Well-composed group photographs are challenging whether you are an amateur or professional wedding photographer. There are great chances of someone blinking, looking in the wrong direction, sneezing and all of that makes it very difficult to take the perfect shot. By properly arranging people in the shot and by following the rules of good composition it is possible to make wonderful photographs that will make all subjects happy.
It is difficult to achieve that all the subjects are smiling and looking at the camera, in particular if some of the subjects are children. Instead of being pushy and forcing the subjects into some fake and unnatural poses, the photographer should go natural. Capturing the spontaneous movements and natural expressions may lead to taking meaningful, interesting and unique photographs. All the subjects should feel relaxed and there should be adequate even lighting on any of them. Pyramid or triangle are good shapes for small group posing, because the photograph then lead the eye from one subject to another. So, when taking, for example, some wedding photograph, start with the bride in the center and arrange her bridesmaids around her to form a triangle shape. When working with larger groups, it is useful to stagger the rows. This can be done by placing the second row in that manner that each subject is placed between the two subjects from the first row. This is the way to enable every subject’s face to appear in the photograph. The people in the first row should be shorter than those in the second row and so on. The distance between the rows should be as small as possible. If there is opportunity of taking the shot form above, it can be also useful for a larger group, because you do not have to worry about people’s heights.
The last, but not the least, have fun! Nothing is more annoying than a nervous photographer. Try to be relaxed and share a positive energy with the subjects and take a lot of shots. In the era of digital photography, the film will not be wasted.