 Dee Augustine |
How to Shoot Group Portraits I've been asked to do a photo shoot on the band in our church. I'm not real good on posing as of yet. Any ideas on how I can come up with poses?
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Steven Chaitoff |
Well, the cardinal rule when doing portraits is to not, under any circumstances, do a lineup. When people stand in a row or even a few rows in front and behind each other, everyone looks so static and "posed." The idea is to get people to not look posed. I don't know how big the group is that you're shooting, but you can be creative with setting them up. With large groups, stairs or props like that tend to be helpful because they allow people to stand at different heights and have places to put their arms and hands instead of at their side. That way, each person looks unique and comfortable, but overall, the group is organized and pleasing to look at.
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Dee Augustine |
Thank you for your response. The group only consists of three women. They want to go to the beach also. I was thinking of rocks, swings, footprints in the sand, old buildings, walking in the water with bare feet. Do you think all of these will be OK? I won't have a lot of props to work with at the beach besides what I mentioned. Any ideas still :) Thanks.
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Steven Chaitoff |
Dee, those all sound like great ideas. And at the beach ... the very nature of that kind of place is conducive to good pictures. Open shoots are when you include a lot of negative space between people, so if you have a spacy, open, and pleasant-looking beach area, that may work well. You can have 3 people all at different distances, leaning, sitting, not even looking at the camera. However, be aware that you're not in control of your lighting at a beach (unless you have equipment). I think that is more important than the group's pose. If you shoot away from the sun, the group may be squinting. Try aiming towards the sun, turn right, then turn a little more, like 110 degrees, and then shoot in that direction.
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Dee Augustine |
Yes, one of my BIG hangups is lighting, Im still learning on my own with some books for help. I will try this and see what happens tho. So shoot in the sun but move 110 degrees due to lighting and shadows?? I have a hard time with shadows also, for some reason I dont see it thru the camera. Im sure I need to slow down and see whats REALLY in that frame :) Thnks
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Steven Chaitoff |
That rule is more of a suggestion. I just mean that most people squint & it's not worth those wierd expressions on people's faces just for good lighting. Just never shoot towards the sun because the meter will see all that sunlight & underexpose the subject...i.e. dark silhouette people. But if you do it on purpose it can be a cool effect. Lighing is tough & you can't always rely on your meter to hit it right (like the above example,) so always be aware of how the light is falling & use it to your advantage. Make sure shadows don't fall on integral parts of the shot (faces etc.) One common problem like this you may encounter is brow shadows covering up the eyes. It sounds counterintuitive, but use your flash...in the broad daylight. It'll mitigate the strength of those shadows & make a less contrasty, nicer looking shot. Flash photography is one of the hardest things to cope with when shooting because, like you say, you really can't see it in the viewfinder. You can't see it at all because it's only on for a fraction of a second, but particularly for shooting hard light on the beach, I'd use one at low power. Hope that helps...
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Dee Augustine |
Steven Thank you again Im going to use all your tools. I agree on it being the hardest photography is lighting. DRIVES ME NUTS,,,:) not really,,but it sure is hard..I just hope I can come up with some good poses now :) Thanks
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