Memorial Photography and Videography at Pitzhanger Manor, Ealing
This memorial was held in Soane’s Garden Room at Pitzhanger Manor in Ealing — a restored Regency villa with garden light coming into a small, formal room. It was a celebration of a young woman’s life, led by celebrant Ruth Graham, with speeches from people who knew her, live piano, and a tribute film played during the afternoon.
Me and my team photographed and filmed the day. The tribute film, made from photographs of her life and music the family chose, ran on a screen in the room.
Soane’s Garden Room
Pitzhanger is a great venue. It feels welcoming: large windows, natural light, and a garden beyond them. The tables, tea, cake, flowers and a family friend playing the piano in the background made the room inviting.
I photographed from the edges as the family greeted their guests. That is what funeral photography is for — the moments that pass quickly. An embrace at the door. Someone pausing over the cake. And the quieter points where the loss is recognised and shows on people’s faces.
The tribute film
Part way through the afternoon the tribute film I had put together for the family was shown. Photographs of her life, set to music the family had chosen. People laughed and went quiet in the same few minutes.
The speeches told the room who she was. The film put her face back in front of them. I make those films so they can be played during the memorial and kept afterwards.
Photographing the memorial
I started before guests arrived — the flowers, the layout, the light — then photographed people coming in, the speeches, and the conversations after.
Some pictures cover the main parts such as the celebrant, the speakers, the film, the piano. Others are much more intimate, and often the ones missed or not remembered by the family on the da: a look between friends, the location, the details, the garden through the window. Both are part of the whole story.
Funeral photography starts from £750: Funeral Photography
Filming it for her daughter
The videography kept the voices. Speeches, piano, the tribute film playing in the room, the feeling of the afternoon. Her daughter will not remember the running order. One day she want to hear the people who stood up and how they talked about her mother.
That is why families book a film as well as photographs as both approach the same event in very different ways.
Funeral videography starts from £750: Funeral Videography
Memorials and celebrations of life
I cover memorials like this across London — manor rooms, clubs, gardens, churches and private houses. Photography, videography, tribute films, live streaming and AV can be booked together or on their own.
Call or text 07772 509101, or use the contact page.