The two key differentiating factors between family photographers (or any other photographer who commonly photographs groups) and wedding photographers are time and purpose. When a photographer is taking a family photograph outside of a wedding event, the family is there for that specific purpose. They can and want to give you all the time you need. The family has invested money on coordinating clothes, set aside an afternoon when everyone can be together, and made sure everyone looks their best.

By contrast, people do not attend weddings to be photographed. They are there to see friends, eat and drink, enjoy themselves, and be supportive during a loved one’s important day. People at weddings are distracted and overwhelmed by the number of people they want to reconnect with and talk to. Weddings are social events, not an eight-hour photo shoot. Regardless, people at weddings fall into three different groups that wedding photographers must deal with: the wedding party, the family (direct and extended), and the guests. These three groups have varying levels of interest and patience when posing for photos. Being aware of their differences regarding group photos can help photographers be more efficient with what little time they have.

WEDDING PARTY

The wedding party is heavily invested in the wedding photos. These are the photos for which you should spend the most time posing and lighting the scene correctly. Even though some of the wedding party members are not particularly excited about taking group photos, they will most likely cooperate to prevent any conflict with the bride or groom on their wedding day. It is to be expected that if a guest is chosen to be a member of the wedding party, he or she will be photographed. They have also rented tuxedos, bought dresses, and are the bride’s and groom’s closest friends. They are with the couple from the very beginning of the day. This means that you should try to schedule more time with the wedding party earlier in the day before the wedding becomes hectic. I think it’s also important to photograph the groomsmen before they are dressed in their formal attire. This gives you time to get to know them in a more casual environment.

With the wedding party, you definitely have more freedom to experiment with the different sets and poses, and even scout for great locations. I have identified four different kinds of group poses for wedding parties.

At every wedding—and depending on how much time I have, of course—I try to create at least one of each of these kinds of group shots. Doing so correctly greatly increases the variety and stylistic options for the album and your clients.

Most wedding party members are young and don’t mind the variety of options, but their patience is limited. Wedding party photoshoots are accomplished more smoothly for the photographer if they are clearly scheduled on the wedding timeline, hence the wedding party knows when to arrive for the shoot. People become frustrated when they are caught by surprise. I go as far as telling them when and for how long I will I need them so that they know what to expect. I find that by keeping people informed, they become much more cooperative. A great danger with wedding party photos is how many of them are over-staged and thus appear corny, unsophisticated, and senseless. As I have said before, my best advice is to keep the pose simple and elegant, rather than force a group pose idea without proper execution.

Failed Wedding Party Group Posing

Figure 12.1: This is a good example of trying too hard. During my first years as a wedding photographer, I tried to create poses that portrayed the groomsmen as being tough men. To be honest, I didn’t have much guidance then. As a result, I created this image that has all the groomsmen spread out, grimly crossing their arms, and looking in different directions for no reason whatsoever. As you are reading this, you are probably wondering, “How am I supposed to know if my group photo idea is stupid?” Actually, there are many questions you can ask yourself that can give you some hints:

FIGURE 12.1

Mentally going through this list while you are preparing to take the photo will definitely help you make adjustments and avoid corny photo ideas.

Figure 12.2: This example is not necessarily a big failure. The photo is simple, and it achieves its purpose of showing the bridesmaids with the bride. However, this book is about elevating the approach to wedding photography. The greatest flaw with this photo is that all the bridesmaids are mirroring each other. There is no visual variation among any of the women. They are also holding their bouquets in exactly the same way. At the bare minimum, if I am in a rush and need the wedding party photos finished quickly, I will put the bridesmaids and bride together and make sure they are not mirroring each other’s poses. A suggestion as simple as holding the bouquets in a different way and at different heights would eliminate the mirroring issue.

Figure 12.3: This photo severely violates the last question mentioned above. Is there a logical or natural reason for the men in the photo to be posing that way? No! There is no reason why the groom would naturally squat in the street while his groomsmen, positioned together in the background, are awkwardly looking at him. If you really want to think outside of the box and create different types of wedding party portraits—which is a good thing—just remember that the key to proper execution really depends on your creating a pose that could have happened on its own. It must make logical sense to the viewer.

