Photographing a Christening

[coupekid]

Hi All,

I am going to a christening on Sunday, so I was wondering if anyone had any tips on this, pictures to take etc?

I am godfather (said with two Maltesers in my cheeks ) so this could be a limiting factor.

Any gems of info very welcome!

Cheers,
Ben....now kiss my ring!

Originally Posted by coupekid

Hi All,

I am going to a christening on Sunday, so I was wondering if anyone had any tips on this, pictures to take etc?

I am godfather (said with two Maltesers in my cheeks ) so this could be a limiting factor.

Any gems of info very welcome!

Cheers,
Ben....now kiss my ring!

I've done a few of these in my time. Biggest problem I found was that there are never two christenings the same. All depends on who is doing the service. I have even found on many occasions that they are done in groups of three. Just have to make the best of it when your turn arrives. It's a very short service so get in as many shots as you can. More are done after the service, bit like a wedding in that respect, so then you can arrange groups etc. Good advice is take some ear plugs. Some of them Little kids can raise the roof.

[grangie]

Hi Ben, hope all goes well. I thought these sites

http://photo.net/bboard/q-and-a-fetch-msg?msg_id=00IuNn

&

http://photo.net/bboard/q-and-a-fetch-msg?msg_id=00H7AX

had some useful tips

Tony

[coupekid]

thanks guys....those links were useful! especially as I have an f1.8

[bigbob]

Done a few dozen of these in my time .
Tips?
Find the best vantage point to shoot the font , you'll find if you leave it too late it'll be surrounded by relatives .
Treat it like a wedding , organise the guests if you can , shoot the godparents seperate from the group then shoot them with the parents , try to always get the baby in the center of the group held by the mother .
Try not to be too formal , wait for an unguarded moment to capture the fun of the day as well as the more organised shots .
Lastly shoot Raw to allow for the mixed lighting you'll get in the church .

B..

[kevrayner]

hey coupe...i got a christening booking this sunday !
i will have my d200,sb800,17-55 f2.8 with me...also prob take k10d with 50-200

kev

[thecoy]

I got one this coming march too man.. and any tip would do. Anyone?

But here's a tip, just make sure you don't get to use the flash as much as possible specially when you're close to the baby.. it might damage their eyes.

Originally Posted by bigbob

Done a few dozen of these in my time .
Tips?
Find the best vantage point to shoot the font , you'll find if you leave it too late it'll be surrounded by relatives .
Treat it like a wedding , organise the guests if you can , shoot the godparents seperate from the group then shoot them with the parents , try to always get the baby in the center of the group held by the mother .
Try not to be too formal , wait for an unguarded moment to capture the fun of the day as well as the more organised shots .
Lastly shoot Raw to allow for the mixed lighting you'll get in the church .

B..

I'm doing my first Christening next Sunday (21st Jun 09) so have you got any Christening shots you could share please?

Gina

[mib2]

Hi Gina

I've got to admit that i still seem to be having problems with focus however here's a couple from a few weeks ago.
It was a wonderful day sorry they're a bit on the large side.
Cheers Dave R

Awww thanks Dave, I really appreciate you taking time to do that for me. The first one is lovely as it captures the moment - lovely.

[mib2]

Hi Gina

I've got to admit i didnt do any planning as my friends just wanted a few happy snaps from the day.

if I was asked to do a christening as a project, from the experience of taking a few snaps then a lot more effort would need to go into the planning.
If you get the chance:
Do a recce.
Take a few test shots - all the usual stuff - lighting and so on (think depth of field).
Speak to the family - what would they like (anything fancy) - list of family.
Will the vicar/padre allow snaps during the service.
Wet weather program.
Inside and outside the church.

It is a wonderful day so make it work for the family so good luck.

Cheers - Dave R

Hi Dave,

Did a recce yesterday, talked with the vicar about using flash which he said was fine. It's a big church with a high volted ceiling so I'll have to use the speedlite near the font area as it's in a dark corner. He said he would make sure the guests made space for me to take the shots I wanted. I felt very emotional there, it was so peaceful and quiet and he was so kind - I cried! I'm sure I'll be ok on the day, there are 70-80 guests expected.

Here are a couple I took yesterday.

[mib2]

Hi Gina
That second one is a beauty. Ive just sent you a mail can you check it.

Cheers Dave R

Well I did my first public event and had a nice afternoon. There were around 80 people a the church,
I wasn't really nervous just worried about getting the right shots with the right lens. I'm glad I did it
because now I know just how exhausted it made me and if you don't push yourself now and then,
how will you know what you're capable of? The end result to be brutally honest is about 4 out of 10.
A lot of the shots were out of focus, I had problems galore with lighting and the long periods of standing
around made my ankle so painful I could have cried.

So what have I learned?
I know what my niche is now - babies and children's portraits are my speciality and I love the images
as much as the Mothers. I'm glad I took on such a challenge but I won't be doing any more any time soon.

Here are a few salvaged shots.