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Formal Group
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I’ve been looking out for a formal group photograph since the Wedding Section opened-
I don’t think I’ve seen one-Any comments on this one appreciated-
From June this year-j
Certainly a different approach. I almost used the word ‘unorthodox’ but caught
myself just in time. The diagonal arrangement creates an interesting line, and
you’ve managed to get everyone in shot and looking at the camera (with the
exception of the man (there’s always one) at the top of the steps.
There are two things here though that just don’t sit right with me. The first is
the perspective. I think you needed a stepladder (or a Landrover) to get yourself
a little higher – the building appears from this angle to have a slight backward
lean. The second flaw is the bigger one; it took me a second to find the happy couple…Rob.
This is a beast of a photo to take JB, but you seem to have
pulled it off with a good deal of aplomb. Evidently, your magnetic
personality was sufficient to get their attention at the crucial moment
– all bar the geezer on the extreme left who is admiring the hats of the
ladies.The least of your concerns was the sky, but it certainly ended up looking
dramatic – not bad for a sunny day. I’m full of admiration for anybody
who pulls off one decent photo at a wedding. This is the hardest of the lot
and you seem to have got it just about right.Looks really nice to me Joseph. I particularly like that you haven’t gone for the usual bunch everyone together set-up. The positioning of the different smaller groups looks really well thought out. Really like how all the children are seated on the grass slightly seperate.
The only negatove thing that I can see is there seems to be a fall off in light from left to right..at least on my monitor here. Maybe a little fill flash just out of frame to bring the right of the shot into line lightwise.
Otherwise I think this is a very classy traditional formal group portrait.
Thanks for the comments-
The second flaw is the bigger one; it took me a second to find the happy couple…
Its probably a little easier bigger-
And yes, the hiding man.
Where’s Wally?There’s always one-
Thanks Pete and Robbie-
Will have to have a good look at all the points you brought up-Thanks for that-
j
Great idea Joseph. My own wedding photograph has the usual “uncle Tom” stooping to get the last drag from the fag, turning heads and always someone lost at the back of the group. You’ve pulled this one off very well.
I noticed the light on the right side which seems to be the side light from the big flash in the sky but as with all wedding photographs the bride & groom are the recipients and everyone will be recognised for their presence, not their positioning within the light.Alan.
If it were me I’d have had the guests standing down in the garden with the sun behind. As the view would be looking down on the bridal party and guests there is a better chance of “seeing” everyone. It’s OK trying something different but I feel that on this occasion it may have been “safer” to take the tried and tested route.
I always try to shoot from above (from a hotel window or in this case from the top of the steps),have the bridal group, the parents and Grandparents in the front. Small children to the front as well.
It’s down to personal choice but as the group shot usually is the last image in the wedding album and the one that people look at longer. It should be to the same care and attention as all the other images that precedes this oneThanks Alan, thanks Jim-
Alan, its not so bad bigger,
and true what you say about everything else-jim, thanks for your comments-
unfortunately the garden isn’t flat-
it actually continues down the hill at pretty much the same rate of descent as those steps-This isn’t the only exposure I made,
nor the only composition-
There are about 3 faces obscured in this one-The best I did was 54 out of 55 faces-
in another frame-A re-shoot, I suppose, will be in order-
Looking down on a group is an option,
but it has to be right for the particular shot, and is not without its risks-
placing your subjects directly underneath you leads to contorted postures,
sometimes there can be an inelegance in the ‘fish in a barrel’ approach –And sometimes, given the right conditions, it can be the right option.
I can’t see the risk in this shot at all-
but then, I was using my methods, and they’ve been tried and tested-
but maybe not by you-Lots of people will have different ways of doing a shot-
a bit of variety is good-
I’m sure everyone would have arranged this group of people differently-Thanks again for the comments-
j
I love the childen clustered on the grass, and the group on the steps. The adult group standing on the grass look just a little awkward, particularly the women.
Cheers p&s-
I don’t know what the solution to awkward women is-
I was glad to get something that they were happy with,
and in a limited way, I’m kinda happy with it too-Happy that it wasn’t a complete disaster for a start-
I just checked the files-
from leaving the church on the other side of that house,
to exposing the last group shot took 10 minutes-And everyone was happy with that too-
Anyway, the reason I put it up was to see what other people are taking-
I’m no expert in this, I don’t do it all the time-Any takers?
j
You mean you got them standing in that position in a lot less than 10 mins? Including the children? Wow!!
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