giggle Blogs

Off Center and Off Balance

Most images that we see have the subject dead center in the photograph.  This is often the most effective way to get the largest possible picture of the subject of the photograph.  It is also how your brain thinks.  It is natural to have your first instinct being to center your subject and to capture that subject as you see it in life, straight up and down.  Always shooting this way, however, can get a little dull.

For a fun, unexpected twist in some of your photos, try either tilting the camera a bit so that the subject is not straight up and down, or try pulling your subject off center in the photograph.  When done in the right situations, these techniques can grab more attention for your subject and lead to a more powerful image.  They have the affect of catching the viewer off guard and they may pause to look at your photograph longer.

There is almost nothing harder to capture in portraiture than a group shot!  Even under the best of circumstances, group shots are often more documentary than art.  I always tell my clients that there is an inverse relationship between the number of people in a portrait and art.  As you increase the number of people in a portrait, the less your portrait is art and the more it becomes documentary only.  When you start to have 5 or more people in a portrait, your loftiest goal starts to become just capturing everyone with their eyes open!

Documentary images have their purpose.  It is great to see what people look like relative to one another at any point in time.  If, however, you are looking for a photo that can serve as artwork on your walls, you need to beef up the artful qualities of your portrait.

My number one secret to great group shots is to always have at least one helper, preferably more.  In my studio, we always shoot in pairs, and sometimes pull in others depending on the challenges involved.  You, as the shooter, need to remain behind your camera, poised to shoot at the most opportune moment.  Your helper can help position the subjects, tend to hair and clothing issues, and, most importantly with kids, provide the entertainment necessary to keep your small subjects from hastily leaving the scene.

In my studio, we will do virtually anything to keep kids wildly entertained while we are getting their group photo.  We do peek-a-boo “shows” from behind the shooter, show them crazy jumps, tell amazing, animated stories, sing songs in silly ways, balance shoes on our heads and a hundred other things that are unexpected to get them to stay still together, even if just for a minute.  Kids are often just in awe of us because they have never really seen adults interact with them to that degree on their level.  Their response is incredible.  We get natural laughs and smiles and, very importantly, get them all looking in the camera lens at the same time.

One of the real challenges is getting a great group shot when the kids are very different ages.  Oftentimes, we will get a baby of 7 months, a 4 year old and a 10 year old, all together.  This is a huge challenge because they are all entertained by far different things.  The baby might love the goofy sounds we make or our peek-a-boo show, but the 4 and 10 year olds will likely find that boring.  As a mom, you may find yourself giving your 4 and 10 year old stern, impatient warnings to “just stay still,” because they “should know better,” while you try to make your baby laugh.  This is when the group shot really starts to be work and not fun for you or them.  This often ends with tears, most likely yours, and is precisely why the annual holiday card shoot is such a daunting task.

The best solution to this is to find one or two friends that can help you get the shot you want.  You can be behind the camera and your friends can help distract the kids from wanting to run away and do their own thing.  You may need to be behind the camera, alternatively making silly faces for your baby, while your friend stands behind you doing something that makes your older kids laugh.  You may need a third friend to keep the kids from squirming out of position, keep their hair behind their ears, and straighten out their clothing.

You just need to be prepared to exercise endless patience, and work really hard at staying focused on the task at hand.  You can’t let your kids “push your buttons”.  If you do not let yourself turn into Attila the Hun, your kids will have more fun and your group shot is likely to show it!