If there is a type of photography that no photographer is exempt from taking, it is undoubtedly group photographs.
Group portraits are the order of the day for birthdays, parties, family gatherings, business meetings or any type of event that brings together a large number of people, especially if you have the photo of your device in hand.
- Taking group photos isn’t as easy as it sounds.
- It’s not just about bringing everyone together.
- Taking a step back and taking a picture of your camera.
- Nothing more than that.
To become a true expert in portraying large groups of people, you must take into account a wide variety of factors such as light, composition, depth of field, etc.
Don’t worry, in today’s article I’ll give you all the keys to become a real master in this field. Success in your next group portraits will no longer be a problem!
Group photography may seem trivial to you; Just snuggle up to a group of people, walk a few meters and take a picture. In fact, group portraits are much more than that: as the number of factors to consider increases as the group ages to be photographed.
When you take a group photo, you cannot ignore the following factors
Achieving a perfect shot requires that, when taking a group photo, all the elements, whether technical or visual, are combined that allow obtaining as a result, not just a photograph of a group of people. people, but that manages to transmit endless sensations. : seriousness, joy, euphoria, etc.
Not all group photos are the same and it is important that you understand what area you are in to be able to convey one message or another in your photographs. It is not the same to portray company staff as a family at the end of the year dinner.
The type of photography you’re about to take will help you choose the best composition for her. Basically, you can distinguish 3 different types of group photos:
Later in the article you will find tips on how to compose your group photos and locate their protagonists depending on the area where you need to do it. Be patient, there is not much you can do.
Previously I told you what are the 4 fundamental factors when it comes to taking group photos, now is the time for you to understand why:
Organization
If you do not organize the shots correctly, it is very likely that after taking your photos you will find that:
The problem is that the group can’t wait for you to review the photos one by one by mistake, ideally you anticipate and be not only the photographer but the coordinator of the whole photo, empathy will be essential, so you should try your best smile, your best jokes and be very patient.
The place you choose to host the group will also be essential, not only because of the number of people who will appear there, but much of the message in the photo will depend on where you take it: a soccer team on their playground, a wedding at the foot of the church, etc. The context of the photograph depends on where you choose to take it.
At the same time, you should be careful that people stay as focused as possible and without distractions.
Depending on the number of people you photograph, you will have to take your time to see them in the frame: the largest will be behind and the smallest will be in front. Later in the article, you will see different composition patterns that you can use when organizing your groups .
Turning on
The choice of the place will not only help you in the management of the group but also, the choice of a suitable place will define the lighting with which you will have to work there.
Imagine that once you have placed the whole group in the frame, you do not realize that there is a large window or a window behind: when taking your photo, if you take a flash its reflection in the background will completely ruin your photo.
At the same time, if the place you have chosen to take your photos is strongly illuminated by sunlight, the excessive contrasts (lights and shadows) produced by strong light will not allow you to obtain the best results: the intensity of the sunlight. The light will require that you not only close your eyes, but also, the high contrast will cause you to lose a lot of detail due to the inability of the cameras to get details in light and dark areas at the same time.
If, on the other hand, you use more diffuse and less intense lighting, the results you will get will be much better. You don’t need very expensive equipment or a very large team, you can take advantage of the first hours of the day, the last hours or cloudy days to be able to work in more natural light.
I strongly recommend that you read the following two articles carefully, so that you understand not only how to work with light, but also how to make the most of your camera’s dynamic range:
Depth of Field
The great enemy of group photography is nothing more or less than the lack of focus on all the subjects that will appear in it. Lack of depth of field is one of the most common errors when taking group photos.
As I told you in the article “16 ways to give prominence to your subjects”, the observer’s gaze distinguishes these objects to the point of those that are not, intuitively moving towards the first.
In group photography, the protagonist is the group like everything else, but we must not lose sight of the fact that this whole set is composed of many unique characters that must be represented in the same way so that they do not stand out from each other. This is why depth of field becomes so important.
Pay attention to the following photo: where does your gaze go when you look at the photo?
The problem: shallow depth of field due to the short distance between the photographer and children despite shooting with a sufficiently closed aperture. The children in the foreground became blurry, but not the children in the next shot, who were completely blurry.
The result: a photograph in which there are only 2 protagonists and not 5 as they should have been. Your gaze will focus directly on the children in focus, making them the protagonists of the image and the characters behind have become one more element of the environment in which the first two are found.
