Looking for a quick way to get started on photographing your church but don’t know how to do it all? Well read along and check out these five quick-start rules that you and your volunteers(or staff) can do to capture your church's community at your next Sunday service.
First and foremost, you do not need to have a fancy camera if your church doesn’t have the budget for it - everyone has to start somewhere, and using a phone to capture content is perfectly acceptable! Don’t be discouraged and always remember that this is a learning curve for everyone!
Now here are 5 quick tips for your church photographers:
- Wear dark colors - preferably black. Why? Well, as a photographer, you’re already going to be attracting attention walking around with a camera taking pictures of people, and the best way to avoid attracting more attention - especially when in the sanctuary - is when people are praying, worshiping, and maybe even crying.
- Set your camera to burst mode - what does this mean? In photography terms, it means increasing your shutter speed. By doing this, you get to capture several different genuine moments at an alarming rate, increasing your chances of getting the best picture in a short amount of time.
- Don’t be picky! When taking pictures of your church community, always strive to take LOTS of photos. Increasing the amount of photos you take, increases your chances of having more good photos. Of course, this is assuming your settings are correct on the camera but other than that, take pictures of everything!
- Take candid photos - in other words, don’t pose people or at least keep it to a minimum. Asking people to pose takes away from authentically getting photos that represent your church, plus it can be super awkward for them.
- Be considerate - when taking photos during worship, prayer, and heavy moments during the service, be sure to establish with your pastors if it is okay to take pictures of people praying at the altar, or if they’re crying. Yes, it’s a powerful moment but it is also an intimate moment for that person. By taking photos of them, you may be violating their privacy and making others hesitant to be vulnerable with God due to the fear of getting their photo taken.
There’s so much more we can get into when it comes to taking photos of your church, and we can get down into the nitty-gritty of camera settings, editing, lens, and more but for now, this is a good start to what you should keep in mind for your church photography.
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