Group Poses

[terri33inne]

I've been hired to photograph 5 high school seniors in group shots for their yearbook... I checked flikr for some posing ideas but came up empty. We'll be shooting at a private school w/ extensive grounds, landscaping, rock walls, etc. Any suggestions?

[NathanFranke]

I've never had luck with group portraits either. There are some articles here about it, they boil down to "Shoot from above, shoot from below, go for interesting/unique angles."

Check movies/movie posters--they might give you some ideas.

[autofocus]

Will all the shots be groups of five..or also individuals within that group? Are the kids linked together by virtue of some sport or activity?

[terri33inne]

The movie posters is a good tip... thanks.

No, they just want group shots... they've been best friends since 3rd grade... probably no individual ones.

[autofocus]

Terri, groups certainly could be a challenge, but odd number groups always seem to work out better than even numbers. So, in that regard you are lucky. Shooting straight lineups are the easiest, but boring. Other arrangements are always better, but you will need to be more conscious of your control over DOF. Around f/8 is usually safe, but it still will depend on your setup and lighting. Working with use of steps or a porch (if available) can be useful in arranging the group. It's good to have a connection to each other in the group..that can be physical or virtual with eye contact. So, you could setup a group of three and a group of two with a small separation between them having some eye contact connecting them. Or, a semicircle group of the five with all stacking and placing one outstretched hand on top of another's hand...so, all their hands are stacked on top of one another making the connection. You also could consider a lineup front to back on a straight axis to the camera lens with just their heads popping out front to back (hope this is clear what I'm suggesting with all the above) What you don't want is the typical gym class wrestling team shots. Informal arrangements (IMO) are always nicer than those static setup shots. Hope this helps a little
If you go to our website you can see how we try to arrange groups...click on Couples and Families link. http://montalbanophotography.com/ Granted, these are not shots of five school buddies, but you should see what I'm talking about as far as the connection between subjects

[NathanFranke]

You're welcome--I wish I had thought of it in time to do my first set of group portraits.

[private]

Since they are young and best friends, I would let their personality shine - are they on the same club together. Most teen want something "out of the ordinary" I would check out senior session son flickr to gve yourself some ides. And since you have a lot of room there is no reason to stay at f/8. You can actually shoot wide open! Check out the depth of field calculator, It'll show you where you need to stand to get everyone in focus.

[autofocus]

Originally Posted by private

Since they are young and best friends, I would let their personality shine - are they on the same club together. Most teen want something "out of the ordinary" I would check out senior session son flickr to gve yourself some ides. And since you have a lot of room there is no reason to stay at f/8. You can actually shoot wide open! Check out the depth of field calculator, It'll show you where you need to stand to get everyone in focus.

In all due respect Pat, but how do you shoot wide open and expect to get everyone in reasonably sharp focus? You can barely get the second eye in focus when shooting a 3/4 profile at f/1.4. With that camera (per the DOF calc) using a 50mm f/1.4 wide open at a distance of 15 feet she will have about 1.5 feet of "acceptable" focus. That's not much of a cushion to shoot a group unless they're all nearly on the same plane.

[terri33inne]

Thank you so much everyone! I can't wait... seniors are always so fun to shoot, and with them being best friends it should be fun!