First of all, let me start off this blog post by saying that this is not going to be 100% for yearbook. This post will also be for those who are interested in photography and photo shoots. (Oh, and a little FYI, next week’s blog will be the same, but with some helpful tips on what you should do while shooting large groups.)
With that being said, please allow me to share some tips for your large group photography.
Ever hear of shooting candids? If not, it’s when you don’t try to position your subjects a certain way. In a sense, it’s the natural form of that subject in that situation. For the most part, that’s exactly what you want when you’re photographing large groups. If you attempt to pose everyone it will take a long time and they will lose interest (and eventually become uncooperative). Helpful tip: if you want to keep interest with your subjects be sure to pre-plan what poses you’d like to shoot and communicate to the group what you want. Doing these things will make the photo shoot go by a lot faster for everyone.
Most non-professional photographers are afraid to shoot other angles and heights besides eye level. Now, this doesn’t mean you should cock the camera to one side and take a bunch of pictures that would be added to a teenage girl’s Facebook page. This simply means that if you’re shooting a large group, do not shoot at eye level (or so that everyone is level with the horizon line). Instead, try having everyone sit on the ground or kneel. The reason for this being that if you stick to your comfort zones, viewers will get distracted. For example, look below. Now do you see what I mean?
While photographing large groups, be sure that only one photographer is shooting at a time (if there are multiple photographers, obviously). I’m sure almost everyone has taken a group picture before homecoming or prom when the parents of your date and friends are all trying to take pictures of their young adults. The problem with this is that people don’t know which camera to focus on, which results in every set of eyes looking at something different.
Do not forget to pay attention to the dirty details. It may seem tedious and time consuming but it will make for a better picture if you give everyone a once over before pressing that shutter release button. A few quick things to look for are tangled necklaces, awkward hand placements, dirty faces or shirts, and any stray hairs covering.
Do not get over-technical. There is already a lot to juggle with photographing a large group and there is no need to make things more complicated than they have to be. The perfect time to get creative with photographing groups is when they are small or you have a one-on-one session.
Do not shoot under trees or objects that will cast shadows over your subjects’ faces. The ideal light for portraiture would be fair and even light. If you do decide to shoot in directional light, have the light hit the faces of your subjects. Diffused light (light coming through the clouds or that’s bounced off a flash diffuser…although I never recommend using a flash while taking pictures) would also work if no directional light is available.
Balfour | Ohio Yearbooks 