Shooting in the Church

[agaimages]

Ok, may be silly but! I'm shooting a ceremony in a Roman Catholic

Church, don't ask why but I'm terrified. I know the rules, I can

use flash, I can be pretty much everywhere but! I just don't know

how to go about it, where to be/stand not to interrupt and seem

invisible as much as possible. All previous ceremonies were at the

same place as reception, this seemed more relaxed and I had no

problem shooting but this is my first time shooting in a church. I

need some help, reassurance, tips on where to shoot from, how to

seem invisible. I know it should be just the same as shooting a

ceremony in any place but my own strict upbringing of being quiet

and invisible while attending a church ceremony comes in my way. Am

I crazy? Help.

[blknwhtfoto]

You're a paid photographer, they want you to be there, you don't need to be invisible. I'm a big fan of sitting in the pews, right on the aisle(never shot a wedding, but i shoot a lot at my local synangogues/cathedral). Go hang a little before you shoot, just walk around, get your bearings. You'll do fine.

[fotografz]

You're not crazy. First thing to do is ASK the church what the rules of photography are.

Most have printed fliers on the subject. And specifically find out what the Priest's POV on

photography is.

 

Roman Catholic churches are pretty consistent. Usually no flash during the ceremony.

Most will allow you to move about discreetly, but rarely allow you up into the alter area.

 

Even when the rules are pretty loose, my Roman Catholic wife wants me to cool it and

sneak in from the sides, and don't be any kind of a disruption what-so-ever.

[todd1664878707]

Have you met with the priest and scoped out the church yet? If not, meet with him. He will tell you where all the other photographers stand during the ceremony. He will also go over with you where you should and shouldn't be throughout the whole thing.

Typically you'll be standing up front snapping away as the people come down the aisle. When the bride is handed off to the groom, get out of the way and walk around the side of the church to the back. Don't walk down the asile. Also, never walk up the stairs to the altar even after the ceremony. Then you'll shoot the whole thing from either the back or from the side. Usually flash isn't allowed during the ceremony, but that's a question for the priest. Also, because every priest is different, make sure you talk with the one who will be performing the services that day and not some other guy. Good luck.

[peter_s]

As others say, talk to the priest.

 

I'm doing an RC wedding in a fortnight and the priest is very relaxed about photography except

 

1. I'm not allowed to approach the alter (essentially, I can't get in front of the couple)

 

2. I'm not allowed to shoot *at all* during the sacred part of the ceremony (communion, blessing).

 

He's cool with flash, but I'm only going to use it during the processional and recessional.

 

I've shown him how loud my cameras are (Nikon D70). In an empty church they sound quite loud, but he knew very well that with filled pews the sound would be largely dampened.

 

As to being invisible, as long as you stay behind the guests or well to the side they won't notice you. The couple sure as hell won't unless you drop something.

 

You're not the main entertainment so don't go getting stage fright! All eyes will be on the main scene up front.

[agaimages]

Thank you guys! I've already called the church, they said they will send me the info pamphlet which I did not yet get (maybe today? I hope), the person answering the phones briefly told me the rules, this is not about the rules of the church, this is about your rules guys. The couple is veryyy laid back (they lost the pamphlet that I was to get info from). The church seems "ok" as well, not many restrictions, just respect and quietness.

My question was meant to get YOUR experience and YOUR pointers and YOUR approaches while shooting during a ceremony.

[todd1664878707]

Good point Peter. The last wedding I did, I was a little bit nervous standing at the front of the church in front of 200-300 people just waiting for the processional to start. I knew all those eyes were just staring at me watching me...

[johnmarkpainter]

I too am self-concious about being distracting in a church.

 

I just try not move around unless there is a break in the action. You should definitely

attend the rehearsal for this one so that you can plan your angles accordingly. That way

you will be more comfortable.

 

Look for a time in the ceremony where you can switch sides so that all your shots won't be

from the same angle....start shooting from the front aisle than move to the left for the first

half of ceremony, then move to the right side and end up on the front pew for the rings/

kiss...you'll figure it out.

[picturesque]

If you have been told you can use flash and there are no restrictions on where you stand, be aggressive and shoot from where you want to get the best angles. Just don't be so obnoxious that you disrupt the actual proceedings. Once I was photographing a Catholic ceremony where the minister told me it was OK to do anything I wanted. I did, but didn't go climbing around on the altar like a lot of the guests did. I was actually a little shocked at what they did. Later, when I asked for some re-creations, the minister said, "You mean you didn't get the photos you wanted when I told you it was OK to do anything you wanted?", and wouldn't pose for re-creations. If you want a position-by-position list of where to be, I can write one for you, based on what will happen. Make no attempt to be invisible. Just get your shot and move away quietly. Even though you can do whatever you want, shoot some no-flash shots from the back of the church. These are always so much better with available light.

