Orion Photo Group Success Story Podcast
Orion Photo Group Success Story Podcast
Capturing the Perfect Family Portrait Every Time, No More Guesswork
Remember that one family portrait that everyone talks about at reunions? It's the one I captured at the Jones' wedding, and it's not just a photo—it's a slice of history. Join me, Jason Group, along with the team at Orion Photo Group, as we unveil the secrets to capturing those legacy-defining group photos that command pride of place above the mantelpiece. No more fear of wrangling a 30-strong bridal party, we're giving you the confidence booster and professional playbook to nail those shots every single time.
This session is jam-packed with personal anecdotes and practical advice, perfect for both the greenhorn afraid to step in front of the lens crowd and the seasoned shutterbug facing the 'old guy' stereotype. We'll talk about the absolute importance of pre-shoot prep, location scouting, and gear checks—because nobody wants to play 'find the SD card' when the entire wedding party is waiting. So, grab your camera, and let's turn those nerve-wracking group shoots into the stuff of family legend!
Hey there, welcome to OPG's Tips and Tricks. Here I'm going to share some quick tips and some tricks that I think you'll find very useful. Let's get right to it. Hey everyone, hello and welcome to another episode of Tips and Tricks with me, jason Group and the Orion Photo Group. I hope that you're doing well out there and got another good tip for you today that I think is super helpful, and we're going to be diving into the art of shooting large groups, particularly weddings, of course, and capturing those big family portraits or the entire bridal party can be a challenge. If you're not, I'm going to try and give you some tips to help you master group photography.
Speaker 1:Truth be told, the more you do it, the better you're going to get at it, but it takes a little bit of confidence and a couple of tricks that usually will help you get things moving. It can be, I think, the most intimidating thing of any part of shooting a wedding. I think that's one of the reasons why so many people decide that they don't want to shoot weddings or large parties or things like that, because the thought of doing and standing up in front of a group of 15, 10, 15, 20, 30 people is just incredibly daunting, and having to take charge of that situation is not an easy thing to do and, depending on how young you are and how old you are, there's all these people judging you, and I can tell you with 100% confidence that as a 17-year-old, I used to easily pose groups of people and take charge of that situation, and I'm going to share some of those tips and tricks with you. It gets a little easier when you get older, because nobody wants to argue with the old guy, but at the older you get, then they're like who is this old guy? So it's been a journey for me when it comes to shooting big and large parties. So we're going to kick things off with a quick overview of why it's so crucial to know this and especially when dealing with large parties, obviously shooting an extended family or a bridal party. These are the ones that are going to hold the most significance for years to come and I think a lot of people will get away from the fact, as they are the most annoying things to do at a wedding Shooting large groups of people, shooting lots of extended family, people that are old and don't want to be there in the first place, or maybe the younger people don't want them to be there.
Speaker 1:The fact of the matter is that when you make an 8x10 of that or an 11x14 or that big family photo that sits over a mantelpiece someplace, think about the significance of that image and how important it is for that day. It's a piece of family history that cannot be repeated ever again. I'm going to repeat that again. It cannot be repeated ever again. And unfortunately, many of us go into it thinking oh God, I got to shoot this stupid family picture. It's going to take so much time and everyone's going to be annoyed with me. Yeah, that's what happens and that's the responsibility that you have as a wedding photographer or a family photographer shooting a party, it doesn't matter what it is. But when you shoot those big pictures with a lot of people in it anything more than four or five people it's a really important shot and will be a family heirloom later on. Sometimes they need to be reminded of that to get their cooperation, and I'll get into that a little bit. So, first of all, prepping for a big family picture is probably the most important thing. Time is always limited when it comes to these things. Scouting a location and planning the setup ahead of time can make all the difference, and I cannot stress this enough. Choosing a convenient location that works for everyone involved not only streamlines the process, but it also ensures a smoother experience for you and the subjects. And don't forget to check your equipment and make sure there aren't any last minute hiccups.
