Whether it be the family group at a wedding, the local football team, a school party or a corporate team picture, photographing large groups of people presents its own particular challenges.
Top Tips for Successfully Photographing Groups
- Do your preparation - find out at least roughly how many people will be in the group; that way, at least you can plan your shot in advance and decide on what (if any) lighting you are going to use.
- Make sure people know who's in charge right from the start. A large gathering of people with no one to direct them will descend surprisingly quickly into chaos. Your job on the day is really one of chief entertainer, so while you're working out how best to arrange them and all the other boring technical details, don't forget to keep talking to people; personally, I find that I'm generally talking a lot of nonsense, and can never remember afterwards exactly what I've said. But if I've kept people amused, then that's all that concerns me.
- If you're having to arrange people in rows (not my favourite arrangement, but sometimes a necessary one), with a mixture of some sitting and some standing, I find that it's better to have the taller ones sitting down. Having a row of tall people standing and shorter ones sitting in front increases the gap between the two rows of heads too much.
- Rows of people often look better if the rows are curved in slightly at both ends to create a semi-circular arrangement.
- Try and photograph them from slightly above. This can really help ensure that everyone's faces will be seen, particularly with larger groups; it also provides a more interesting angle.
- This should go without saying, but take lots of pictures - the more people there are in your shot, the more pictures you should take, since the more likely it is that a) someone will blink or b) someone won't be looking in the right direction: and if you're really unlucky, it could be both! Obviously, there is a limit to how much you can shoot of the same set-up, since people's expressions will quickly start to glaze over if you just put the camera on 6 frames-per-second mode and fire away. You need to direct them between shots, so that as well as always looking at you, their expressions are engaged and interested.
- Try to avoid placing everyone's eyes on the same level. It's probably the least exciting option as the viewer's eye will travel in a straight line across the picture and the arrangement lacks any kind of dynamism.
- Again, with family groups, show the relationship between different members of the family and have them move closer together so there are no awkward gaps.
