Rules For Church Photographers

Hey, it’s Brady,

Here are 6 easy-to-follow rules for church photographers.

Stick to the rules ➡️ take better photos.

Guaranteed.

Rule #1: Wear dark colors

You never want to be an obtrusive presence. Dark shirts and pants are especially useful if your church has a darker sanctuary. Oh, and don’t forget the shoes. 👞

Rule #2:  Shoot with a long lens

The easiest way to capture organic interactions at church is with a telephoto lens. A 70mm-200mm will be your best friend. Now you can physically keep your distance, but still get close to your subject.

Rule #3: Burst mode

When people are talking in the lobby, you might nail focus and framing, but one person in the group has a not-so-flattering expression on their face. Burst mode will give you more options fractions of seconds apart to hopefully find that shot where everyone looks their best.

Rule #4: Fire away

Some of the best church photographers I know discard 80%+ of what they shoot on Sunday. The more you shoot, the more bangers you’ll have once you get into editing.

Rule #5: Never ask for poses

A group of people are chatting it up in the lobby. You approach us and say, “Just taking a few photos. Act natural!” Well, I can guarantee you we’re not going to look natural now. 😆

Rule #6:  Use presets

Presets help you develop an aesthetic. And can dramatically speed up your editing workflow. I’ve got four free presets to share with you. Just click this link to download them.

Apps We Can't Live Without, Burnout, & Church Podcast Channels

Today on the pod we’re answering your questions:

• Can you talk about burnout?

• How should bilingual churches or multisite churches structure their social media presence?

• What apps can we not live without?

It’s The Mailbag. AKA, everyone’s favorite monthly episode: Bro Church Tools.

Full episode here.

Thanks as always for your time, attention, and trust. Talk to you next Thursday. - Brady Shearer