Capturing A Mother’s Day Cappella Performance in a Care Home

Recently, I had the chance to photograph a really heartwarming event here in Lithuania — a small cappella group invited me to document their performance at a social care home for the elderly. They were performing in celebration of Mother’s Day, singing traditional Lithuanian songs, accompanied by live instruments.

From the very beginning, the atmosphere was full of warmth. The group sang for about 30 minutes, filling the space with soft harmonies and nostalgic melodies that clearly resonated with the audience. You could see it in the residents’ faces — some were smiling gently, others quietly mouthing the lyrics.

Shooting indoors always comes with its own set of challenges, but I was lucky — the room had large windows that let in plenty of natural light. It made a huge difference. I didn’t need to rely on harsh flashes or artificial lighting, which helped preserve the soft and natural feeling of the scene. That natural light, paired with the genuine emotion of the event, allowed me to shoot with minimal distraction and just focus on storytelling.

That said, space was definitely limited. The event took place in a modest, cozy room with chairs arranged closely together. I didn’t have much room to move around or experiment with different angles. This made me really think about my positioning and timing — trying to anticipate moments before they happened and catching reactions from both the performers and the audience. It was a good exercise in being both subtle and intentional.

One thing I was very mindful of during the event was respecting the privacy of the residents. Since they are living in a social care home and most of them weren’t informed that a photographer would be present, I chose not to photograph them too much or too directly. I focused instead on capturing the overall atmosphere, the performers, and those beautiful, subtle reactions — like a smile or a clapping hand — without invading anyone’s personal space. It felt important to document the mood with care and empathy.

As someone still learning and growing in photography, this was a valuable experience for me. It’s one thing to capture a staged portrait or a landscape — it’s another to quietly blend into a moment and let it unfold in front of your lens. I would love to hear your thoughts: how do you approach shooting in small spaces? And what do you prioritize when the lighting is good, but the composition possibilities are limited?

Let me know what you think of the results below! And if you’ve ever photographed a small, intimate event like this, I’d love to hear your stories too!