of my lighting and placed my subject in front of the background of my choice.
Figure 13-3: Setting up for a portrait is one way to guarantee a suitable shot.
Photographing People Together: Shouting Connections
Photographing more than one person at a time is a different challenge from photographing an individual. Single subjects in a portrait create their own messages, which in turn become a photograph's message. In a group shot, each subject creates his or her own message while contributing to the photograph's message as a whole. If one person in the group has a contradictory expression compared to everyone else, that person changes the message of the whole photo.
A good photographer creates a cohesive message within the group. To produce this cohesive message, you have to make sure everyone is on the same page. So, in this section, I help you make compositions that show relationships between multiple subjects and show you how to make everyone in the group look good in the photo.
Overcoming the technical challenges of photographing groups
Along with the natural tendency for people to act rowdy in groups, you face some technical issues when photographing more than one subject at a time. Keep the following points in mind when you prepare to take a shot that has more than one subject:
(Turn to Chapter 7 to read more about depth of field.) You can place your focal point on only one subject at a time. If another subject is farther from the camera than your focal point, that person won't be in focus. You can use a small aperture to increase your depth of field when photographing more than one person at a time; keeping your subjects fairly close to one another also distributes the focus more evenly.
At times you may want to use a shallow depth of field and create a distance between subjects in order to let one or more subjects fall out of focus. This technique can create an artistic effect and can be useful in creating a specific message. However, it will portray the subject that's sharp much more strongly than the others. And in most cases, you want to keep everybody in the frame as sharp as possible.
' Pay attention to how the light affects each individual. Sometimes one person casts unwanted shadows onto another person. In that case, you need to reposition the subjects or the light source so the light can
clearly reach each of them. Using the paramount or loop lighting patterns (see Chapter 10) is a good start. Having the light out in front of your subjects keeps it from casting shadows on people's faces. This is true because you won't usually place one person's face in front of another's but rather to the side of it.
Composing portraits of couples
Romantic couples make for a common photographic scenario, so photographers who can master the traditional poses and portray couples in new and unique ways will always be in demand. The advantage of photographing two people who love each other is that they provide comfort for one another while interacting during the shoot. Having one lean on the other for support or telling them to look into each other's eyes rather than at the camera helps to get more realistic and sincere expressions.
To me, photographing couples is all about creating a single shape out of the two individuals. This represents them as one. Ways to do this include the following:
' Vary the heights of similar-sized couples. If both people are the same height, have one seated or kneeling while the other stands. Or ask one to lie down while the other sits. This way you can vary their heights and create a more interesting shape of the pair.
' Ask the two to embrace. Having the couple position their arms around each other suggests some sort of comfortable flow of energy between the two. Areas where the two come into contact with each other help to bring their shapes together as one.
In Figure 13-4,1 positioned the couple so that each person's energy was directed toward the other. Their individual shapes work together in a complimentary way to create one shape. This makes it look as if they belong together.
Figure 13-4: Flowing lines and shapes between two subjects.
Setting up group portraits
A group portrait is similar to a portrait of a couple except you don't usually have the romantic aspect to work with. Posing people in groups is usually more formal, and getting everyone's attention is more challenging than with a single subject or a couple.
Here are some tips for creating an interesting composition in a group portrait:
Stagger people in a way that gets them out of a straight line. Doing so gives each subject in the group her own unique space. People standing in a straight line look as though they were instructed to do so, making the image look much too formal. A slightly less organized group looks as though it came together naturally.
Keep your subjects fairly close to one another. They're more likely to be a similar distance from the camera that way, helping to keep everyone in focus.
Use a V-shaped pose to avoid a group that spreads out too wide in a straight line. To create this setup, have each person face the camera at a slight angle and position people slightly in front of or behind each other.
Work with levels. Positioning someone directly in front of another person only works if your subjects are on different height levels. For example, you can position part of a group on the floor in front of the rest of the group sitting on a sofa. If more people are in your group, you can ask them to stand behind the people on the sofa for an added height level. By having multiple rows of people on different levels, you keep the group contained to a smaller area.
Make sure each person in the group has her own place in the scene.
More specifically, pay attention to how each individual is placed in front of the background. In Chapter 8,1 discuss finding a perspective in which your subject fits appropriately into the background and can be clearly seen.
