'Official' Christening photographer -HELP!

[NicolaB]

I am freaking out. A friend has asked me (today) to be their official christening photographer this Sunday for their 9 month old and 4 year old.

I am having a confidence crisis and really would apprecialte any tips, help and guidance.

Anyone have any favorite christening images to guide me?

[slsphotos]

I just [unofficially] took some photos for my cousin's son when he was baptized a couple weeks ago. I think the photos turned out alright, but I was really out of my element bc of the denomination 'gap' & super traditional service and people - I stayed in my seat & could just feel the glares every time I snapped . Here's a few that I got:







All were shot on manual mode using spot metering. Here's the EXIF for all 3:
Exposure 0.013 sec (1/80)
Aperture f/1.8
Focal Length 50 mm
ISO Speed 400
Exposure Bias 0 EV
Flash Off, Did not fire

Hope it helps! And good luck! :-)

[NicolaB]

Thanks Stacey. Lovely images. Out of curiosity, why did you choose spot metering?

I guess I am best to use my 85mm 1.8 inside then for the largest aperture. Good tip.

Note to self - get a seat as great as Stacey's and ignore the tuts ;-)

[slsphotos]

I used spot metering because since I wasn't using a flash (can only imagine the looks that would get me!), I had to use such a slow shutter speed for hand-held shots & figured I wouldn't have to use an even longer SS if I only worried about exposing the people & not worrying about the dark background. It may still be a touch under-exposed, but for me, that was better than blurry! And my thought process & reasoning on all that may be off, but it seemed to work for me

I used my 50mm & was sitting in the middle of the 2nd row on the right side. With an 85mm, you won't want to be that close, but I would suggest getting more angles. In retrospect, I wish I got a photo of baby's face in there, too. But my cousin was just happy to have photos that weren't from a p&s.

Also, it is a pretty quick thing (at least this one was - I've never been to an infant baptism before, so don't know how different churches do it to know if it varies much), so have your camera ready early.

[NicolaB]

Brill. Another tip logged. I will change back to spot metering (just learning when to use each type). I am going to try and get in early to try out different seats - lol. That will also give me time to calm my nerves and get the camera settings right. My friend is asking when I can take photos so I can ignore the tuts (ish) as at least the priest won't mind.

Thanks again Stacey.

Any other tips very welcome.......

[chalkie7]

If you don't know the venue and it's possible for you to go and look around it before the actual shoot, do so. I always like to get the feel of a place I'm expected to shoot in and to assess what available natural light there is likely to be.

Talk to the vicar or church official yourself so you know exactly when you can take your shots. Most are fine with you taking non-flash images during the service and if you get lucky, they may well let you use flash afterwards for any group shots requested.

I've even been lucky enough for the vicar to re-create part of the baptism ceremony for me afterwards (I liked him ). On the other hand, I've also had one that gave me a max of 10 mins to get all requested shots inside his church after the ceremony because his lunch would be on the table (didn't like him as much..)!

Good luck and have fun!