Photographing the wedding formal groups
Photographing the family groups and the formal photos at weddings doesn’t really strike fear in my heart any more. I have the experience to work efficiently, and also work around any challenges that come up. I can take things in my stride, and I’m not often ruffled. I keep things motoring along.
With that, I just had to share this amusing photo from a recent wedding – the bride and groom with the 3 nephews. Count them! And that’s about the best shot we got with all three of the kiddos in the frame.
So even with all the experience and cameras & lighting gear, plans might not quite work the way we intended. But … we keep rolling on and take this in our stride. This is a memory of the day. This is how it was. No reason to force anything with little kids and upset them. This was a real moment, and I am sure it will bring a smile to everyone’s face forever.
The final group shot of the afternoon, before heading out to the reception venue – every family member in the frame.
The only realistic way for me to have them all visible in the group, was to have everyone standing staggered on this short incline, while I stood on a chair. Of course, having their backs to the sun was my next consideration – no squinting, and no harsh shadows. The photo below shows the test photo without flash. For this much light, and still using a softbox, I needed the 500 Ws power of the Profoto B1 flash (B&H / Amazon). It has become a workhorse at weddings now – for example as shown in this article: using the Profoto B1 flash at a wedding.
- Camera settings: 1/250 @ f/11 @ 400 ISO
- Nikon D810
- Nikon 24-70mm f/2.8E VR (B&H / Amazon)
- Full power on the Profoto B1, diffused with 3′ Octabox with the inner baffle removed.
My assistant held the flash overhead on a monopod.
Sequencing the family photographs
The big group shot wasn’t quite as random as it may look – I still took care to place people so that everyone was visible to the camera. Obviously I took the more calmer photos first with everyone looking at the camera – but here I wanted a final exuberant photo, even if some people will be obscured by waving arms. The client can choose.
For the rest of the family photos, I follow a specific pattern to make sure that I get all the family groupings in as short a time as possible. I don’t work off a shot-list. Instead, I create a family diagram for myself which I build up during the consultation with the client. In this way I am aware of all the ways the family is grouped, showing all relationships.
The way that I draw this up, helps me with the sequence in which I take the family photographs.
The formal photo session is where newer photographers have difficulty in finding traction. Suddenly under pressure and with dozens of people pulling in different directions, it is easy to come apart. With this video tutorial, we’ll cover ways of sequencing and posing the family groups. With numerous useful tips, I cover this topic and explain how I keep everything on track during this part of the wedding day. We’ll cover the topic thoroughly, working from a diagram layout of the family groups, all the way to lighting and posing.
Related articles
- Positioning your flash for the wedding formals
- Wedding photography moments – Anticipation & being ready
- Wedding photography: posing and lighting – a consistent style
- Tips & advice for second-shooting weddings
- Using the Profoto B1 flash at a wedding
- A simple lighting setup for photographing the wedding formals
- Adapting the use of light & flash photography
- What else is in your camera bag?
One single B1? Wow. Would have thought two, which would have required stands and sandbags and child-deflectors. I need an assistant like yours.
I would love to see a video of Neil wrangling a group that big (using a bullhorn?). This size group gets my heart-rate up just a touch just thinking about it. I am very impressed with the power you are wielding here. I doubt my 320Ws B800 could have achieved this.
Keep in mind that I shot at 400 ISO for enough Depth-of-Field.
The ISO setting will explain a lot about how I got to f/11 with the softbox.
Nice. I found out that I can sandwich the Air TTL remote on the Phottix strato ii trigger and fire my Nikon flashes, too. So I do this with a B2 in the center and two SB910 on the side mounted on a strato ii.
WOW, I CANT believe the B1 has that much power, very nice
Big groups are tricky – I find with celebration images of sports teams, unless you actually call the players out from the back to lie / sit on the ground, you often just see eyes sticking out amongst the heads in the back row – of course, with weddings and the ‘ranking hierarchy’ at these occasions this is harder to do.
I shoot a lot of weddings. Here’s some extra advice…
Timing: do the big group shot right after the ceremony if possible. People will not have had a chance to wonder off to the toilet, smoke or drink. The guests will have just come out of a formal ceremony and be more co-operative. Guests will also still be looking tidy and at their best. Don’t position the group and then bring the bride and groom in – guests will herd around the bride and groom so position them first and let people gather around.
I would recommend asking people to cheer without raising their their elbows. There’s a whole bunch of people you can’t see in this picture which is typical of cheering group shots – esspecially this many layers deep. You could ask the people in the back row only to air punch if you wish.
When positioning people in a group ask them to make sure they can all see you with each eye shut, this way their faces will not be half hidden too.
Ask the group to count themselves down 5 to 1 and you will take the picture. It gets everyone involved and ready for the shot. If you try and call it out , they probably will not hear you anyway.
If you camera has facial recognition you can hold your camera way above your head or even on a monopod in difficult environments.
Flash or not, burst shoot as someone will inevitably be blinking and you may need the flexibility in post production to edt or head swap.
Have the confidence to tell people they can do better, I never accept the first shot, tell people they can cheer louder and give bigger smiles and you’ll get better energy on the next shot.
Lastly, make sure everyone is in the same pool of ambient light, don’t put half the group in shade and leave some of them in sunlight. Judge this in advance by looking at the ground for patchy light spill. Always try and put the whole group in open shade ideally.
Thanks for reading.
Den
Just to clarify – that group shot with their hands up – it is something I always do at the end of a big group shot. It’s a fun way to signify that we’re done with the photos. So there are another 5-6 images that are normal, where you can see everyone without arms blocking faces.
Here burst shooting wouldn’t achieve much – the Profoto B1 is at full power, and needs more than a second to recycle.
Great post Neil. Group shots can be one of the most challenging shots of any wedding or big party event. All good points and tips here. I would add too it’s key to keep the groups attention once gathered and smiling while your strobe is recycling. I like to do the stereotypical count-down 3,2,1 Pop, but then add again, 3,2,2.5,2.25, etc. at this point they are laughing at me and I can get 3 or more shots off that are usually the keepers with a cloned face or two from a frame prior or after. I also often tell people starting out, that as a rule of thumb to take as many shots as there are people in the group (within reason, but at least a dozen minimum for large groups, as grandparents tend to look away at the grandkids etc.)
In a pinch using speed lights tethered to a lithium over the shoulder straight on works fine but having the power of fast recycling head like a Profoto with a soft box or umbrella and an assistant is preferable for the softer light is key. You have sold me on the Profotos Neil and looking forward to trying them out this wedding season. Thanks again for these posts, no matter how long someone has been shooting one can always pick up little things from other pros.