How to nail your team group photo
How to Nail Your Team Group Photo
Group Photos Are the quickest way to introduce your team
It sounds obvious, but having everyone together is a brilliant way to show teamwork, connection and collaboration. Yet, so many businesses shy away from team photos, feeling like they’re too difficult to organise, take up too much time, and become redundant when staffing changes.
Let me introduce you to three ways that a group portrait can be captured and achieved.
Traditional Team Photos:
The group captured all at once.
This is the team photo you’re probably most familiar with. Everyone is together, a photo is captured, and you’ve got your group shot. That’s the easy way to put it.
The trick for nailing a traditional team group photo is prior planning. Your photographer needs advance notice to plan the group portrait. It requires additional time, and often additional equipment and space for a successful result.
Quick tips for a successful team portrait:
- A large space is vital for the best result. Nicer results come from distance between the photographer and the team.
- Advance notice so the photographer can bring the required lighting and equipment is key.
- Leave enough time. A group portrait isn’t a quick 2 minute job. Ideally there is enough time for staff to be positioned, posed and captured.
- The photographer may need to adjust lighting throughout the shoot, to light different parts of the group and composite it together later. This technique is often used for larger groups or for styles with more dymanic lighting choices.
Composite Group Portraits:
3/4 portrait created in post-production
One of my most popular services is the composite group portrait. Clients love this because it makes their group useful over time. The team grows – so does the group portrait. A staff member moves on – they can be taken out of the shot.
A three-quarter composite group portrait uses individual images captured from the knees-up (a mid-length or three-quarter portrait). The individual portraits are cut out, layered in post production, and shadows and depth are added.
The individual portraits must be taken on a plain background to allow for the most accurate extraction. Consistent lighting is also key. I always document my lighting setups so that in the future, team members match in seamlessly.
Grounded Composite Group Portraits:
A complete full-length group to scale, within an environment.
For teams who value a high-end feel, with an adaptable result, the grounded group composite is the ultimate group.
I only offer these sessions in-studio, simply for the fact that there is a lot involved. A lot of equipment, logistics and control for the result.
The grounded composite requires staff to be photographed at full-length. I capture each person on a range of angles, and in a range of poses. Variation with seated and standing across the team is a must. For the process to work, each person needs as much variety for me to choose from for the final result.
The team, when put together, is scaled to size (using a scale reference during the shoot). Shadows are added in via post-production, both on the floor and within the group itself.
There’s a lot of work involved – hours and hours, but the clients who have chosen a grounded composite have loved the results for their businesses. I regularly photograph new team members in-studio with the same setup as everyone else (I literally measure camera height, distance to subject, distance between lights – the lot!).
Above is an example of a full length grounded composite, photographed in-studio and edited in post-production.
So how do you nail your group photo?
If you want to make sure your group photo is a strong reflection of your team, and not an afterthought, ensure you follow this advice:
1 – PLAN, plan, plan. Know what style you want, understand the setting required, and communicate to your photographer.
2 – Allow for enough space. Larger spaces work better for group portraits. Minimal distractions and space to spread out is key. If you don’t have enough space, consider a 3/4 composite.
3 – Communicate priority positioning. If you need leadership or company directors front and central, make sure it’s known so they can be positioned as such.
4 – Allow enough time. Block out the calendars for your team for 30 minutes so there is enough buffer time. If you can’t get everyone together, a composite is a good alternative.
5 – Understand where it will be used. Ratio’s are everything. Do you need extra space around the group, a panoramic crop, or a square crop? Discuss these requirements with your photographer first, so they can see what needs to be done to make the group shot work for your requirements.
Do you need a photographer for a group portrait or staff headshots? I am a specialised staff headshot photographer and have photographed countless teams across Melbourne, Australia. I travel on-site with a portable studio, as well as offer studio sessions in Ringwood East. Click the button below to submit a quote request!
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