Roman Catholic Mass Baptism in Forest Hills, Queens
Baptism photography usually means documenting the ceremony itself, but this one came with a slightly different set of rules. The baptism was part of a large group ceremony with roughly 50 children being baptized all together at the Our Lady Queen of Martyrs church, and photography wasn’t permitted during the service. Instead, I met the family afterward to photograph the newly baptized boy and his family around the church. We took a mix of more traditional family portraits inside and outside, along with some less formal shots that let everyone relax a little and be themselves.
The result was a combination of the sweet, polished family photos you’d expect from a baptism and some much more candid moments. Without the ceremony itself to photograph, the focus shifted toward the family and the celebration surrounding it, which made room for photos that felt a little more personal and playful. If your church has restrictions on photography during a ceremony, there are still plenty of ways to create a meaningful set of photographs before or afterward that captures the people at the center of the day.
Here are some of my favorite images from this shoot (click/tap to view full-size and un-cropped):
To see more examples of this style of photography, visit my religious ceremonies gallery >>
All images in this blog post were shot on a Nikon D850, using a variety of lenses, all individually post-processed in Adobe Lightroom.
Jinnifer Douglass is a full-time freelance photographer based in NYC, shooting both digital and film for individuals and brands such as Google, Door Dash, Make Up For Ever, Squarespace, and more! Specializing in portraits, food, and special events, she works to make every piece of your social and website content ‘Insta-worthy’ with high resolution, full-frame DSLR photography and expert Lightroom editing. Interested in chatting? Leave a comment below, or send an email to info@jinyc-photo.com!