A picture is worth a thousand words,” they say, and this couldn’t be truer for a church. With events and experiences happening all week, capturing and sharing content with the world can help others understand what your church is all about. However, deciding what to capture can be challenging, so we’ve created a Sunday Church Photography Shot List to help you capture the key elements of your Sunday service.
Here are the five key elements you should capture each Sunday:
- Before Service: Take photos of the parking lot as people arrive, greeters at the front door welcoming people, people in the foyer or lobby, people dropping off their kids to kids church, and people grabbing a coffee.
- Worship Service: Capture close-ups of the music and worship team, the music and worship team from the back of the room, the congregation worshipping up close, the congregation worshipping in a wide shot, the MC spot or announcements, the preacher walking on stage, the preacher preaching, the altar call, and prayer. Remember, you likely only need one photo of the preacher preaching.
- Ministries: Take shots of volunteers from various ministries, the nursery, kids church activities, and bible study or Sunday school.
- After Service: Capture photos of people at the connection booth, people getting prayed for, and people waving goodbye.
- Special Events: Take photos of baptisms, baby dedications, communion, and offering.
Use this checklist for an extended break down.
Before Service
- Parking Lot photos of people pulling in.
- Greeters at the front door welcoming people.
- People in the Foyer/Lobby
- People dropping off their kids to Kids Church.
- People grabbing a coffee
Worship Service
- Music & Worship Team close-ups.
- Music & Worship Team from the back of the room.
- Congregation Worshiping Close up
- Congregation Worshiping Wide Shot
- MC Spot or Announcements.
- Preacher Walking on Stage
- Preacher Preaching. Don’t go overboard here. You likely will only share 1 photo of this so you don’t need hundreds.
- Alter Call
- Prayer
Ministries
- Volunteer shots from the various ministries
- Nursery
- Kids Church Activities
- Bible Study or Sunday School
After Service
- People at Connection Booth
- People getting prayed for
- People waving goodbye
Special Events
- Baptisms
- Baby Dedications
- Communion
- Offering
While not all of these events occur each week, capturing them and using them to show people the life and breath of your church can help them understand what it’s like to attend. Follow these tips to ensure that your photos are organized and easily accessible to those who need them:
- Set your camera settings to ensure that the date and copyright info is correct.
- Take your photos.
- Edit your photos and add metadata for the people and items in the photos, such as “Pastor John,” “Foyer,” or “Baptism.” These tags will get automatically read into your storage system.
- Choose the best shots only. You don’t need to save thousands of photos of your pastor walking across the stage.
- Upload your photos to CaptureCollab.com’s event album. Set the location and generic tags so that the photos are organized for search and sent directly to your pastor.
By following these tips and using the Sunday Church Photography Shot List, you can capture the essence of your church and share it with the world.