 Collette Photography |
Large Group Poses Hi, I'm am doing a photo shoot of a large family reunion. I have to take photos of groups as large as 60 people, and it's on flat ground, and no props except for two chairs that I'm using for the two oldest people in the group. Does anyone have any suggestions on poses for groups this large? Plus, I need some posing ideas as well for groups a little smaller like 25, 22, 15, and so on. Any suggestions would be great!
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Slim Brady |
Can you find a stairway somewhere? Those are the best and the cheapest. I shoot large groups on the post office front steps on Sundays when they are closed. No green, just old pillars, but I blur them out in the shot with PS. F8 to F11 should get everyone sharp.
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Collette Photography |
I have to do the shoot in there back yard I dont have an option for that. I just wondered if anyone had any posing ideas that I could use, in this situation. Thanks for the suggestion though! ~Collette~
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Christopher A. Vedros |
Bring a tall ladder. Have people in the back rows stand, and people in front sit on the grass. Stand on the ladder to take the pictures, so you can see more of the group from front-to-back. Pray for some cloud cover. If it is sunny, don't arrange the group so that they are looking into the sun - they will all be squinting if you do. Good luck and have fun! Chris A. Vedros
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James York |
Try to find some folding chairs to take along with you on this shoot. For 60 people you need 10 to 12 chairs. If you are unable to get chairs, have 10 to 12 men/boys to knell on one knee. Place any and all the kids that will be in the photo on the ground in the front if they will stay and the parents don’t mind. All of the tallest guys and girls in the back. Shoot off a ladder or stand on the back of a truck. Shoot off a tripod if you can and don’t look through the lens when you’re pulling the trigger. You need to make eye contact with the group and talk to them. Tell all of the grownups to watch you and stop looking at the kids. It will happen every time; you work and work the kids and as soon as you have them looking at the camera and shoot the shot, some if not all of the parents/adults will be looking at the kids. (Shoot at F11)
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Collette Photography |
I will be shooting off of the back porch, which is up off the ground and the group will be on the ground, so should that work? Thanks for all of the advice, I was going to put the grandparents in the two folding chairs in the center then a row of couples standing behind that, then in front of that row would be people up on there knees, then in front of that row people sitting on there knees, then in front of that row the kids would be lounging on one arm with there legs off to the side, but is four rows deep to deep? and which row should I be focusing on? Thanks so much for all of your advice! ~Collette~
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Danielle E. Rutter |
Sounds like you have this thought out pretty well. I'd have to guess that four rows deep is fairly inevitable with 60 people unless you're taking a panoramic. Good luck!!
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Mary E. Heinz |
Hi, I don't have "from experience" thoughts but sounds like you have a good plan...letting them look up to you sounds good / also maybe except for the children...let people "filter" to where they are comfortable/ then do a change here and there to "edit" the positions...I don't know if this would work with a large group but I've seen one photo of a wedding appeared to be maybe bride/ groom/ father/ grandmother///just 4-5 people...and they were in an outdoor patio setting/ bride in "rule of thirds" position and everyone else was in a chair or standing behind a chair/ like they were in a natural conversation... Also can you place these people in Go to places/ including BP of course Mary
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Jeanne M. Brown |
Is there any way you could get up as high as possible ( safely ) and shoot downward over the crowd? It makes a cool angle shot for large groups.
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Roy A. Meeks |
I bought a "Walmart" type ladder that has the platform just below the very top step. Really sturdy and nice to stand on. I photoed a group of 60+ in a backyard last week and it worked great . Roy Meeks theotherbestman@bellsouth.net
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Mary E. Heinz |
Hey, what about having them stand in a "V" formation spaced out a little and ALL waving/ my previous comment about surfing the "net" for group poses...it always a good resource...
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Collette Photography |
Thanks for all of the suggestions! I could always try and bring a latter with me and set it on the porch to get a higher angle, but Im not sure if I will have the room in my car to bring it! Also Roy, could you upload some of the pictures that you got of the 60+ people, that way I could maybe get an idea from some of the poses you used and see how they worked!! As far as being able to separate them into different families, I suppose I would be able to do that, not sure how easy it would be though. Thanks again for all of the suggestions! ~Collette~
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Joe Jordan |
My suggestion echos the 'tall ladder' solution. This is the most expedient way to elevate yourself and 'look down' on the group to ensure that all faces are visible.
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Julie D. Teague |
Julie
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