One of the things I find pretty hard to compose…well, it is a group portrait. The ideal shoot for me is with one or two subjects. Working with three or more people, this is a real challenge!
Based on my personal experience, creating a balanced, harmonic composition is not easy for the photographer for the following reasons :
– you need to be patient and focused and have an idea of what you want from the subjects ;
– you need to be pro-active and explain what you want them to do (even if it is so much easier to leave the subjects free) ;
– you need to give a structure to the photo by creating a line of attention where the viewers will easily focus on the group, avoiding the sensation of chaos or emptiness ;
– always double check the colors of the clothes (you do not want a clash, if you are looking for something classic) ;
– when working with children, it may be appropriate to have a recurrent theme or a repetitive element ;
– when working with professional models, they may have a different opinion on the format from the photographer so mediation may be necessary ;
Just to make a few comments on my picture (it was taken in Parma, in the studio, in 2017) : the girls were super pretty and also quite cooperative during the session and the black background was a great choice to emphatise the faces and the white dresses BUT…
– there is a strong contrast between the vertical and horizontal line ;
– the youngest one is not looking straight into the camera.
On hindsight I would have tried to avoid these two criticisms but…if I don’t make mistakes, I will never learn.
Elena Arvasi Portrait Photographer 