FIGURE 12.2

FIGURE 12.3

Figure 12.4: The idea here was to create a photo in which the bridal couple is dancing in the center of the gazebo while the wedding party stands around the perimeter of the gazebo as if they don’t notice the couple. At first glance, this photo screams, “Over-staged pose composed by the photographer!”

FIGURE 12.4

Think. Why are the members of the wedding party so evenly distributed around the gazebo? Why are they not looking at the couple? Why is each couple standing so closely in each other’s personal space? Why is the bride’s bouquet on the ground in front of them? You would have a hard time answering any of these questions with any kind of satisfaction. The reason is because nothing about this photo makes any logical sense. The concept is gimmicky and lacks sophistication.

Successful Wedding Party Group Posing

Figure 12.5: From the list of the four types of wedding party group photos above, this photo is an example of a simple and traditional pose. However, if you just have people stand together and take a photo, this does not mean that you have elevated your work above other photographers. To do so, you need to be aware of a few posing elements.

Keep in mind that this is a book on wedding photography. I make such an obvious statement to bring attention to a not-so-obvious fact. The fact is that it is very difficult to remember or try to implement all the posing mechanics listed below when shooting under the relentless pressures of a wedding. For this reason, I suggest you do your best to implement as many of these as you can remember. These five suggestions below yield the highest impact when creating a flattering group pose with the lowest amount of required effort.

FIGURE 12.5

These five instructions are key to elevating your group portrait work to a higher level. You want to create poses that force the viewer’s eyes to naturally wander around the whole frame. You can achieve this by making sure that the second item on the list is present in the group portrait, meaning that you want to give the eye a reason to travel up and down the frame. You can position people at different heights by having them lean down, kneel, sit, or stand. In this photo, since everyone is standing on level ground and they are holding their bouquets, I created the height differences using the bouquets. If I had asked the bridesmaids to hold their flowers in the same way at the same height, the photo would have lost much of its natural impact and would have appeared much more robotic and stale. In this type of traditional group portrait, it is quite important to have the wedding party lean a little toward the camera. This creates the feeling that they are interested in their photo being taken and appear highly engaged with the camera—and thus the viewer of the photograph. If they had simply stood straight, the group would appear much less interested and not as dynamic.

Figure 12.6: This is an example of the second type of group photo on the list: together, reacting to something or someone. In this case, I scattered the wedding party in such a way that it appears imperfect. The goal is to frame the groom with his friends but not make it look as if the photographer had staged their positions. It must look natural. To do so, I broke up any possible symmetry that might be a telltale sign that I posed it. For this reason, I placed four groomsmen to the groom’s right and two groomsmen to his left. I also positioned the groom’s collarbones directly toward the camera to make him appear larger and more important; he is taking up more space than his groomsmen. The last piece of the puzzle was to make them react naturally. By this time, I had gathered enough information about each of them to tell an appropriate joke that would be funny to them but not offensive to anyone else.

FIGURE 12.6

Figure 12.7: Here is a similar photo as the previous example, except that this time I posed the bridesmaids. The ladies are all naturally reacting to something I said or to each other, and they are asymmetrically framing the bride. Their hands gently resting on each other creates an extra layer of emotional connection. It is important to know that I don’t necessarily love everything about this photo. The biggest issue for me is answering the question of “Why?” Why are they all huddled up together in the corner of a room? Would people normally stand there? The answer is no. Most likely, people would not find themselves in this position unless they were asked to do so. However, at weddings, the photographer must make many quick decisions based on time. As at most weddings, these bridesmaids were quite late getting ready. We had very little time left to do bridesmaids portraits or even portraits of the bride. For this reason, I decided to sacrifice the believability of the pose in order to prioritize the quality of light.

FIGURE 12.7

Figure 12.8: This photo represents the third type of wedding party group photos: mutual activity or excuse to have them all together. This photo is a portrait of the bridesmaids without making it so obvious. Since they are all helping the bride finish up the small details of putting on her dress and veil, you are able to see the bridesmaids and their expressions. In order to change the height of their heads, I asked the bridesmaid on the right to kneel down and adjust the bride’s dress. This was a perfect request to lower her head. Try to imagine the bridesmaid on the right standing up like all the others. Not as good, right? The fact that her head is at a lower level than the rest causes your eye to travel around the frame and gives the photo a nice balance both horizontally and vertically. I also took a few extra seconds to make sure that their hands were positioned at different heights by asking them to hold a different part of the dress or veil. Also, notice how the positions of the bridesmaids naturally frame the bride.

