Worthington Photography Blog

Trespassers will be Baptized...

You'll probably recognize Elizabeth Emerson Hancock, author of the book Trespassers will be Baptized: The Unordained Memoir of a Preacher's Daughter (sorry I can't figure out how to italicize that), as the proud mom of beautiful Baby Judson. When Emy contacted me to talk about doing promotional photography for her book, I was excited for both her accomplishment as well as the opportunity to make photographs for another artist.

We met over coffee to discuss the book and toss around ideas for the photo shoot. Emy explained that the book isn't meant to be an expose of the Church or a critique of Christianity's treatment of women but a light-hearted memoir of girlhood within the community of a southern church. Its a collection of stories about curiosity and mischief, about getting in trouble at Bible camp, about the process of questioning incongruencies from a place of innocence. I haven't read from the book yet but I am intrigued and can't wait to get my hands on it.

We started by taking some basic headshots for the dustjacket. The first one is Emy's favorite, the second is mine:


Then we braved the cold and moved onto outdoor locations. One of the stories in the book takes place in a cemetery so Emy thought that Hollywood cemetery would be the perfect spot for some creative promotional shots. We didn't want the imagery to be creepy or macabre so our challenge, as we chose to accept it, was to find a way to make fun, curious, feminine photos amidst the headstones. I suggested adding historic St. John's church, the site of Patrick Henry's "Give me Liberty or Give me Death" speech so many years ago, to our list of potentially empowering locations.

Emy chose bright, vintage inspired dresses with girlie accessories. I harnessed the color in the photos, making sure to incorporate blue skies, sunshine, and lens flare to lend a sense of warmth and play.




Emy was especially aware of words written on stones. We especially loved the headstone for "Darling" at Hollywood. This sequence made me think of playing hide and go seek:



I had to put these two images together. I started to shoot through a large headstone in the shape of a cross and, mature professional that I am, mentioned that I should be careful not to include the name of the deceased in the shot because it was... Butts. Emy disagreed! She said that particular gravestone was exactly the kind of thing that would have had her girlfriends giggling and hanging on it in adoration. So we had a little fun with it. We meant no disrespect to the late Mrs. Butts and would like to think that she might have embraced the spirit of the photos we took at her resting place.


Emy was fantastic to work with and I must admit that this was the most fun I have had with a camera in awhile. Most professional photographers cringe at the thought of taking photos in a cemetery: its not that we are superstitious, just a little snotty. See, its practically compulsory for a newbie photographer to spend time among gravestones (or old barns, or decaying buildings) and its just so dang cliche, so beneath us and behind us! If you have taught an Intro to Photography class you know what I am talking about. At the same time, its necessary in the development of any photographer to realize photography's inextricable relationship with the past (Gotta picture of it? Then its in your past, its behind you..). The texture of the relics, the light passing over them, the silence, the connection with the past: its all part of the process of falling in love with photography.

I've come a long way, baby...




Wanna see more? Click here. And mark your calendars: the book is scheduled for release this June!

posted by Mel @ 11:49 AM