family member's funeral

i posted this in the people section as well, not sure which section is the appropriate one to post in.

my cousin's grandma past away last week. she has been in a coma for years after a heart attack in her home. they are doing an open casket viewing tomorrow and the cremation is on Saturday.

my parents have asked me to photography the funeral and they have hired 2 video guys. ive never done a funeral before. from all the funerals ive been to, ive never seen a photographer. how should i approach this? is it just mainly candids capturing people's emotions? do i take pics of the open casket?

my parents said these photos and videos will be sent out to our family members from oversea that cannot be here for it.

i will probably be using 2 cameras. should i only use tele lens for this type of event? im sure people dont want me all up in their grill for photos. my longest lens is a 100mm macro. should i rent a 70-200 2.8 IS? should i use flash?

I've seen this only once. I can't imagine doing it myself or wanting the pictures but to each their own. I would encourage you towards longer lenses. Though if you have a crop body, I think 100mm should be sufficient and no need to rent. Natural light would be preferable; I think flash would be considered too intrusive. That said, it'll probably be a pretty dark space.

I know I've seen similar posts here over time; try a search.

yea ive done a search. most of the post are about military or police officers.

As a videographer, I recorded about a dozen funerals but never photos. I agree that having the annoying "flash" at a funeral sounds strange and would avoid using it if possible.

With this funeral though, and I don't mean to sound insensitive, is that the deceased is an elderly person. (I did video for a child's funeral once and swore never to do another.) With the elderly, it's more of an expected "passage" and the emotions are a bit more subdued than they would be with younger people. (I recorded a 98 year old man who insisted his funeral be a party - band, dancing and all. )

Get any people that will formally be speaking.

One picture of the open casket should suffice.

Funerals also serve as a time to bring distant family together. Don't be afraid to take group shots of these people just like you would at any other affair.

Avoid "tears". Grief is private and not intended to be on display later on in a photo.

Lots of floral shots.

"Memory" displays.

Wide shots work well as you are highlighting the overall affair and not focusing in on anything too emotional.

Concentrate on these foundations and the rest of your "shot list" will come naturally.

it is for an elderly woman.


what about smiling or laughing pictures? im sure there will be groups formed and people will be talking and mingling, should i be capturing those moments?

People often make strange requests when overwhelmed with grief. I can attest.

I have done the video presentations for my two neices, my wife and my best friend, and finally our own 19 year old son. All of them knew I was a photographer and several asked if it would be morbid to take photos... my reply is how do you want to remember them... in life or death? My wife did use her phone to snap our son and questioned herself later on as to why because she couldn't bear to see it.

Here is how I would do it and have done it, shoot details and no flash like the flowers and grave marker, hand outs, notes on flower arrangements, things that have meaning that may be forgotten or overlooked.

when my grandmother died, I was unable to attend the funeral. One of my family members did a Polaroid Instamatic snap of the casket. I still have it 20 years later, as it was really the only way I had to say 'good bye'.

I cant say this will be easy for me to do, but i was asked by my parents, cant really say no.

I just picked up a 200mm 2.8L, would this be good enough where i wont be intrusive? And the sigma 50 1.4 on another camera.

I was just talking to someone and they made a good point. The two times when extended family gets together is weddings and funerals, so make sure you get some good family portraits. As grim as it sounds, you never know who's next...

1st day of funeral just finished. i think i grabbed some good shots. it was very emotional. i met some cousins from NY that i didnt know existed.

We photograph every other aspect of our's and our families lives...births, birthdays, holidays, graduations, engagements, weddings - every other significant moment.
What's so different about a funeral - oh, yeah, somebody died.
It's going to happen to all of us.
The funeral is just the end of the process.
What's so wrong with documenting the last pages of a loved one's life.

i dont think anyone said anything about being wrong.