Speaker 1:Now let's just go over that a little bit, so I'll give you an example. I shot a wedding a couple of weeks ago for a neighborhood friend. Hadn't shot a wedding in a very long time. They wanted some large groups, and when I showed up to the catering hall where they were going to be doing pictures, I looked for a couple of things. And here's what I looked for A nice open shade location that doesn't have like modeling from trees or any kind of harsh light, just a nice open shaded location. Guess what didn't exist. There wasn't a spot like that. So check down from there.
Speaker 1:What do I do? Is there a spot where I can back, like them, and fill them with flash? And that's what I wound up doing. So I found a spot that was open. It was bright Sun. It was about three o'clock in the afternoon, so the light wasn't terrible but I was able to put it behind them enough where it wasn't coming right into my camera, but it provided a nice backlight. And then I filled them in with my on-camera flash and a secondary flash that I just had a friend hold for me, or I could have put it on a stand. So finding a location where you can shoot quickly and easily. That's gonna give everybody nice lighting, and I made sure that all my equipment was working, all my flashes were synced properly.
Speaker 1:I did some test shots so that when they showed up, all I needed to do is pose them. I'm gonna say that again when they showed up, all I needed to do was pose them and push the button. Okay, that's the key into gaining respect from everybody that is showing up there and you know what, to be honest with you later on during the day, nobody's gonna argue with you because, they asked, they don't judge you on how good you are. They judge you on how fast you are, and the faster you are, the better you must be, and there is some truth to that right. So finding a great spot to do it now.
Speaker 1:Sometimes you just don't have the luxury of finding a location. That's where experience comes in. The best thing I can say is find the best location, you can quickly pose them. Do the best that you can and move on. Don't be afraid to say this location is not working, we need to move over there. You can get away with that once and there'll be some groans. But again, remember, you are creating a family heirloom.
Speaker 1:Okay, communication and organization is Paramount when orchestrating these large groups. Establishing your expectations with the couple and the bridal party beforehand can help ensure everyone knows what to expect and where to be. Of course, having a shot list, which was is always provided for you with Orion photo group, that's something you don't need to worry about it. We will work with the, our staff will work with our couples and then, if you need to step in and discuss it with them, you should, of course. And having a timeline that just keeps you from all the chaos of the wedding day and here's a big bonus tip Don't be afraid to delegate tasks and assign Helpers for crowd control. It can make a world of a difference. Here me give you some examples of how to deal with this in that situation. Okay, here's what I do with the most difficult person in the group that is giving me a hard time. I pull them aside. I learned this when I was 17 years old. This is the best tip.
Speaker 1:You've got that one person in the group who is just being a jerk or for one reason or another, and you Are just having trouble with them. The best thing to do is to either pull them aside and talk to them, or just pull them aside and make them stand on the side and wait for you to pose you last. Sometimes embarrassing them really helps a lot. You have to be really careful with this one. It can backfire on you, but in general, if you do it in a friendly way hey bro, come on over here, I'm gonna put you over here, you're gonna help me, and you know this will make things move faster. Sometimes there can be jerks about it. If they're just jerks, they're gonna be jerks no matter what, and if they decide they don't wanna help, you just have them go stand back over in the crowd.
Speaker 1:The other thing you could do is that one person in the group who's always chipping in your ear about getting this shot or that shot. They're the person to identify and say hey, I don't know anybody here, but you can help me and you can help me make this move faster, and I'd really love your help. Okay, come stand next to me and point out who is who, and then this will help me a lot. So when you're posing a group, bride and groom goes down, goes in the picture first, and the parents, then the brothers and sisters. I don't know who the brothers and sisters are, maybe I hadn't met them yet and that person I can say who are the brother and sister, and they'll point to that person and this person. Oh, that person's missing. Hey, can you do me a favor? Can you get them? And then I can keep going and check down the line and get those poses moving quickly.
