Since I became a funeral photographer ten years ago I have learnt that there are a myriad of reasons why families commission me. What I haven’t fully understood is why the most common reaction to my service by the general public is the incredulous question ”Do people really want that?”.
John Slaytor's workshop on funeral photography will consider how funeral photography can be integral to the grieving process in Australia. The workshop will firstly define what funeral photography is (often people assume it is confined to photographing the body) before outlining how and why Slaytor's work has evolved over the past decade. Finally the workshop will conclude by discussing how funeral photography is used by grieving families.
"I realise more and more that I am only interested in capturing the subtlest of emotions, a son concerned for his mother as they enter the church to attend the funeral service of her mother, a daughter reaching for her mother’s arm at the graveside, a boy crying in the dust. These photos will never make headlines or win prizes but in an increasingly toxic and partisan world for me they represent the epitome of what it means to be human." John Slaytor
