so i guess its not ok to take a picture of a dead person?

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brianmanahan

brianmanahan

Lifer
Sep 2, 2006
24,638
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my great uncle died and i was at his visitation tonight. he actually looked really good (i know i know, everyone says that about people who die, but this is true). it hit me standing there that i would never see him again, so i took out my smartphone to take a picture so i could remember him by it.

well before i could take the snap, his daughter saw me and FREAKED OUT. she ran over screaming and grabbed my arm and took my phone and i thought she was going to throw it down but she eventually just shoved it into my chest. she was yelling about how "dont you dishonor him like that!" and some other stuff that i couldnt make out because she was sobbing. next thing i know his wife is over there too and she is yelling just as loud and i didnt know what to do, so i just hightailed it out of there. which is sad because i really hadnt given him my final respects and because i wanted to talk to some other people :(

so is it really that bad to take a picture of someone when they are dead? is there some cultrual taboo that i am not aware of? the sad thing is, i think he would have been totally cool with it, even if i wanted to pose with him or something. he was a hilarious guy and im gonna miss him :(
 
M

mizzou

Diamond Member
Jan 2, 2008
9,734
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no

Black people usually do it and it's well accepted....maybe an old southern tradition? Back allooong time ago we used to take "death masks" of people...then when photos were easier and cheaper, we did that.

It still carries on.


Usually though...the sunken or swollen face is not something you want to remember.

and uhhh...

uhhh...

Pics or it didnt happen! D:
 
SKORPI0

SKORPI0

Lifer
Jan 18, 2000
18,500
2,426
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You'll want to remember how a person looked when they were alive. Not from a picture of them laying in a casket. D::whiste:
 
brianmanahan

brianmanahan

Lifer
Sep 2, 2006
24,638
6,016
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SKORPI0 said:
You'll want to remember how a person looked when they were alive. Not from a picture of them laying in a casket. D::whiste:
Click to expand...

well he was a lot cleaner and better dressed than he was normally... after retirement he would go through some no-bathing spells, so i would try to visit only when i had seen him in town and he looked and smelled presentable
 
Braznor

Braznor

Diamond Member
Oct 9, 2005
4,767
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When you take a photo of a dead person, their ghost begins haunting your camera! D: :D
 
SlitheryDee

SlitheryDee

Lifer
Feb 2, 2005
17,252
19
81
That is pretty creepy. It probably doesn't even really look that much like he did in life. After all the makeup and preparation that went on to make him presentable you might call what lies in the coffin a poor artists interpretation of him made with a sub-optimal medium. How about finding a picture of him from when he was alive? Why would snapping a shot of the rigor mortised dummy filled with stuffing with it's mouth sewn shut and face painted by an underpaid funeral home worker ever feel like a good idea?
 
techofalltrades

techofalltrades

Member
Sep 9, 2013
120
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brianmanahan said:
my great uncle died and i was at his visitation tonight. ... i took out my smartphone to take a picture so i could remember him by it.... his daughter saw me and FREAKED OUT. she ran over screaming and grabbed my arm and took my phone and i thought she was going to throw it down but she eventually just shoved it into my chest.
Click to expand...

since it's not an immediate relative... the proper thing to do would have been to ask the persons immediate family. if it's ok.

i wouldn't want some distant relative taking a picture of my family member either. what kind of sicko is that.
 
Perknose

Perknose

Forum Director & Omnipotent Overlord
Forum Director
Oct 9, 1999
46,887
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LTC8K6 said:
It used to be common. Even to pose with the body for a photo.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Post-mortem_photography
Click to expand...

Yeah, and opiates were legal over the counter at that time, too, as was child labor and slavery.

Nobody I've ever known has done what you attempted, OP. It's usually a hushed and reverent atmosphere of subdued respect at a visitation, which is not congruent with impromptu flash photography. Methinks self-absorbed you failed to take basic note of the tone of your surroundings.

That said, no one in my extended family has subjected us to an open casket viewing, which thank god they consider a gauche and primitive relic of the past.

Hey, different strokes for different folks. Tibetan Buddhists chop up their dead and leave the pieces out for the vultures and other scavengers.
 
LTC8K6

LTC8K6

Lifer
Mar 10, 2004
28,520
1,576
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No, it extended well into this century in the US, particularly with criminals. John Dillinger, Dutch Schultz, etc.
 
HamburgerBoy

HamburgerBoy

Lifer
Apr 12, 2004
27,111
318
126
When you whip out a cameraphone like that, it probably gives people the impression that you're planning on posting it to #lolfuneral. If you were to suggest it in a calm manner I wouldn't see anything wrong with it, though.
 
Puppies04

Puppies04

Diamond Member
Apr 25, 2011
5,909
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brianmanahan said:
well he was a lot cleaner and better dressed than he was normally... after retirement he would go through some no-bathing spells, so i would try to visit only when i had seen him in town and he looked and smelled presentable
Click to expand...


I really want to believe this is true but this thread stinks of troll. 8/10
 
H

hans030390

Diamond Member
Feb 3, 2005
7,326
2
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I don't really see why it matters. Dead people are too dead to care, something the living should remember.

I can only hope people pose with me at my funeral. Maybe I'll ask for clown makeup as well. Hmm...
 
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