[craig_gillette]

Definitely scope out the church if you can. More modern churches have moved to put the altar in a more central area as opposed to the more linear aspects of older churches. The people aren't just looking foward now. It's a little harder to be stealthy. The last wedding I went to at an RC church was at a big local parish. I don't recall what the photographer was wearing, he was neither over nor underdressed. I do recall his multiple assistants bustling about, setting up cameras and tripods over here, then scooting along to another spot, doing set-ups over there, stopping to take pictures from both spots, rushing about to cover the door at the exit. As this was a more fan shaped church, this was painfully obvious. while quiet, it seemed they were treating it as a studio, not a church. I think you're already sensitized to that.

 

Know where you'll want to be, where you can be. Dress unobtrusively, move with dignity - nobody else is running around. It was in a thread someplace asking about shoes - wear quiet shoes, you may be on carpet, maybe on stone or tile at times. Squeaks and clicks are bad. I'd suggest take your cues from the celebrant and even ask his advice, he's possibly done quite a few weddings at that church so he may have a wealth of suggestions. Relax, unless you do something awful/embarrassing, folks really won't be paying much attention to you.

[agaimages]

NADINE,

If you could make that list it would be of great help. One more question, the groom requested a picture of them exchanging the rings from the front (of them), not that he would expect me to shoot over the Priest?s shoulder ? I hope. Where to be while trying to get the best shoot?

[picturesque]

Aga, you don't necessarily have to shoot over the priest's shoulder, although if you truly have no restraints, and you're penned in with a small altar area, you may have to. In my example above, many guests were doing just that, and the priest didn't care. The best place for you to be when he puts the ring on her hand is in front of them, because most of the time they are slightly turned toward the priest, but on their left (left side of the church as you are looking at the altar from the back). This is because he is putting the ring on her left hand. If you want to get close-ups of the hands, you need to be shooting from pretty close unless you have a super-duper telephoto. When she puts the ring on his hand, you switch to a position in the aisle because she puts the ring on his left hand, and they will naturally turn toward the asile a little to accommodate the arrangement.

 

Back to the ceremony--the following is based on your typical ceremony. If you have any other "events" during the ceremony, you will have to make changes to the sequence. Hispanic ceremonies, for instance, have a ring, veil, and cord sequence, plus a visit to the Virgin Mary. Check the exact sequence or attend the rehearsal.

 

I assume the processional is self-explanatory. After the bride gets up to the altar, wait for the father to kiss her and shade the groom's hand. Best place to be is on the left again, in front of where the bridesmaids usually stand. While you are up there, take pictures of the parents/grandparents in the pews.

 

Fall back to the back of the church or the side. There are usually readings--two of them, sometimes together, sometimes interspersed with other events, like the minister's "speech". Get good shots of the readers--the lecterns could be located anywhere, so wherever they are, go there.

 

During the minister's speech, get your shots from the back of the church--available light, on a tripod unless you have VR type lenses, or get more of the parents listening or the couple listening to the priest. You can snap some of the priest, too. If the couple is sitting, be sure to get shots of them, especially watch for hand position, whether they look at each other, talk to each other, etc.

 

When the priest calls the couple and the party to the altar, be ready at the back of the church for the overall shots, again, no flash. You might want to wait until they are instructed to turn and face each other. Then go closer or use the telephoto to get just them. Probably the vows follow. If you are allowed free access, get closer and off to the side if you can for close-ups of the bride's and the groom's faces, but be careful when you click. The whole point is for guests to witness and hear the vows. Don't be afraid to get to a good vantage point (even in front of guests), but don't hang there. Take your shot and move away.

 

Ring exchange is covered above. After the ring exchange, there is usually a candle lighting. Without knowing how the couple will accomplish this, it is hard to say where to be. Sometimes, in the aisle is best. Sometimes behind the altar is best as the couple cover the candle with their bodies. Rehearsal will tell you the answer to this.

 

After this, there may be a mass and the couple kneels. Get one from in the aisle and off to the side of the altar (preferably a close up on this). Be aware though that when the bearers of the wine and bread present the offerings, they often retrieve the items from an area down the aisle, so be prepared to give them room (and snap their pictures). When the bread and wine sequence happens for the bride and groom you should be off to one side of the altar with a telephoto. You can get some shots of the priest lifting the wine and bread, but this isn't absolutely necessary.

 

During the actual mass, you can rest a little while the rest of the folks file up. If you want to be busy, this is a good balcony shot if there is one. After the mass is over, there is usually a final blessing of the couple, which may be visually very nice--priest holding a hand over the couple or "binding their hands".

 

Then they kiss and from then on, again self explanatory.

 

If the church has a balcony, things change if you want to get balcony shots. You may have to forgo some shots then, and do some re-creations, because the best balcony shot is when they are facing each other during the vows. If you can get up there and down during that time, great, but often you don't have much time.

 

Sometimes they have the "Peace", where everyone hugs each other. This is usually after the vows and rings and sometimes before the candle, sometimes after. Important to get from this is the couple hugging the parents. This is a hard one to predict the best place to stand. Just watch how they move.

 

Sometimes there are other family members going up to the lectern to conduct blessings or other readings. This would be the same as for the earlier readings.

 

You may get thrown off if they use a non-standard way of standing, etc. So attend the rehearsal if necessary. I've even make an exact list of the sequence if I really had to get all the shots without any re-creations.

[agaimages]

Nadine, Thank you!