How To Organise People For A Group Shot?

• jqmx0

  Participant

  April 27, 2009 at 9:57 am

  I regularly take group photos at our club and I always have trouble getting what I consider to be a decent shot.

  I’m usually under time pressure as people don’t want to hang around too long and they are usually slow to get themselves organised into lines so that everyone can be seen and finally anyone who joins just as I’m taking the shot stand in at the edges.

  I’m going to try a couple of experiments next time and I’d like to see if anyone here has any tips on taking photos of large groups (up to 60 people of all ages)

  Experiment 1 – Formal portrait.
  Working from the back to the front.
  Row 1: Tallest adults
  Row 2: Next row of adults, standing so they are in the centre of the two people behind them so the people behind can be seen.
  Row 3: Teens & Kids standing
  Row 4: Kids on one knee.
  Row 5: Small kids kneeling down

  Experiment 2 – Informal portrait
  I’ll try to get myself as high up as I can and take photo with everyone looking up towards me.

  Anyone else have any ideas of things I can try?

  Thanks,

  J.
  Pixelle

  Member

  April 27, 2009 at 9:16 pm

  If you don’t need a really formal picture then one taken from a higher level, looking down on the group, can work well.
  sean1098

  Member

  April 27, 2009 at 10:41 pm

  jqmx0 wrote:

  I regularly take group photos at our club and I always have trouble getting what I consider to be a decent shot.

  I’m usually under time pressure as people don’t want to hang around too long and they are usually slow to get themselves organised into lines so that everyone can be seen and finally anyone who joins just as I’m taking the shot stand in at the edges.

  I’m going to try a couple of experiments next time and I’d like to see if anyone here has any tips on taking photos of large groups (up to 60 people of all ages)

  Experiment 1 – Formal portrait.
  Working from the back to the front.
  Row 1: Tallest adults
  Row 2: Next row of adults, standing so they are in the centre of the two people behind them so the people behind can be seen.
  Row 3: Teens & Kids standing
  Row 4: Kids on one knee.
  Row 5: Small kids kneeling down

  Experiment 2 – Informal portraitAnyone else have any ideas of things I can try?

  Thanks,

  J.

  Either of these two will work. But if you are limited with space.inside etc, i find in my little experience that shooting from above gives a better perspective, and is easier if you are working with big numbers. Another option is if you have a stair case you could work the people from there.
  jqmx0

  Participant

  April 28, 2009 at 8:28 am

  Thanks guys I think the shot from above is my best option if possible but a lot of these photos take place in a sports hall so it might not be possible to get a high vantage point.

  Sean – Good idea about the stairs. Unfortunately in my situation the photos will be taken in a hall so I won’t have access to stairs.

  I was doing some research online and found a couple of additional tips I thought I’d pass on.

  1. Get those standing in the photo to stand at a 45 degree angle toward the centre of the group. This has a number of advantages, it looks more professional, you can fit more people into the shot as they can stand closer together and everyone looks thinner :)

  2. Tell everyone to make sure they can see the camera with both eyes otherwise only part of their faces will be seen in the photo.

  There is also a school of thought that you should use off camera flash (3 units – one left, one right and one just off camera) all slightly higher than the camera pointing down towards the group to avoid the people in front causing a shadow on those behind – it’s a good idea but not practical if you only have a couple of minutes to take the shot and you’re on your own :)