Day of the Dead photoshoot

The face painting is not included. Book a makeup artist separately, ask how long the design takes, and set the session to begin after the paint has dried; a session that starts while the artist is still working loses its light. The figure itself comes from José Guadalupe Posada’s early twentieth-century etching of an elegant skeleton, later named La Catrina by Diego Rivera in his 1947 mural in Mexico City. Wearing it respectfully means treating the season as a remembrance, not a backdrop for a theme.

Cemeteries and family altars belong to the families who tend them. A Day of the Dead photoshoot does not pose at graves or at someone else’s ofrenda, and photographs mourners only with clear permission. Rules for visitors differ by municipality and by cemetery, so ask the cemetery administration before going. The session works instead in public streets, plazas and community displays, which in Oaxaca, Mexico City, San Miguel de Allende and Mérida, where the Yucatec Maya observance is called Hanal Pixán, fill with marigolds and papel picado.

November 1 is traditionally given to children who have died and November 2 to adults, and many towns hold their largest public displays across those days. Demand for photographers and makeup artists peaks then, so book early. Including a photograph of someone you remember, or an object that was theirs, turns the session into something closer to the meaning of the day. The 20 edited photos are delivered within 7 days.