When you take group photos, it is very difficult to be sure that all the people in the frame are in the same plane, in fact, it is almost impossible if the number of them is very large, that is why the depth of field in your photos must be large enough (very closed aperture) and distance to subjects far enough so that they all come out sharp (neat).
It’s hard enough to take perfectly sharp photos when working with a single subject, imagine how difficult it is if you do it with more than one.
To be able to take perfectly sharp photos, just follow the recommendations below:
That is, if you have arranged the subjects in 3 different planes, ideally, to make the most of the depth of field, you have to place the focus on the 2nd plane, in this way when the diaphragm is closed, the depth of field covers not only the subjects in the back plane, but also those of the plane that precedes it , I recommend reading the following article, if you have any questions:?Depth of field: explanatory table ?.
Please note that depth of field is influenced by 3 factors
Composition:
Group photos aren’t just a crowd of people in front of a camera. As I mentioned earlier, the way you place subjects in the frame, their expressions, and where you prepare to portray them will or will not improve the message in your photograph and the feelings it conveys.
Work on your compositions, don’t just pull the trigger!
Cameras tend to accentuate the distance between subjects, so it is advisable to try to place the group as close as possible and fill the frame with them, in any case, as you will see in several examples below, breaking the photographic rules is also an art, so you can use a little rebellion.
Here are some poses and poses you can use as a guide when taking your next group photos.
1-If you are working with very large groups of people, it is better to think of the group as a whole, that is, focus on its general composition and not on each of its members in particular.
2-If the area where you take the photos is very formal, a composition that can work very well is if you take your full body photos.
3. Some situations may arise where you have to take a large number of people to the framing. In such situations, you can try taking your photos from a high angle, whether using a ladder, a balcony or anywhere else. allowing you to enter the frame from above. This perspective is very attractive.
4- Although the separation between people in a photograph is accentuated, sometimes this may be the best alternative, in work groups or employees of an organization maintaining a bit of formality can help convey a more serious message, unlike what that you can try to achieve if you take some photos of your group of friends.
5-For small groups of people, like a photo with friends, you can try closer shots. In this type of composition, a great way to reinforce the message is to bring people as close as possible. Ask them to get closer. or lean towards the camera to reinforce that sense of unity.
6. Circular compositions also work very well in groups of friends or in more relaxed settings. This rare perspective can work very well when portraying a group from an unexplored angle.
7. A very fun and engaging composition will result if you place people in a line, one behind the other, while looking at the sides of the main figure. If you work in small groups and in a relaxed atmosphere, this distribution can give you very good results.
8. Unlike the previous one, if the situation warrants the use of a slightly more formal composition, you can order the people as shown in the following photo:
9. No all group portraits must be static. You can capture and transmit the sense of movement if, when shooting in bursts, you make the protagonists jump from your shots, for example. It is an informal composition and very fun.
10. Si these are family groups, you can try to make family members sit on a chair or sofa, and then photograph them by filling the frame as much as possible, that is, leaving out of the frame all elements that are not family members.
11. Another very effective composition when it comes to representing families is, in an outdoor place like a park, sitting them on the ground while taking your photos at the same level as them.
12. Again, if you are in family groups or an informal setting, you can ask people to lie down on the floor. These types of builds work well indoors and outdoors, but remember you still need to level up.
13. An excellent composition that will help not only distribute people within the framework, but also reinforce the message and feelings conveyed through a photograph is that participants interact with each other.
14- Although in group photography the protagonist is the group itself, that does not mean that this is the interesting thing about a photo, on those occasions when the environment is worth showing, to reinforce the message of your photographs, take it.
15- The protagonist does not always have to be the group of people, there are some cases in which the interesting thing in a photo may not be the group itself, but what happens around it, do not be afraid to break the rules, Your imagination is the limit.
Sixteen? And when it comes to innovating, you can try to portray a group of people by doing exactly the opposite of what you should. Group photographs don’t always have to be serious, schematic and uniform. Dare to break the limits of your imagination and evict the viewer.
If you don’t want to wait until the next friend gathering, family reunion or business meeting to put the knowledge you have learned into practice, borrow the toys from your children, borrow them from your siblings, or use them, why not? , yours, and start taking great group photos. What are you waiting for?