Taking the perfect team photo comes with its own challenges. The more people in the photo, the more complicated the process gets. Without the right balance, a team photo can either spiral into monotony or lack the purpose it sets out to establish.
You want to ensure everyone in the team looks good alongside showing the unity of the team members. Then there is the composition, the posing, the lighting, and the focus.
From capturing the camaraderie on a sports field to freezing the professionalism of the corporate bunch – read on to know why it’s important to capture a good team photo and how you can master it.
Why Taking The Perfect Team Photo Matters
Taking the right team photos is important for many reasons. For starters, a good picture shows the harmony of every member of the team. It serves as a valuable memento to inspire everyone to work together towards a collective goal.
Getting together for a team photo is an exciting moment for everyone in it. A great shot captures the attention of many viewers, who are often eager to know the story behind it.
Each team player comes with a journey of their own. Team photography is all about recording the years of experiences, emotions, memories, and a future vision these members bring with them.
Correcting All Team Photo Wrongs
The process at work behind a great team photo is as important as the photo itself. Since team photos come with many elements, mastering them takes a fair amount of practice. Here’s how you can get your next team photo right:
Get Creative With The Composition
First things first – group photos directly correlate to the location. Make sure the place accommodates everyone comfortably. If you’re shooting outdoors, consider a place that allows the subjects to be on different levels. A layered composition with multiple rows makes for interesting pictures.
Before starting your task, make sure you already have a composition in mind. This is because arranging a huge group takes its own sweet time, and you don’t want your subjects to get impatient.
With so many cheerful expressions, a group photo is as busy as it is. Make sure the backdrop you choose is minimal and doesn’t distract the viewers from the subjects. Rely on narrow apertures to get the right focus. Don’t forget to factor the empty spaces into the equation – you want to find that perfect balance between the subjects and their environment.
Choose The Right Poses
When getting the entire team to pose, make sure you first understand the style of each subject. There are two approaches when it comes to posing an entire team. You can either have them pose in the same manner or create varied poses for each team member. While the former gets your work done quickly, the latter can be more visually appealing.
For smaller groups, you can go for different individual poses. Rows, on the other hand, can work wonders when arranging a larger team.
Try observing the subjects’ feet. Men can ditch the regular hand crossing in the front and put their hands in their pockets instead. Women, on the other hand, can try putting a hand on one hip or popping a knee out. In the end, posing really depends on the type of team you want to capture.
Light It Right
Lighting is essential for keeping the quality of the shutter speeds, ISO, and aperture intact. You may have captured the coolest pose, and your composition is nothing short of fantastic – but if your lighting fails to weave the magic, the overall photo might lose its shine.
When taking a team photo in natural light, be sure to choose a spot with the right shade (you don’t want any light leaks on the faces). To avoid any squinting eyes, have the subjects stand with their backs facing the sun.
If you’re looking to add some more pop, try using a diffuser and a flash. If the team is larger in size, try going for two flashes. You can even play around with varied flash powers to add more depth and personality to the image.
Final Words
To sum it all up, a perfect group photo freezes beautiful light, attractive composition, and a flattering pose in time. While you can rely on Photoshop for the final touches, getting the image camera right makes all the difference.
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