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How many times have you looked at a photo and can’t help but notice that something seems off? Maybe it’s the awkward gap between a group of people, Aunt Rita’s arms awkwardly hanging, or the random hand sticking out from behind Uncle Jim’s shoulder. When it comes to a photograph the way you pose the subjects can greatly impact the image. Here are a few things to think about when putting together a group of people.

• Where’s the space? When you have a group of individuals together the closer you can get everyone the better. It’s especially important to keep an eye out for an excessive amount of space between one of the group members compared to the rest. A slight awkward space can become an eyesore in a photograph. Therefore it’s important to keep everyone close and eliminate the space between subjects.

• Position the arms – Often times you will find most people don’t know what to do with their arms while posing for a picture. As a photographer you should give them a form of direction to eliminate this issue but you also don’t want everyone doing the same pose. For example, instead of having people awkwardly hanging their arms wherever they feel like – tell them what to do. Have some cross their arms, place hand on the hip, thumbs in their pocket, or even arms around the person next to them. When you mix up the poses between the group members the more candid and natural the photo will look.

• Watch for the hands! More often than not, when you look at a photograph of a large group there tends to be a hand wrapped around someone’s shoulder or hip that seems incredibly unnatural. Instead of enjoying the expressions of the subjects you find yourself trying to figure out who the hand belongs to. To avoid this, before you take the picture be conscious of where everyone has their hands. If you have someone putting their hand behind another person tell them to place their hands in the middle of their backs rather than completely around the shoulder. This will give you the same look and feel you were going for without the appearance of the mystery hand.

Every so often when a client sees their beautiful portraits they will exclaim:

“How come my photos never look like that?”  

“What can I do to make my pictures better?”

Here I want to address that very question with one simple tip: LIGHT.  A properly lit image can make a difference between a bad or even mediocre picture to a beautiful portrait.

     Since the average person doesn’t carry around a “Power Light 1500R” with them everywhere they go, the next best thing is knowing how to use natural light properly.  When you’re at a family function and you’re asked to take a picture – where do you stand the group to have the best light? The myth is to put them directly in the sun so their faces are lit – this is only a good idea if you want everyone to be squinty and blind by the time you take the photo!

     Instead of this scenario, try putting the group under a nice big tree with the sun positioned behind them and the big open sky in front of them. Standing under the tree blocks the downward light that causes unflattering shadows on one’s face. Having the sun coming from behind the subjects allows for nice backlight rather than harsh direct light. The most important element of this scenario is the open sky in front of the subjects. This allows for beautiful soft light to reflect on the individual’s faces as well as creating a catch-light in their eyes bringing them to life.

     So for your next family gathering or photo adventure, be sure to keep this in mind. You will be shocked as to how big of a difference it really makes!