Blog Entry 8: Cameras in Church.

I am a (semi) practicing catholic so I have been to many different churches in my area, I used to sit in the pew and wonder exactly what it would take to photograph the church with the perfect lighting and exposure. Soon after a few semesters at harrington I discovered just how hard it was.

This first image was taken November of 2011 during a confirmation. a little history of the church: 

St Andrew the Apostle- Calumet City, IL was built three times. In 1892 while being constructed and built a tornado ripped through before being finished. In 1894 the church and school was finished and finally open for people but in 1918 it was destroyed by a fire. Finally in 1930 the Church was done and the structure is the same today. Given this history of this church it is kind of understanding why it is so hard to photograph in. Talking with photographers who have done many weddings in the church they said "no matter how many times you can come in this beautiful church, you will almost always have lighting issues." So when I tried for myself it was so tough, especially being that flash is not allowed during mass. I was able to come in an hour before and figure out the best settings but they changed every 20 minutes. Photographers have left the church scratching their heads as to why this happens but none the less you still get very beautiful shots in the end whether you need a little editing or not. This photo was one of the first few taken before major adjustments and the group shots and ceremony resulted well. Thank goodness. 

The second image was taken June 2012. St. Margret Mary-Hammond, IN

I was asked to come in and take images of the church decorated for a festival of a saint. The church built in the early 1900's has some historic structure to it. Originally built for candle lighting, it has leveled windows for more day light to poor in to light up the church bright during the day unlike st andrews who's windows are 25 feet high. Taking photos here are more easy to accomplish. Being that I made almost all my sacraments here I have photo proof that this church is picture perfect for photographers. 

The third and final image was taken May 2012. St. John Bosco-Hammond IN

The church was reconstructed in the late 1900's so it is a modern catholic church. Being why taking photos in the church were a breeze. While I had to deal with mama's shoving their photos in front of my camera I still was able to manage to get photos of my baby cousin during his big day. Their phone photos came out nothing like what I was able to achieve but a lot better that what people get in st. andrews.

To my realization the older the church the trickier and the more modern the easier. It's a great challenge to put what you learn in school to use. 

-Silvia Kay