John, I just wanted to say thank you so very much for the photos you have taken at my beloved dad’s funeral.
You have captured the moments of sadness of my father’s passing and expression of love and support by all who attended his funeral from the church service, last farewell at the cemetery and at the wake. You were unobtrusive and very discreet, you didn’t use any flash so in no way did you interrupt the service. Thank you for your advice, patience, compassion and understanding.
My father was a wonderful man, loved by many, adored by his family. His sisters and brother live in Croatia and couldn’t attend the funeral service. That’s why it was so important to capture these moments so we could share with them.
I can highly recommend John to anyone who is considering having a photographer at the funeral of their loved one.
Thank you again, all the best. Betty and family.

It has been therapeutic to go through the book and have so many memories of the funeral, at least for us. Jeraldine and I were discussing just yesterday how we could see that for some people it would be easier to pretend nothing had ever happened and how that might hurt less for some people.

For us, on the other hand, it feels painful to forget. I hope that in the future people can move to embrace loved ones, with us or otherwise, and maybe without so much stigma surrounding death, funerals and grief we can grow a deeper appreciation of them when we have them with us.

Children and babies in particular present a moral challenge, no one wants to truly face how delicate life is at that stage and with advances in society it can be easy to forget entirely that not that long ago it was truly lucky to have a child survive into adulthood.

Our Daughter has given us an extremely precious gift with her departure. We will be grateful in future for every minute spent with our next child and be able to share with them her funeral.

Thank you again for doing what you do and your patience through the process, know that it made a huge difference for us.

Why is it that people are happy to capture births, birthdays, celebrations, graduations, weddings and everything in between, and forget about the end of a life?

People from all generations have become fascinated by the inward gazing obsession of selfies….Taking photos for the sake of just being in them, and not being part of the scenery or history around them.

The great celebrations in our lives are usually very emotional times. Who remembers all that happened when they gave birth, or even married?

We need photos later in life to help us remember. Dying is an inescapable part of all our lives, and is these days described as a celebration of someones life….so why is it not chronicled by photographs? It’s not just about the person who has gone, but also about those left behind. When the face or the day fades in our minds over time, the photos remain.

On the day of mums funeral when we were blinded by grief, you were our eyes.

There will always be people who for whatever reason will shy away from having a photographer at a funeral, but I know that when the time comes to organise dads funeral, you will be on my list of important calls to make.

You managed to tell a story of such joy during a hard time for us.

Some of the pictures you took that day 7 years ago are some of my favourites to this day.

I’d also like to say your technique was very unobtrusive. It’s like you were barely there, and yet you were present enough to see and capture everything so beautifully.

What I am about to say will sound like a promotional quote.

It is not meant to & is just my observation of your excellent work & approach in an area that is dear to my heart as a celebrant.

I’ve just had a wonderful half hour looking at your web site & at some of your beautiful, engaging, moving & senstive people portraits.

What a wonderful record for the family of such a significant event in their lives!

As a celebrant I feel privileged to be allowed into the life of a family & to constantly witness some of the most touching moments you could ever see & hear.

Your photos capture something of these precious moments & I was barely aware that you were there! Congratulations on being brave enough & sensitive enough to recognize that there is a need for these moments to be captured.

Your photos will be a constant source of precious memories for families – not only for current generations but also for generations to come.

I would highly recommend your ethos, approach & results & look forward to working with you again in the future

I can personally recommend John Slaytor he has taken photos for funerals that I have conducted, he works discretely, never to be seen, and he captures the emotions of the funeral very well.

Dear John

Having just gone through the photos, I am eternally grateful for your service and your skill.

This is too precious for words.

Please pass them to the funeral home for recommendation, and add my phone number for ANYONE who wants to discuss the issue with a fellow-mourner.[

Just wanted to say a huge thank you for the photos that you took at my Pop’s funeral.

He was a wonderful man and loved by many. You captured these moments as well as the celebration of a wonderful life….. Thanks for your wonderful capture of our day.

I don’t need to remember each detail of the day as I will have them to look at whenever I need to.

I have finally brought myself to look at the photos.

I am very pleased with all of them. They really capture the various moments at each stage along the way. Thank you!

Also, a few other people commented on the presence of ‘a photographer!!’ and I have recommended you to them for when the time comes!

Our family are delighted with Pop’s Remembrance Book and thank John for the discreet and unobtrusive manner in which he photographed then assembled the marvellous photos that truly captured the sadness of Pop’s passing and the celebration of his life as expressed by all who attended his memorial service.[

The Remembrance Book has proven to be very useful for our friends and relatives.

For those who attended the funeral, they are curious to see the photos and read the content, and for those who did not, the book provides them with a good description of the occasion.

In addition, the book often serves as a conversational piece and has brought back many fond memories.

It is hard to believe that’s Dads first anniversary is on the 30th March.

This is a great Honour for our Family to have Dads book & Memory  in the NSW State Library.

Your professionalism & quality of this book is outstanding.

Thank You again,   All the best to you.[

I just wanted to let you know that we received the albums & we are very happy with them.

Again, thank you very much for your caring service and professionalism.

All the best, Melania