5 Examples of Photos Every Catholic Parish Needs

LPi • October 13, 2022

A collage of Catholic themed photo ideas.

Recently, we shared a blog post called A Layperson’s Guide to Smartphone Church Photography. In that blog we mentioned five essential photo subjects that all parishes should strive to have for use on their website and social media accounts. This blog expands upon those photo ideas with examples from our own LPi stock photography collection to help you envision how to cover this subject matter at your own church.

When taking your photographs, regardless of what equipment you are using, make sure to take a variety of wide-angle shots as well as close-ups. Shoot som e in a vertical format as well as some horizontally so that you have a variety of formats to choose from when you decide to use these online or in print! Take some during special church occasions as well as during Ordinary Time. Try to cover all of the liturgical seasons evenly. If you do this focusing on these five topics, you will find yourself with a robust library of church photographs for use in your church media!

Photo 1: Parishioners Gathering as Mass is Letting Out
Be sure to capture images of your community members gathering with a variety of people of different ages!

A group of children are laughing in a room.

A child is hanid a bulletin to a woman in a crowded entry way.

A group of people are posing for a picture in front of a cross.

Two little girls are holding hands in a crowd of people.

Photo 2: Your Pastor Greeting Parishioners
You may consider running these by your pastor before using them so that he can approve the images of him you plan to use before they go on the website for all of the public to see.

A Priest is talking with a man in the back of a church.

A priest is fist pumping a man with a woman holding a baby in the background.

A child is high fiving a Priest in a church.

Two men are standing next to each other in a park talking to each other.

Photo 3: A Well-Attended Mass Inside Your Sanctuary
Don’t forget to tell your parishioners ahead of time that you are planning on photographing a specific Mass time(s) that month so that people can come prepared.

A man is standing in a church with his hands in the air.

A man in a wheelchair is sitting in a church.

A woman is holding a little girl in her arms in a church.

A church with a lot of people sitting in the pews.

Photo 4: at Their First Sacraments
In fact, all Sacraments make for great photo opportunities to showcase your amazing community! Consider Marriages, Confirmations, First Communions, Baptisms, and the special Masses for each. Don’t forget to get photo releases from parents if you are planning on using any photos captured of children in your congregation.

A little girl is holding a cross in her hands.

A woman holding a child while a Priest blesses her.

Photo 5: Parishioners Participating in Parish Events
We’ve already got Sacrament down so let’s see those photos from the unique events your parish has. Picnics, youth groups, anniversaries, speaker series, Bible studies, service projects, concerts — whatever events you are proud of!

A group of people are standing around a table eating food.

A group of people in traditional clothes are dancing on a stage.

A group of people are standing around a table preparing food.

A woman is standing in a crowd of people at a table.

Are you proud of your parish’s photo library? If so, tag us in a post you make on Facebook using some of your favorite parish photographs so that we can see them! We love getting inspiration from you! Our Facebook tag is "@LitPub"

If you are already a subscriber to WeCreate, or if LPi prints your bulletin, you have free access to view or even download and use the stock photography that we collected for this blog and more!

Not a subscriber yet and wondering if your parish could benefit from WeCreate? We offer trials and giveaways for folks like you!

Updated 03-12-2024

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