Speaker 1:Taking control of the situation is the best way to make sure that things will move smoothly. Otherwise you're gonna have a lot of people yelling at each other to do those, to look for those things. So managing expectations and finding the time to do those pictures is probably the most important part. Okay, now again moving back into lighting considerations. Again, again, I cannot stress enough natural light conditions are the best. Planning accordingly, think about the time of day when you're gonna be working on it and avoiding harsh shadows. Nobody looks the best when you have a big shadow coming across them.
Speaker 1:Okay, and again, composition and posing. This is the part that probably takes the most to learn and learning how to pose groups. Just lining them up like a firing line, I call it, is not the way to do it. If you don't have chairs to work with or something to give you levels, you need to find a way to make it work, and whether it's getting somebody to go down on one knee, getting some kids to sit in the front, anything that you could, it's all about levels. It's all about levels and creating different compositions so that it's pleasing in one way, shape or form.
Speaker 1:I always try and have some kind of chairs. If I gotta grab them from inside the catering hall Many times, I will always keep a couple of posing stools in my trunk. You can buy them very inexpensively. The little folding chairs that you can buy, their golf chairs, things like that those things really help to get and really the idea being is that you're taking a group and trying to make them a small footprint as possible and by doing that, what is a family picture? It's a picture of faces. So the further, the closer you can get to them, the better, because you're gonna be able to see that that's the way they're gonna know that they're gonna feel like this is a good family picture. If you just line them up in a firing line, you're in. The picture is 20 feet long. You're gonna barely see the people in the picture. So by creating levels where there's people sitting on the ground or their kids are sitting in the front, maybe a couple of groomsmen are going down on one knee, you're making them shorter. That way, all of these things help make great posing and again, gentle guidance and directions can go a long way. Don't expect them to know what to do. Giving them flattering poses by guys putting their hands in one pocket or both pockets, putting their arm on their husband or things like that. Anything that's gonna create triangles, anything that's gonna make them feel and then look more flattering, is gonna make for a better family photo or large group photo.
Speaker 1:Managing large crowds and that finesse and tax takes time to learn. Maintaining control and keeping positive energy and keeping everyone engaged is really, really important. Utilizing humor and engagement techniques go a long, long way. Some dad jokes usually work really well. Any kind of joke that works for you is but maintaining that energy. It's exhausting and takes a lot of time to learn those things to do that.
Speaker 1:Pay attention to detail Once you've got the shot. You've taken five, 10 minutes to get that shot going. You just look at the group and just pay attention to the small details Clothing, hair, accessories, check for distractions in the background All of those things can make a big difference. And again, give yourself some options. Take that first picture. And here's another quick trick too. You've taken 10 minutes to get this picture together. Sometimes it's just not where it needs to be, and sometimes I'll just take a picture that I know we're not going to use. Okay, let's take a quick, let's get this picture. All right, here we go One, two, three, bang, bang, bang, bang.
Speaker 1:I take a couple shots, knowing full well it's not working, and while I'm looking in the camera, it gives me a chance to inspect what's going on. Then I'll walk back over to the group, I'll adjust some people, I'll start moving people around. Sometimes I just keep moving people around until I get what I want. And I'll be honest with you. I'll say I don't know what I'm doing. I'm just going to keep moving around until I get what I'm looking for. And they usually laugh and they give you that control that you're looking for. I also like to give them options. Sometimes, just by moving people around, it creates a better image. So that's really it.
Speaker 1:The best thing I could say is if you're going out with other photographers, if you ever go to weddings on your own, watch what the other wedding photographers are doing, take a class imposing. There are lots of classes you can buy online, but, honestly, practice makes perfect when it comes to these things. That's the only way to get better at it and getting the confidence into getting those great shots. And again, don't be afraid to rearrange shots if you need to. The most important thing is to do them as fast as you can, because that's how they judge you on how good you are. So I hope that helps. Thanks for tuning in to this tip and trick with the Orion Photo Group. I'm Jason Groupe and until next time, keep getting those memories and enjoying the job that you have is an important one, and you are lucky to be able to do that. When you do it All right, you have a great day. See you on the next episode of Tips and Tricks.
