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Group Photography
Group photography is basically taking pic-
tures of multiple people, ranging from cou-
ples to entire companies. With more
subjects comes more responsibility. Now,
instead of having to pose one person, you
have to pose multiple people. Added to
that, the challenge of managing people
blinking, yawning, turning their heads, and a
myriad of other details.
Posing groups in attractive formations is
very important — try to stay away from hav-
ing them stand all in a row. Ideally, you want
to position them to create a flowing pattern.
Geometric patterns, such as a diamond
shape, also work well when shooting four or
more people.
Depending on the circumstances and loca-
tion, you may want to have a few chairs or
stools handy so you can have a couple peo-
ple standing behind the people that are
seated.
Before you are ready to begin taking shots,
make sure that you have everyone’s atten-
tion. You can fire a test flash, use a whistle,
or any other obvious action or noise that
will garner attention. This should help to
settle everyone down and let them know
you’re about to snap the photo, which
hopefully minimizes any unwanted actions
by the subjects.
Environmental
portrait tips
✦ Be unconventional. Sometimes
trying something out of the ordi-
nary can really bring out your sub-
ject’s personality. Think outside of
the typical poses and locations. Ask
to see what the subject’s work
involves so you can look for inter-
esting locations or backgrounds.
✦ Meet with your subject first.
Meet up with subjects you’re pho-
tographing and talk with them
about their work or hobby to get a
feel for who they are. Discuss with
subjects what they would like to
see in the portrait; they might have
some great ideas that you hadn’t
thought of.
✦ Use a shorter focal length. If you
generally use a medium telephoto
lens for portraits, try a shorter focal
length lens instead. If you choose a
wide-angle lens, don’t get too
close to your subject or his or her
facial features may become dis-
torted in your finished image.
✦ Take breaks. Giving subjects a
chance to take a break allows
them the opportunity to go about
their work or play, which gives you
the opportunity to take some shots
with the subjects more at ease.
Chapter 6 ✦ Real World Applications 131
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