Cemetery photography is part functional and part artistic. The functional part relates information. The artistic part is about the aesthetic appreciation we have of the photograph. Most headstones photos on Find A Grave are not taken with artistic values in mind. I think it's relatively easy to incorporate artistic values, and here's my own two cents on how to.

1. OVERCAST IS BEST! In most photography you want a lot of light. But unfortunately with headstones, bright sunlight makes for lousy photographs. It washes out the color and texture, and creates a bland prosaic image. I don't even visit the cemetery on sunny days, you just can't get good results. Which leads to the followup principle: Wintertime Is Prime Time! The clear skies of the warmer months are not our friend in this endeavor, but the overcast clouds that come with the shortened days of the winter months are ideal conditions.

2. GET DOWN ON THE GROUND! It's a really simple principle, and it's oh so effective; don't be afraid to get dirty, go ahead and spread out on the dirt, and adjust your camera angle for the best effect. All sorts of good artsy thing happen with this angle, your work becomes dramatic. I can't emphasize enough how your default position when taking a headstone photograph should be lying down in front of it with your camera practically on the ground. Just give it a chance and see the results you get with this simple technique.

3. SHINY HEADSTONES ARE BOTH A LIMITATION AND AN OPPORTUNITY! The limitation is that you can't be in front of the headstone without having your own reflected image appear in the photo, so you have to take a side angle photo. The opportunity is that you might be able to find an angle where the clouds reflected on the stone become part of the composition, where you get an in-the-moment positive effect.

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Finding the best angle doesn't take all that much time. We're creating a permanent record of these cherished memorials, so we might as well pause for a second to do our best quality job.

Cemetery photography is part functional and part artistic. The functional part relates information. The artistic part is about the aesthetic appreciation we have of the photograph. Most headstones photos on Find A Grave are not taken with artistic values in mind. I think it's relatively easy to incorporate artistic values, and here's my own two cents on how to.

1. OVERCAST IS BEST! In most photography you want a lot of light. But unfortunately with headstones, bright sunlight makes for lousy photographs. It washes out the color and texture, and creates a bland prosaic image. I don't even visit the cemetery on sunny days, you just can't get good results. Which leads to the followup principle: Wintertime Is Prime Time! The clear skies of the warmer months are not our friend in this endeavor, but the overcast clouds that come with the shortened days of the winter months are ideal conditions.

2. GET DOWN ON THE GROUND! It's a really simple principle, and it's oh so effective; don't be afraid to get dirty, go ahead and spread out on the dirt, and adjust your camera angle for the best effect. All sorts of good artsy thing happen with this angle, your work becomes dramatic. I can't emphasize enough how your default position when taking a headstone photograph should be lying down in front of it with your camera practically on the ground. Just give it a chance and see the results you get with this simple technique.

3. SHINY HEADSTONES ARE BOTH A LIMITATION AND AN OPPORTUNITY! The limitation is that you can't be in front of the headstone without having your own reflected image appear in the photo, so you have to take a side angle photo. The opportunity is that you might be able to find an angle where the clouds reflected on the stone become part of the composition, where you get an in-the-moment positive effect.

---------------------------

Finding the best angle doesn't take all that much time. We're creating a permanent record of these cherished memorials, so we might as well pause for a second to do our best quality job.