Framing the Un-embalmed Body in Silence

Since the time Adam marked the death of his son Abel since that time the funeral services have been quite popular. It has proved to be an opportunity for the photographers to document the death of the deceased in a respectful manner along with all the ceremonies and the family of the deceased.

While photographing the funeral there are some things that should always be kept in mind. It is of paramount importance to show all your due respect and consideration to the family of the deceased, friends, relatives etc. They should be treated with a lot of care and respect as they have suffered a huge loss which must be respected from all ends. They may have their own set of aversions, beliefs and customs which the photographer needs to understand and cooperate.

While photographing with an EOS camera one needs to be as unobtrusive as possible and make a sincere effort to blend as much as possible with the ceremony, events or activities. Try to take part in the ceremonies and be a silent observer. After photographing you can print the mages using a high quality printer that has good quality ink cartridge used in it. When you are at the ceremony try introducing yourself and familiarizing yourself with cultural, linguistic, ethnic and religious activities before taking the pictures. If the ceremony is being held in a church, synagogue, temple, mosque, cathedral or other edifices then you need to ensure that if any necessary permissions are required to be taken for photography.

You should also contact the mortuary, funeral home, morgue, crematorium and contact other facilities too. As even they need to know about your intentions of photographing the funerals. You need to ensure that you offer every type pf courtesy to the family of the deceased.

Make sure that you never use flash technique while photographing anything or anyone in a funeral. If you cannot avoid it any cost and if there is no other alternative then you can seek the permission of the family members and go about it. As it would prove to be very distracting for them. Try some other kind of settings like changing the ISO setting to a higher level, altering the lens aperture or adjusting the camera shutter speed. You can also try to bracket the exposure setting so as to ensure acceptable quality with digital images. Try to use a medium range of telephoto lens. By ensuring all these factors it will allow the photographer to remain at a safe distance from the family members, mourners and other funeral attendees.

You need to understand that these occasions are very grief stricken, painful for the relatives as well as the family members. So maintain a proper etiquette and distance while photographing with an EOS camera and print them with a good quality printer using a good quality ink cartridge. It will be a challenging opportunity for you so make the most of it.