First published on this website in April 2005 and last updated in December 2024
Synopsis
The case is put for a new official appointment in each church. We live in a visual age and churches need to use photographs, especially of people, much more than they do. It is now, in this digital age, much easier to print or import photographs than it used to be. You have, of course, to take great care when using pictures of children.
Eight applications are suggested.
- Individual portraits of everyone
- Internal newsletters
- Visual displays
- Church building guides
- Leaflets for local distribution / welcome packs
- Websites
- Press releases
- Photography as an outreach strategy
This offers the basis for a job description for your new church post.
Download
Here is the link to this item:
TN22 - Appoint a church photographer!.pdf
Author's notes
Someone wrote, on reading these notes, "We managed to produce a church guide and a DVD making use of the professional skills of postgraduate students from the local photography department of the university. They did both projects as ways of improving their CV and as evidence for experience in searching for jobs. We only paid minimal costs and it was a very fruitful way of having a church photographer albeit on a one off basis.
We did also have a member of the congregation who was responsible for taking photographs at all church events and this was extremely useful in providing illustrative material for church publicity, newsletters, the church web site and so forth."
These notes have been updated in December 2024 with minor amendments to the text.