Who doesn’t love getting together with friends and family members to have some laughs and take a few great group photos? Group photoshoot ideas are so much fun and are becoming an increasingly popular niche within photography and can range from your average group picture of a few friends all the way to extravagant family portraits that manage to in every single family member. Given the increased image sharing culture that has come about thanks to the rise in social media use, getting into group photography would be a great idea for any photographer aiming to make a living. 

However, to ensure that a photographer is successful in their group photoshoot business, they must first come up with some great photoshoot ideas like group family photoshoot, as such pictures can come off bland without a good touch of inspiration and originality. Before event that though, it’s important to first make sure that you have the basics of group photography down pat, so you can start to experiment from a solid foundation. 

Basic Tips Before You Take Group Photo 

Try Using a Wide-Angle Lens

Whether it be a group photoshoot with family or a big friend reunion picture, you’re always going to be pressed for frame space when shooting a large group. This is simply because with so many subjects to fit into a picture, the frame will always end up a bit cramped, especially on larger lenses. 

As such, a good first tip is to try and use a wide angled lens when shooting groups. Wide angle lenses help keep everyone in the frame without forcing the photographer to set their camera up too far away from the subjects, ensuring that the faces of all participants will be clearly captured. This is especially useful when you’re doing a group photoshoot with family, as larger groups will always struggle to fit in frame, unless you ensure that you’re using a wide angled lens. 

 

“Wide angle lenses help keep everyone in the frame.” 
 

Figure Out Your Focus 

One of the most important parts of any photography is ensuring that you have correctly focused your image. Focus on cameras can range from shallow to deep, depending on where the lens is set and what focal length it sits at. In group photography, especially if your group is standing in different rows, it’s important to maintain a relatively deep focus to ensure everyone in frame remains crisp, clear, focus. 

This can be achieved by setting the aperture to F8 or higher, as with a lower value, some faces can be out of focus or not as sharp as others. With such settings, it is important to ensure that there is enough light in the frame, as aperture limits the amount of light let into the sensor, meaning you may have to use a flash when shooting. 

 

Make Sure You Use A Tripod 

Tripods are extremely useful as not only do they hold your camera in place for you, but they also let you assess the tilt and level of your camera. Nothing is worse than taking your photos home and realizing that you have accidentally shot on a slight slant, throwing off the visual appeal of all your pictures. Luckily, tripods have built in spirit levels, which can let you assess any slope and adjust the camera accordingly so every shot you take is nice and level. 

It is important to set up the tripod in the center of the group and ensure everyone knows exactly where to look in order to get a completely perfect picture. If you yourself are featured in the group photo, then a tripod is also doubly useful. With the use of remote and tripod you don’t need to set a timer and run to the camera to take a few pictures, and instead you can just stand with your models and press a button on the remote control to take the perfect picture. 

 

Perfect Your Lighting 

Any group photoshoot with family or friends should always be arranged around lighting. While it might feel right to take a group photoshoot with family in front of the family home, you’ll always need to check the lighting first if you want it to turn out well. 

When considering large family photo ideas, there are two main nuances to remember about the light. First off, you can never use only one light source for shooting the whole group, otherwise people who are closer to the light source will be too bright while those who are farther from the light source will be too dark.  Secondly, light sources should not be located too close to the group, because they can lead to unnecessary shadow on some subjects which can spoil images. Instead, you should aim to position the light closer to the camera, with a fill light off the to the side to get the best quality results. 

 

Funny Group Photo Poses and Themes 

Pool Photoshoot

Whether it be a group photoshoot with family or a photo session with friends, a great group photoshoot idea is to set a theme, and what then is more fun than a pool party! Wearing pretty outfits and your nicest swimsuits, a pool themed group portrait lets you, your friends and your family have an awesome day out in the sun, while still capturing a set of photos that are sure to look good. 