FIGURE 12.8

Figure 12.9: This is a traditional photo of the ring bearer and flower girls with the bride. By taking an extra 20 seconds to find a chair for the bride, I was able to keep the various heights more equal while still maintaining a variety of heights for the eye to travel throughout the frame. This basically puts everyone at the same general level. I also put the ring bearer on one side to provide balance against the three flower girls on the other side. Furthermore, their hands are in different places.

FIGURE 12.9

Figure 12.10: This is another variation of the flower girls photo, but this time, instead of being so “portrait-like,” I had the girls gently play with different parts of the bride’s dress in order to achieve an active portrait. I wanted them to perform this mutual activity as an excuse for them to be together, while effectively framing the bride.

Figure 12.11: This is a portrait of a large wedding party. After taking a traditional photo of them dressed elegantly and looking at the camera, I then mixed things up by having many of them change position. I found chairs for them to sit on and created two shorter rows instead of one long row. This is a fine example of a large wedding party reacting to something or to each other. Since everyone is reacting differently, it gives you a sense of their unique personalities. Taking the extra effort to create this fun group portrait gives the clients a great contrast to the traditional yet indispensable wedding photo. To take a photo such as this, you must be confident. You cannot possibly expect a large wedding group to respect you or react to what you are saying if you are timid and unsure of yourself. You must be confident, or this will go very wrong. Trust me. Let go of your inhibitions and have fun with them.

FIGURE 12.10

FIGURE 12.11

Figure 12.12: Finally, let’s discuss the more Vanity Fair–style group portraits. I use the term loosely because “Vanity Fair portraits” means different things to different people. For me, the core of this style is a highly composed photo with great attention given to composition and to creating a sense that every person in the photo is relaxed and very much showcasing their own individual personalities. These portraits are usually taken of people in various positions, such as sitting, lying down, and standing. This variation of heights is key to this type of portrait. In this example, I used the couch and the armrests to seat people at different heights. To create an even greater variety of heights, I asked two of the groomsmen to sit on the ground. Now you can see how your eyes travel across the frame, up and down inspecting each person’s facial expression.

FIGURE 12.12

Figure 12.13: The same principles apply in this photo as in the previous image, except that I posed all of the bridesmaids. Notice everyone’s hand positions. Also notice how I used the bed, the floor, and chairs to create different positions that place everyone at different heights. The subjects’ collarbones are facing so many different directions. Collectively, these adjustments add to the success of this highly stylized group portrait. If anything, remember this: variety equals interesting.

FIGURE 12.13

FAMILY GROUPS

When photographing family groups, your posing should show the viewer a sense of unity and family togetherness. The pose should reveal that these people love each other as a family. I see far too many family photos in which people are posed like robots, standing like stiff soldiers, looking at the camera, and smiling awkwardly. Remember there is a big difference between taking a photo of what people look like and taking a photo that captures the essence of who they are, which gives the viewer a hint of their true personalities. A master wedding photographer will always create family photos that convey more than just the fact that family members were there and what they looked like. Work just a little harder to create photographs that have soul and that display loving energy among the people in the photograph.

Failed Family Group Posing

Figures 12.14 and 12.15: These two family photos represent the millions of soulless family portraits that photographers have taken at weddings. They are simply photos of people standing next to each other but with no visible connection at all. Their arms are not touching, their heads are not tilted toward each other, and their expressions are empty or awkward.

FIGURE 12.14

FIGURE 12.15

I understand that during these family photos, time is not on your side. Usually they occur when the sun is setting, and most family members would rather be catching up with old friends and other family members. Working quickly is very important, but not at the expense of the family photos. After all, a wedding is a family affair. In the Persian community, the family photo session is the most important part of the entire day. To work as fast as possible, I keep the poses relatively traditional and very simple. But I do follow the five basic mechanics for group posing listed above. They will greatly help you create photos that show the emotional connection between the various family members in each set of photos.

Successful Family Group Posing

Figures 12.16 and 12.17: Figure 12.16 represents a quick photo with beautiful light on the groom and his father. There was a language barrier for me because the father was Egyptian and did not speak English. However, I understood enough to realize that he wanted me to take a quick photo of him with his son. That’s wonderful. Mission accomplished.

