Over a course of twenty years as a photojournalist, I’ve shot many funerals from full military to the simplest ways of honoring the loved one. Funerals are never easy to shoot just simply because of the intense emotion surrounding the subject. Looking for the moments that convey that emotion are the same, so that when the family looks back over the years, it takes them back to the loved ones last moments.

I feel like the most important aspect of shooting a funeral of someone you don’t know is forming that relationship before the event. You need to  find out exactly what they are looking for so you can give them exactly that. When you have the full permission of the closest love ones, it gives you  peace of mind knowing that people will be watching you move around and sometimes being in places that would make some uncomfortable .

Again, that relationship that builds trust with the family is critical. I once followed a couple for eleven months during a photo story ending in a funeral, by that time I was almost family.

Sherman’s wife, Kathy, had ask me to record the last gathering over Sherman’s passing. I’m not sure she was expecting me to cover it to the extent I did, but the habit of telling the whole story kicked in. I wanted to convey the last moments simply as a gift.  I had never really gotten to know Sherman in our two year acquaintance, because he had suffered from demencia for the entire period. Sometimes you never really get to know someone till the end.  As I listened to Sherman’s accomplishments and met the people he called friends in life, it felt unjust that I had not gotten to know him. Sherman had served in three wars, was a fifty plus year Mason and a husband of over thirty years. With a serving spirit he touched many lives and served mankind for so many years. He left his mark on mankind and in the end on my heart as well. RIP Sherman.

Decatur Texas photography, freelance photography in Decatur, Funeral photography, Photography workshops in Texas