Farewell photography documents the connection, comfort and small gestures of a funeral, so families can see later who stood beside them. Years after the day, those photographs become part of a family’s story.
That is the legacy a farewell photographer leaves behind.
What you will find in this video:
- What legacy means to me as a farewell photographer, and how it differs from money, a will or a book
- What one photograph of a brother and his sons set in motion for a family
- Why your work is bigger than the day you photograph
Watch the video
Say the word legacy and most people think of money. A will. A notary’s office. Maybe a book. I wrote a book myself, so I can tell you with some authority that this is rarely where my mind goes.
For me, legacy is this: you touched someone’s life, and later on they are thankful. Sometimes it reaches you as a compliment. Sometimes you never find out.
In farewell photography, I hear it again and again.
Three families, one album
A few days ago I visited three families to talk about the design of their albums. It is where I hear how the images land.
One woman told me about her brother. He had come to the funeral with his sons, but contact with the family had been minimal for years, and so had his relationship with their mother. Nobody expected much from him that day. It seems logical: when people drift apart, you assume the goodbye was said long ago.
Then she saw the story with the images.
There, at the end was her brother, crying. Genuinely, openly sad at the loss of his mother. His sons had their arms around him, helping him carry it.
“I thought he wasn’t close with his sons anymore,” she told me. “But look at that image. There is so much togetherness.”
And she felt an openness to be with her brother again.
I knew none of this on the day. I was photographing a moment. She was holding the beginning of something else.
I knew none of this on the day. I was photographing a moment. She was holding the beginning of something else.
What the camera sees when your world turns upside down
When someone you love dies, everything has to find a new place. The role you play. The relationship with your partner. The way your family holds together. Everybody grieves at their own pace and in their own way, and in the middle of that chaos there is little room to notice who is standing next to you.
The photographs notice for you. They show how someone looked at you, how they embraced you, the tiny gestures of solace: a hand on a shoulder, an arm around your back. The moments of connection are visible on those days, and I photograph them so that people remember what others did for them and how it felt.
Families tell me they return to their album. Six months later they see where they stand in their process, which is somewhere else than six months before. And when they show the book to others, those people see the day through their eyes.
To you, behind the camera
Your photographs may seem like one small part of an enormous day. You may have no idea what they will mean. Then, months or years later, someone opens the album and recognises it: this is where someone held my hand. There is my father. There are my children.
Never underestimate what you make for someone as a farewell photographer. It is not a bank account you fill. It is something you leave in a heart, and years later it is priceless.
That makes your work far more important than you may have imagined.
Curious how to become a farewell photographer? Start with my free guide: five stories and a handful of images. Get the free guide →
Boukje Canaan is a farewell photographer from the Netherlands, the founder of Farewell Focus and author of the book Dat Fotografeer Je Toch Niet?! She has photographed over a thousand farewell ceremonies and coaches photographers who want to do this work with care.
Follow Boukje on Farewell Focus YouTube channel
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What is farewell photography?
Farewell photography is documenting a funeral or farewell ceremony in a documentary way: the people, the gestures and the connection, so families can look back on that day years later.
Why photograph a funeral?
In the middle of the chaos of loss, photographs show later who was there and how they offered comfort. They help families understand how they felt, and they let other people see the day through the family’s eyes.
Do families look at the photographs later?
Yes. Families return to their album months and years afterwards. Six months on, they see where they stand in their grief, which is somewhere else than before.
How do I become a farewell photographer?
Start with the free guide, which shares five stories and a selection of images. For a structured path, there is coaching and training for photographers. https://winners.membirds.site/free-guide-meaningful-work