FIGURE 12.16

FIGURE 12.17

But to elevate your work, you must take an extra step to transform a simple photo into a great moment that your clients will always cherish. Figure 12.17 is exactly that. Taking advantage of the beautiful window light, I quickly asked the groom to give his dad a warm embrace with his head over his dad’s left shoulder. I asked this because I wanted the groom’s father to receive the full glory of the window light in order to best feature his face. I wanted his son to remember this moment forever. If you have a little more time, always try to create emotional photos such as this one between the bride or groom and their parents or grandparents.

Figures 12.18 and 12.19: During the family portrait portion of a wedding, the grandparents are almost always important family figures for the couple getting married. In this case, the groom’s grandmother was not too happy to have her photo taken. To show her displeasure, she refused to look at the camera, no matter how hard the groom and his brother tried to coax her. I could have taken the photo shown in Figure 12.18 and called it a day. It’s not my fault that she doesn’t want to be photographed, right? And who can blame you?

FIGURE 12.18

FIGURE 12.19

But I don’t want to take that attitude when I know this photo could be a treasure for the family someday. I motivated myself not to be satisfied. I asked the groom and his brother to give their grandmother an unexpected kiss on her cheeks at the same time. She couldn’t resist, and began to laugh. Now the family will cherish this photo for the rest of their lives.

The moment you begin to feel complacent about family photos at weddings, you should probably find another line of work. Weddings are all about families coming together and celebrating the beginning of a new family. It is crucial to recognize and respect the importance of doing a great job during the family portraits. Throughout my career, I have come across wedding photographers who say they refuse to take family photos because it’s not stylistic or it cramps their style. That’s a real shame to deprive your clients of photos that could be deemed priceless in the future.

Figures 12.20 and 12.21: During a beautiful Indian wedding in Southern California, I found myself rushing through the family photo shoot due to a lack of time. I did a credible job of keeping the photos warm and traditional. In Figure 12.20, you can see that the family members are leaning slightly toward each other, that they have nice smiles, and that their arms are positioned in different places.

FIGURE 12.20

However, for Figure 12.21 I asked the bride if we could do another quick set of photos with her parents that would have much more warmth. I just needed them to be close together and forget about the camera for a second. I positioned their hands and then asked the father of the bride to look at his daughter, the groom to look at his new mother-in-law, and her mother to look at her husband. This created the perfect amount of awkwardness due to their close proximity to each other. Guess what people do when they are in this situation? They begin to laugh. It’s a human defense mechanism to laugh when you feel awkward. A little awkwardness is a powerful tool that a wedding photographer can use to create genuine expressions.

FIGURE 12.21

Figure 12.22: This is a photo of the bride and her sisters. Again, I used awkwardness to create this portrait. I strategically told the sister on camera left to look at her other sister’s (camera right) wrist. Then I told the bride to look at her sister’s strand of hair coming over her shoulder. Finally, I told the sister at camera right to look at the bride’s bouquet. But not to do so until I told them. I then counted to three and said, “Ok, now.” The odd spots they were asked to look at on the count of three caused the perfect amount of awkwardness to create these beautiful expressions on each of their faces. The fact that I’m absolutely confident while I’m setting up this photo, which could very easily be perceived as silly, is what makes the subjects not mind my direction and just go with it.

FIGURE 12.22

GUESTS

In my experience, guest photographs are quite interesting. They are the most underrated photos a photographer takes at a wedding and are possibly the most financially lucrative. Guest photos require the least maintenance during and after the photo is taken. As you know, guests almost always attend weddings accompanied by one or more people they care about. If it is a family, they come together. If it’s a single man or woman, he/she brings a significant other. Therefore, for guests, a wedding is an excellent reason to dress up, do their hair, put on some make-up, and spend time with people they care about. For these reasons, you can be sure that when guests see a photo that the photographer took of them in a web-gallery service, such as Snapshots, they will buy it in different sizes and use them as gifts for other loved ones.

In terms of posing, these photos are as low maintenance as can be. You don’t have to do much except place the subjects together, make small adjustments to the poses (and perhaps their clothes), and make sure that they smile nicely. The aesthetics of the background are not as important, either. If the lighting is flattering, guests just want to stand where they are and have a quick photo taken of them. It takes perhaps five seconds, tops.