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How To Shoot Group Portraits – Family portraits are a lot of fun – and they can be very rewarding too! But it is often difficult to get started. After all, how do you pose a whole group of people? How do you interact with them? How to get good pictures?
Thanks to my background in classic style studio portraiture, plus 25 years of experience shooting portraits and weddings, I have a few tips up my sleeve to share.
How To Shoot Group Portraits
In fact, with a little planning, making a family portrait will be fun for both you and the family you’re photographing. Here are 10 tips to help you have a successful and enjoyable photo session.
What Aperture To Use For Group Photos
That can all be true, and in some cases (like when you’re shooting kids running or shooting more documentary style), it might be better to shoot hand-held.
Most people are nervous when they are photographed. Yes, nervous! Some are downright scared, and some would even go so far as to say they hate having their picture taken.
So it’s part of your job to help your subjects feel more comfortable and relaxed. It can be hard to do when you’re also nervous, especially if you’re new to portraiture. But there is a big advantage to putting that camera on a tripod. Two, actually.
Assuming you set up your family portrait shoot in advance, you are in control of all the elements.
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Unfortunately, if you set your camera to aperture or shutter priority mode, depending on the metering mode selected, the camera may choose a slightly different exposure for each frame.
Inconsistent exposures create more work in post-processing, as you have to smooth all the images. In addition, they can cause a slight color shift, increase noise (if some of the images are underexposed) and result in other undesirable things.
Use manual mode to keep your exposures consistent throughout your shoot. Just remember that every time you change position, location, etc., you need to check the exposure again. I just fire a quick test shot, review the histogram, adjust if necessary and continue.
Just as you don’t want the exposure to change from frame to frame, you also don’t want the focus to adjust. Assuming you’re using a tripod, you won’t be moving. And if you’ve put your group in a relatively static position, they shouldn’t be moving either. Not much anyway. Here it’s just a matter of moving closer to the camera, or further away from the camera.
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So set the camera to do one of the following: use focus lock, use back button focus, or use manual focus. With either of these options, the focus will not change from frame to frame.
If you use the shutter button to focus and someone moves slightly so that the focus point hits the background, you’ll get another “Oops!” moment. If you’re not sure how to focus using any of the methods I recommended above, consult your camera manual.
Enable Live View so you can see the image on your screen. Press your zoom button (it may have a magnifying glass or a “+” sign on it) once or twice. The image on the rear LCD screen will zoom in so you can see what is in focus, allowing for more precise manual focusing. Press
What you want to avoid here is a boring straight line, straight row or straight column of heads. Diagonal lines are more dynamic and add interest to an image, so try doing that with the people in your portrait group.
Big Family Portraits Gallery
Imagine that there is a line from each face to the next. Try to position your subjects so that no head is directly on top of or next to (on the same level) another. Make diagonal lines, not flagpoles.
Use props to seat a few people or bring some small collapsible stools. Have a few people sit down or stand on something. Use objects in the environment to pose your subjects, or if you don’t have any available, arrange them so that the heights are staggered.
This is a general rule of thumb for photographing people, and it’s a good one. People tend to stand stiff and rigid when you position them, so you need to make them bend some body parts to look more natural. No one stands naturally as stiff as a board.
You get the idea. The best way to get someone to do any of this is to do it yourself and let them mirror you. Face them, do the pose you want them to do and have them mimic it exactly.
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An example of bending body parts. The girls did a much better job here than the guys, but even the arms bent at the elbows help. Some people are rigid and they can be a challenge. Just do your best.
I have found that parents often tell their children, “You have to be good and smile” before a photo session. For many children, this puts too much pressure on them to perform. I usually prepare parents by having them tell their children this instead:
That’s all! Set no expectations other than fun. Then you as a photographer should prepare yourself. Bring props and ask mom to bring one of the kids’ favorite toys or books. I usually keep a hand puppet and bubbles in my camera bag along with my gear. If the kids don’t want to sit and smile, don’t force them. Let them run around and be kids for a while and shoot it. Play with them; make it fun. A few minutes later, they might cooperate and sit for a while.
When I photograph children, I make a complete fool of myself. I make funny noises, I sing songs (I’m really bad, but they don’t care), I make fish faces, and I play peeps behind the camera. I run back and forth to the camera with my hand puppet. I’m lying on the ground. I stick out my ass. Children are the ones who have life right; it’s us adults who ruin it. Let them be kids and let them have fun. Then be ready to capture the fun as it happens!
Group Portrait Tips
This was a game of peek around the tree. Look at those genuine smiles! You can’t force them.
If mom thinks she looks fat, she won’t like the photos, no matter how good the lighting and expressions are (see next tip). So you have to do the right pose.
The one lying in the grass, the pile on top poses. It is good for families with small children. This family didn’t need the position to fix anything; it’s just fun for the kids to jump on top and squeeze mom and dad together.
Light can make or break any photograph, and portraiture is no different. The biggest thing you want to make sure you do for portraits is to get light in your subject’s eyes. There are many ways to do it, and it’s a big topic, but here are some things you can do to start with good light:
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Just as important as getting some light in the eyes is that it comes from a good direction. We have found that overhead is not a good direction, and neither is light directly from the camera. So turning on your built-in pop-up flash won’t give you good light. Nor mounting an external flash above your camera. Light directly from the camera flattens the subject, and that’s not what you want.
Instead, you want the light to come slightly off the side; 30-45 degrees from the camera is a good starting point. To learn more about this, read my article on the 6 Portrait Lighting Patterns Every Photographer Should Know.
This was done just before sunset. The sun comes over the children’s shoulders on the left (from behind). I used a flash that bounced into an umbrella on the left to add light to their faces. Without the flash, they would be in the shadows.
Lighting is king, but getting the expression right is everything! You can completely screw up the lighting and posing, but if you make your subjects laugh or make the perfect face, the shot will be a big hit!
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Being a photographer means that you sometimes have to be a comedian or a clown. Knowing the right thing to say or do to make people smile is mostly experience.
Sometimes you get tough adults too. The father in the picture above by the brick wall has pretty much the same expression the whole time. I have known this family and photographed them for 13 years; they are my friends. So I know I can trick dad a little or get the duck out to have some fun at his expense.
If there are small children or infants involved, be sure to get their attention. It even helps to have an assistant; tell them to bring grandma or a friend to help.
What always happens is you get the kids to look and smile, but what do the parents do? Watching the kids! I always tell parents, “No matter what, keep looking
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