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Family Groups



 
 
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  #1  
Old March 2nd 04, 10:47 AM
Jack
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Default Family Groups

Wedding photography is very specialized

How do photographers manage large family groups?

Is the best policy to "arrange them" according to size etc.

or is it best not to mix in and leave it up to the group to arrange
themselves according to their own family politics, hierarchy.

What's best, any ideas?

Best wishes



  #2  
Old March 2nd 04, 12:49 PM
Randall Ainsworth
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Default Family Groups

At weddings I always put them in couples. And as with any group
photography, each individual should be posed so that they would look
good alone. Arrange heads in triangle...yada, yada, yada
  #3  
Old March 2nd 04, 01:28 PM
Jack
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Default Family Groups

Triangles?

How do you do that?
Do you mean heads together?

Thanks for your time
J
"Randall Ainsworth" wrote in message
...
At weddings I always put them in couples. And as with any group
photography, each individual should be posed so that they would look
good alone. Arrange heads in triangle...yada, yada, yada



  #4  
Old March 3rd 04, 03:08 AM
Randall Ainsworth
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Default Family Groups

Triangles?

How do you do that?
Do you mean heads together?


Well, the heads (faces) are the focal point - so you group people so
that the faces (if you could connect the dots) are arranged in some
kind of triangles. Any good portrait photographer does this either
consciously or unconsciously.
  #5  
Old March 7th 04, 07:54 AM
zeitgeist
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Default Family Groups




How do photographers manage large family groups?

Is the best policy to "arrange them" according to size etc.

or is it best not to mix in and leave it up to the group to arrange
themselves according to their own family politics, hierarchy.


There are two different approaches, portraits on location and 'wedding
photos' at the altar, aka formals.

Usually Large FAmily groups are part of the formals, all those full lengths
taken typically on the altar of the church. I keep things very simple with
the posing, especially the larger groups. I sell ala carte, this means two
things, the couple orders the images they want and the more I get shot the
more I will probably sell. I notice that the typical couple will buy almost
any group of family. Since there is limited time, I mean even if I had a
couple hours the couple can usually only handle about 30 minutes or so.

So. I nail the bride down, and while there are a few I would have meant
that literally, I may settle to taking one of those carpenter stable
shooters and gunning the dress and train down into place. OK, seriously, I
pose the bride and fluff the dress and then move people in and out and
around her. If there is a shot without her, like the groom and guys I'll
pose that just over there.

I build groups, Bride/groom with her parents, add her sibs, add grands, add
large group which is everybody hanging around willing to admit their
connection to the family tree even if by marriage. Then I'll dismiss the
group, BUT wait, granddad and ma, stay there a second. ok, then the
groom's side.

I don't worry too much about finessing and massaging the groups, I'll tell
all the folks this side to turn a bit towards the bride, scoot in a bit
there, hey you, don't hide behind that big guy, and quite often have them in
a single line. that is often necessary cause I used to shoot with a slow
shutter speed and near wide open so I can capture as much ambient light as
possible, so I was often at f/4 on my 2.8 lens, using a slight long lens
(110mm on my 645 med format system) and I'd lock it down too, unless I moved
back for the large group I was pretty much focus once and just wrangle the
crowd. If I just had a couple or four some I didn't move up and refocus,
hey I had a big neg, I cropped instead of moved.

If they wanted portraits, I was more than happy to do so, prewedding, at a
photosession at a specific location, IE: in San Fran the wedding spot was
the palace of fine arts or a couple places in Golden Gate park. or at the
reception, I'd find a spot with a background and decent light, or find a
good light and set up a background there.

as another poster suggested, triangles. you know those pointed topped
brick buildings in egypt. that means stagger the people, no two of the
same height next to each other, tallest in the middle.

groom
bride
bro sis
litbro baby
kid

If you have space and an extended family, say grands, their adult kids and
their families, center the grands, one family on this side, the other
family on that side and loose adults and kids with the grands, one big
triangle made of three triangles, simple huh...but after awhile it starts
flowing naturally.

this reply is echoed to the z-prophoto mailing list at yahoogroups.com


 




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