOME sense, and without offending or upsetting anyone. Thanks for your feedback!

yes.

http://nowilaymedownto​sleep.org/

A photographer associated with this group stayed with me for 12 hours when they thought I would deliver my daughter very early - too early.

I, miraculously, held on for 5 more weeks and my daughter is a happy 20 month old nowl

We kinda had a similar discussion a few months back among my photographer friends.

I guess the bottom line is that People will be too disheartened to even bother hiring a photographer to capture the funeral, etc...

Also, they would not want to be reminded of the "sadness" of the lost of a loved one.

I guess the only people who would hire a photographer for a funeral are people who "hate" the deceased. :P

Hope it helps... Cheers

Congratulations, mai_lin. That must have been very hard. Glad you and your little one made it.

It really depends. I've been to many funerals which had professional photographers takings photos of the family posing next to the casket in the church, and throughout the burial ceremony. I actually took some photos myself once, though it was very difficult, knowing the deceased. I eventually stopped and focused on what was happening. I have never really told anyone this, because most people I know would not agree with it. It's something I've grown up with, so it doesn't bother me.

derky82 wrote in post #4397570
I'm not sure exactly how to word what I'm trying to say, so please bear with me.

People use photography to capture nearly every happy moment that they encounter in life. Its a way to preserve the memories that are dear to us and capture that emotion for future generations to appreciate.

One of the most "emotion-rich" events in life, is probably the end of a life itself. Understandably, that is not an event or feeling that we want to go back and revisit in the future... and I suppose it is probably for that reason that photographs surrounding death are considered "taboo".

However, We see images of death in the media on an almost daily basis, but they are usually from far off places and they depict people who live lives "unlike our own".

I guess what I'm trying to ask (as delicately as possible) is whether or not photography has ever played any sort of role in the death or dying process for any of you?

I'm not sure if this makes any sense at all... but I hope I've made SOME sense, and without offending or upsetting anyone. Thanks for your feedback!

I don't think I've ever seen a more powerful and moving series on death than in this Pulitzer Prize winning project:

http://www.pulitzer.or​g …tography/works/​index.html

mai_lin wrote in post #4397578
yes.

http://nowilaymedownto​sleep.org/

A photographer associated with this group stayed with me for 12 hours when they thought I would deliver my daughter very early - too early.

I, miraculously, held on for 5 more weeks and my daughter is a happy 20 month old nowl

I'm so happy for you that things worked out the way they did! And thank you for sharing that website with me... It was very touching!

I've photographed two funerals recently. One a close mentor/friend in August and the other, my grandmother last month.
I was asked to on both accounts and it is a very different feeling. I had more than a few moments where I was unable to shoot due to my own emotions.

It's very hard to articulate my feelings really even though I've thought about it a lot, especially my grandmothers, the past month.

But I do know I will never forget the way my mother, with a beautiful smile and little tears in her eyes, hugged me after seeing some of the images of that day we laid her mother to rest.

FlyingPhotog wrote in post #4397766
I don't think I've ever seen a more powerful and moving series on death than in this Pulitzer Prize winning project:

http://www.pulitzer.or​g …tography/works/​index.html

WOW... truly a powerful series!

jgogums wrote in post #4397785
I've photographed two funerals recently. One a close mentor/friend in August and the other, my grandmother last month.
I was asked to on both accounts and it is a very different feeling. I had more than a few moments where I was unable to shoot due to my own emotions.

It's very hard to articulate my feelings really even though I've thought about it a lot, especially my grandmothers, the past month.

But I do know I will never forget the way my mother, with a beautiful smile and little tears in her eyes, hugged me after seeing some of the images of that day we laid her mother to rest.

I guess I worry that people would somehow be offended or disgusted to have someone photographing a funeral because of the way we are accustomed to dealing with death and grieving. You didn't encounter anything like that?

God, I remember reading about that earlier this year... it still makes me cry. Incredibly moving photography...

FlyingPhotog wrote in post #4397766
I don't think I've ever seen a more powerful and moving series on death than in this Pulitzer Prize winning project:

http://www.pulitzer.or​g …tography/works/​index.html

I don't think I would consider photography at a funeral to be something worth debating over unless the family completely agrees that they would like one there. I would imagine that in some cases it would be appropriate, and of course this all depends on the family and their own internal values.

I could see having a photographer at a gathering before or following a funeral though. Family members reunite at funerals for the first time in years in a lot of cases, so having a photographer around for that alone can be worth it to a family.

I work in a paediatric intensive care unit, every now and then a family will want photos of their child and family either before they die or after the death. The hospitals photographer is usually the person who takes the photos. We tried to get some funding and organise a group within the staff at the hospital but we were not sucessful. The loss of a child is devastating, photos needs to be requested by the family but when they do these photos are very special.

Ive recently been to a funeral and afterwards I was asked why I didnt bring my camera!!!
Helen

Photographing the deceased was considered very normal in the 19th century. I read this book last spring and loved the history and that the main character was a photographer.
http://search.barnesan​dnoble.com …&EAN=9780393321​104&itm=10
Facinating look into the time period and photography. Worth the time to read.

derky82 wrote in post #4397898
I guess I worry that people would somehow be offended or disgusted to have someone photographing a funeral because of the way we are accustomed to dealing with death and grieving. You didn't encounter anything like that?

I hear you. It's quite possible people in attendance might have questioned why I (or anyone) was taking pictures, but no one approached me about it.
For me I only had two concerns: 1) understanding the families wishes; and 2) my own comfort level.
Worrying about anything more than that would have just paralyzed me.

I know myself better than anyone else and I knew my intention was to photograph the event in a respectful, tasteful manner. But I wasn't really comfortable until the family (or my family) knew that, and I had a good discussion with them.

As much as it may seem uncomfortable, I really feel it was vital that I sat down and had a real geniune discussion with the family about what they want and what to kind of expect.
I specifically asked them about how they felt about pictures of their loved one and about me moving about and taking photos and the likelihood of a lot of emotion being displayed and captured.
My personal approach was very documentary. Only a few "everyone look here please" at the reception afterward (mostly family members sitting together talking, etc). I didn't take any photos of my grandmother directly. But that was my decision based on my comfort level.
I stayed back. Used my longer lenses (70-200 and 85) mostly and didn't move around nearly as much as i do at weddings. I also didn't do any rapid frame bursts or flash. Again, my own personal decision....

My 2 cents is not to shy away from these photographic opportunities just because its a funeral or an event that is generally regarded as "sad". You may be surprised how much can be accomplished with open, honest dialogue with yourself and the family.

A friend of mine thats been helping grieving families with his work for a very long time.
http://www.toddhochber​g.com/see.cfm?imageNum​ber=2