On the other hand, if you’re a photographer going into shooting one of these sessions as a group photoshoot with family or friends, make sure to protect your camera from water. Also try and arrange the shoot early in the morning or late in the afternoon, as these are the golden hours for outdoor photography and will practically guarantee that your shots look excellent. 

“Try and arrange a shoot early in the morning or late in the afternoon, as these are the golden hours will practically guarantee that your shots look excellent.” 

Candid Photoshoot 

Whether it’s a family reunion or a girl group photoshoot, taking a photographer to a prearranged event and letting them capture every special moment with their camera is a great way of getting some awesome photos. What’s great about candid photography is that the end product always seems a lot more natural and fun than posed photography, and they’ll really capture how happy you actually were at the party or event. 

As a photographer, this style of shooting can be a bit more difficult as you have to be on the ball at all times, ready to take a photo at any moment. Simultaneously though, many photographers find this style more creatively freeing and prefer it to posed photography. As such, if you’re confident with your run and gun abilities then go ahead and try some candid group photoshoots with family. 

 Greenscreen Photoshoot 

Can’t decide the perfect backdrop for your group photoshoot with family? Then go ahead and book a greenscreen photoshoot, because with this group photoshoot idea, you can make any photoshoot dream a reality. Want to shoot on the moon? How about underwater? You can do it all on a greenscreen, making this one of the most versatile and most fun group photoshoot options. With a green screen, the only limit is your imagination! 

As a photographer, a green screen group photoshoot with family members can be more difficult, simply due to the photo editing load. As green screen photos will look thoroughly unappealing without any visual effects work to replace the green background, photo editing becomes a necessity for anything shot on the green screen, seriously increasing the workload of the photographer.

 

Matching Photoshoot 

There’s an urban myth that families and groups of friends tend to wear similar clothes because they spend time together and influence each other’s aesthetic preferences. So why not lean into this tendency and plan a photoshoot where all the members of

 

your group are wearing coordinated outfits? One of those really cute girl group photoshoot ideas for Instagram, a matching outfit photoshoot is an eye-catching demonstration of friendship and fun. But it’s not only just for friends, as making your whole family photoshoot revolve around a coordinated costume can be cute and corny in the best way possible. 

As a photographer, this photoshoot idea is very simple to accomplish as it doesn’t involve too much work on your part. In fact, a possible option would be to purchase a collection of outfits and costumes that come in matching sets, and then advertise yourself as a group photoshoot photographer who specializes in this niche. With a bit of luck and an eye for style, you’ll have clients flocking in to try out your matching outfits and get some photos for their social media. 

“With a bit of luck and an eye for style, you’ll have clients flocking in.” 
 

How To Make Your Family Photos And Group Photos Even Better 

The best thing to do for a group photo shoot with family, friends or anyone at all, is to protect the work once it’s completed. To ensure that your photography cannot be reused or altered without your permission, watermarking your photos should be an essential part of your process. Not only can watermarking act as a form of insurance that your watermarked images will be protected from desperate thieves, but it can also act as a branding tactic. 

Much like a painter will mark their work with a signature, a photographer or digital content maker can create custom watermarks for their work, almost like a watermark logo, which is a way to get your name out and heighten brand awareness. 

 

“Watermarking your photos should be an essential part of your process.” 
 

Luckily, watermarking is as easy as it is useful! Users looking for the best free watermark service, however, should look no further than WaterMarquee. This free watermark software is browser based, meaning that it can be accessed by any kind of device so long as it’s connected to the internet. This is excellent in terms of versatility as it allows anyone to import images from anywhere at any time, whether it be at work, at home, or even on holiday, a level of flexibility that is perfect for the busy photographer.

And yet, for such an easily accessible program, WaterMarquee is also impressively powerful and generous in its features. With WaterMarquee you can create and upload custom watermarks, resize images directly in the browser, and then go ahead and watermark your pictures and images however you like. So, what are you waiting for? Go out and watermark your group photoshoot ideas right now with WaterMarquee!