Multiple Subjects

[Wes]

Okay, I'm a bit new to photography. I think that my passion is for shooting landscapes and animals, but this doesn't bring in the money. I've done okay on senior photos and other such portraiture, but I've always been shooting at a single subject. I have people approaching me now to do photos of their families, kids, etc. and I've come to the realization that shooting with multiple subjects is a whole different ball of wax. I'd love to hear any tips and/or techniques that you more experienced photographers might be willing to share. Any websites or books that might help would be great, too.

Thanks in advance!

[Wes]

Any help on this one?

[jeffkohn]

I have pretty limited experience shooting people, but I guess I'll chime in since nobody else has yet. I've found group shots to be much more difficult than individual portraits. First you have the posing to deal with, plus more potential for blinks or other facial miscues, etc. I'd recommend getting a book or two on group portrait posing for some ideas, but the basic idea is to the avoid the "police lineup" look by trying to treat the individuals as parts of a compositional whole and trying to build an interesting composition. For instance try to create a triangular shape when posing a group of three, etc.

Some other tips off the top of my head:

- Watch your DOF. We all like those blurred backgrounds, but having some of the faces in a group portrait slightly out of focus is not appealing.

- Keep the lighting simple. High-ratio, directional lighting setups are harder to get right for a group shot because you have to worry about one subject casting unleasant shadows on another, or other similar problems.

- Try to keep the spacing between subjects even and natural-looking. People have a tendency not to get in close enough which can make the people in the portrait look uncomfortable or disconnected.

- Take multiple shots for each pose, chances of getting one with everybody smiling (and not blinking) goes up the more shots you take (and sometimes you can use post-processing to take faces from one shot and paste them into another to get a composite with everybody smiling).

[Bruce M. Morris]

If you are looking for some ideas on grouping and what to deal with, Kodak had a book several years ago that had LOTS of info about portraits in a wide variety of categories. I have it on my shelf at home but dont remember the title exactly.. I seem to remember it as Kodak's Guide to Portraiture. Will check and post it later, but if you can find that, it will broadly increase your knowledge.

[TxManx]

I've recently been reading up on this subject, and there's a whole lot to it...keep your compositional eyes open..

One great suggestion I've read is to build the picture....if they're wanting individual portrait shots, then just the kids, then the kids and the parents, etc...then start run through the invididuals, then build the shot by adding others to it (two sisters, or two brothers, etc...)

It's supposed to keep you from having to rebuild the poses and recompose each and every time...and by the time everyone's finished doing the portraits with you, they're getting a little tired - which while sometimes negative, also means they aren't as 'stiff' as they are when you first get there...so they tend to relax more, they're joking around out of frame, etc...

If you're shooting digital...since there's no extra cost involved, have run the 1-ups again at the end...you'll get a different response and style...

Hope this helps...I've not had the opportunity to actually apply the knowledge yet...

[Bill]

I saw a book tonight at Borders in west Plano, on Preston, that was titled something like " the Photography(or Shooting) of Group Portraits." Do a search for it at Borders. I did not look through it.

The topic is always covered in wedding books. Bridesmaids, Groomsmen, families, receptions, etc.

Bill