How To Make Your Group Photos Better- for the hobbyist

I was recently asked to do a large group portrait session to celebrate the 70th year birthday of a beloved grandfather.  There would be 13 peoople in the shot at 3 pm in the afternoon and to be done before the party and at the party location.  NO PROBLEM!

I decided to write this blog to show hobbyists how you can make your photos better when you are taking a picture in bright afternoon sun.  If it is not a candid shot and you are outdoors, take the time to find some shade. If you try to photograph your subject in bright sun, they will squint and get "racoon eyes" from the ambient (or natural) light comming from over their heads.

If there isn't any shade, put their back to the sunlight. This will prevent them from squinting and allow an even light across their face without sunspots.  Here is another must do- you will have to add the flash or your camera will automatically meter for the bright light in the back ground and your subject will be very dark.  Most of you have a flash on the camera (the zigzag arrow pointing down).  You have to get it off auto and put it ON or it will not fire because there is enough light for the camera to capture the image. You will have to refer to your manual on how to do this.  Most cameras now allow you to even bump the flash compensation by 1-3 stops. You may have to bump it up at least to "1" to combat the bright sun.

In these photos, I used 2 light stands with my Speedlight 580 EXiis  to light all 12 people.  The tall grasses acted as a nice foreground and the tree was the dark background. I pulled them far enough away from the tree to show a separation along with some sunlight from behind filtering in, to give a slight rim light.

In photo #2, you can see how bad the group shots would have looked if I used the open space to the east of their yeard.  My assistant was photographed in the spot the family was hoping to use.  So I quickly changed my plan and looked around for a dark background where the family wouldn't be in bright sun.

Remember to get your subject out of the direct sun, find a dark back ground, and add your flash to light their eyes. Practice with your camera first! 

This blog is not about how to get beautiful portrait light, it is to help the hobbyist get their basic images better when they are outdoors.