Christening photography at St Paul’s Church, Clapham

I had the pleasure of photographing this beautiful boy’s christening at St Paul’s Church in Clapham. His parents Jeremy and Peter were calm, cool and collected throughout and their baby reflected their calm – not a peep during the whole service!

St Paul’s Church is stunning – the colours are so restful and uplifting. I love the wide open spaces inside, and the way candles are dotted throughout the church. It’s a dramatic church for christenings, with the procession down the aisle to the baptismal font.

Before the service, I photographed the whole family outside the church, as well as portraits of the family and godparents. The garden is lovely and wide, so there’s lots of room to gather everyone together.

Inside, I took some photographs from the gallery to give a sense of the overall church – I love it when I spot a gallery in a church! Exterior and interior shots of the church as so important in creating an overall record of the day.

During the service, I photographed the guests watching on, singing and holding the baby – I always capture candid moments like these too.

With autumn approaching, the church had autumnal decorations – little pumpkins, orange plants and dried flowers. I photographed these details, as they help give a sense of the time of year and bring back lots of memories. Equally, moments of the organist playing, the candles being lit, the order of service – these are all so important with remembering the overall day.

The vicar was so calm and kind, the baby stayed happy throughout. The light looked so pretty glinting on the gold of her gown.

It was such a happy day, and a real pleasure to photograph it for this lovely family.