Funerals, memorial services or gatherings to celebrate and mark the life of a loved one are events I have only recently been approached to record in pictures. Hence the images below are of one woodland ceremony and burial and a handful from a funeral I was commissioned to cover in Mortlake that the family have kindly allowed me to showcase here to give a sense of it.
The woodland funeral was very much a marking and a celebration of a life well lived where the deceased had reached the age of 101.
The funeral in Mortlake was of a life sadly taken too early and during the 2020 pandemic when some of the loved ones were not able to attend. I received the following note from my client for this:

“As some family members were not in the country, we needed a way to include them in saying farewell to a dearly loved brother. Anna was very sympathetic and listened to what we needed. She was very respectful and reassuring throughout, and on the day I did not notice her record this sad time for our family. The photos she captured are lovely and a permanent reminder that we will cherish forever.”

Over the last 15 years, as a documentary story-telling and portrait photographer, I have covered many events - weddings, births, family sessions, portrait sessions and portraits of people at the end of life where the need for sensitivity, flexibility, respect and reverence is paramount. My years of experience meeting and meeting and capturing people from all walks of life in many situations has been key in my learning. I have come to realise how in some cases, telling the story at these events can help in the healing process by giving comfort and pleasure to those present, bring it to those not able to attend, and provide a record for and of the people whose life the person touched - and handed down the generations in remembrance.

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