Group Shots

>Question – I have been asked to take photos for a class reunion. When I asked how many people there were, they said that they want group photos of the whole group of around 75 people. Any advice on how to do this the right way?

Group multi-tier

Photographing groups of people

For group shots, you really need to pay attention to the way you arrange the people. It is best to have the front row sitting on the ground, the second row kneeling behind them, and the third row standing. This is called a multi-tier arrangement. I addition to this, having the tallest people in the back also helps, or having the people in the front lying down achieves the same thing.

Larger groups of people (10 – 50 people)

You should also arrange them so that they are in an arch. That way the people on the ends do not end up with less light because they are farther away from the light.

Arched group multi-tier

For HUGE groups of people (50 or more)

At this point, the multi-tier arrangement and arch stops being effective because there simply are too many people. This when you have to switch to the bleachers arrangement. You need to find a near bye sports field or arena with bleachers, have everyone sit there, and you get on a tall ladder or high vantage point to achieve the same effect. This can also be done without the bleachers if you have a VERY high vantage point. You will probably have to yell out instructions to arrange the people to properly fill the frame or have assistants to help with that.

Bleachers arrangement

Lighting

With this many people, you are almost better off with lights that are very close to the camera. Otherwise, you will have weird shadows across some of the people’s faces that are farther away from the light.

Make the shot

Make absolutely sure that you really catch their attention and then snap the photos. Snap a minimum of 10 shots. That way you will be sure to get a few good ones were most of the people are looking at the camera. Even then, you might have to do a bit of photo shop to copy/paste on 1 or 2 people with their eyes closed from another photo.