In my last blog article we talked about the Top 5 Places to take Communion Portraits. And an important question came up in that article that clients often ask me:

“Should we take the portraits on the actual day of the communion or schedule them on a separate day?”

My honest preference is to take them on a separate day just because I know how hectic and sometimes stressful the day of the communion can be. But I totally understand that many clients prefer to opt for a one-and-done when it comes to communion day craziness! But let’s go over some of the pros and cons of each, shall we?

1. Do you want to take portraits inside your church?

If the answer to that is “Yes” then I do recommend we do your shoot on a day other than the actual communion day. Your church will be packed that day and most likely there will be services both before and after your child’s Mass. That leaves little time and room for the inside shots we’d love to take. I love my fellow photographers and other families taking their photos….but I like them less when they’re in the spot I want to take your photos in!! :) I kid, I kid…I love everyone – even when they’re in my way!! LOL. So, if you have your heart set on church photos, then contact the rectory and find out if we have permission and on what days they’d allow us in to do them. If you do prefer to do them the day of, just note we may not have much time inside the church and we may have some background crowds to navigate. But it can be done! Another thing to consider if you want to take the portraits the day of the communion at the church: Is your child shy? Easily distracted? Some children may be a bit uncomfortable to be taking more formal portraits where they think other people are watching them (even though we know everyone else is so concerned with what they’ve got going on that they won’t be paying attention to us!)

2. Do you want pretty golden hour light?

When I am doing outdoor shoots, I always prefer to do them during “golden hour” which is the hour or two before sunset. That gives us the prettiest, most flattering light. And when the sun starts to set you get that beautiful golden backdrop and sun flares peeking through the trees, clouds and horizon that I’m just in love with! If you are opting to shoot the day of your communion, a golden hour shoot would be tricky. Your child will more than likely not want to stay in their outfit or put their outfit back on, or you may have a celebration planned for that evening. Usually shoots done the day of the communion are done towards midday so we have to find a nice spot with some open shade to combat that overhead midday sun. You still get beautiful photos! It’s just a different look from the “golden hour” sessions you may have seen and loved in some portfolio shots.

3. Weather in general. 

I can’t control the weather on the specific date of the communion. Not that I can control it on any other day…But if we opt to do your outdoor portraits on a day separate from the communion date, and it calls for rain on that date, we can always reschedule for a dry day instead!

4. If you are having a celebration after the communion, do you have a gap in time after the ceremony but before the party to take your photos?

You want this amount of time to be sufficient to get to the shooting location (if it will not be at the reception’s location) and to have enough time to not feel rushed to get the shots we want. If you don’t have enough time in between the church and the party, then opt for photos on a separate day.

5. Hair and outfit trials!

My clients have often loved the idea of having their portraits done on a day before the actual communion date because it gives a great opportunity for a hair trial and to make sure there are no small kinks in the outfit that need to get remedied before the big day.

6. Availability!

Is it just me or does every communion in the tri-state area fall on the same two weekends?! There is a high probability that I could be previously booked or unavailable on the specific date of your child’s communion. But that doesn’t mean we can’t still do beautiful communion portraits either before or after the actual communion date! I’ve done communion shoots MONTHS after the actual date! As long as the outfit still fits, it’s never too late! :)