Peter Oshkai photography

No wedding, reunion or other event that involves gathering of friends and relatives is complete without a group photo. Here are some thoughts on how to photograph and be photographed in such situation.

Tip #1: Avoid interference from other photographers.

If there is more than one photographer taking pictures of the group, it is helpful to communicate to everyone, who the main shooter is at any given time, so that everyone is looking in the right direction. Here is an example from a very fun and relaxed wedding photo shoot a couple of weeks ago. Armando and I were taking pictures at the same time, but we explicitly asked everyone in the group to look only at Armando, so that he would take a more traditional shot, while I would try to capture candid moments as they were setting up.

Tip #2: Make sure you can see the camera.

If you are standing/sitting/laying behind other people and cannot see the camera, you won’t show up in the picture. A careful photographer would notice this and ask you to re-position yourself.

Tip #3: Mind the dynamic range.

If the photo is taken outdoors, the first thing to do, as far as exposure is concerned, is to “get to neutral”, according to the excellent advice of Jim Harmer of Improve Photography. This means avoiding sharp shadows and highlights on the faces. Bring the entire group into the shade or, if that is not possible, have them face away from the sun. (yes, do shoot against the sun! … just try to avoid the lens flare – make sure that the front element of the lens is in the shade).

Tip #4: Mind the depth of field.

The depth of field in the group shot should be larger than that in an individual portrait (so that everyone is in focus, of course). It is also helpful if the group is not spread too much front-to-back.

Tip #5: Take several shots using continuous drive.

In case someone blinks, you would be able to photoshop them in from another frame.

Adjustment points in advanced editing software, such as Nick Collection, for example, can be very effective for applying certain effects, such as enhancing contrast or structural detail, to a localized part of the image. However, sometimes the algorithm becomes confused, and the effects spill outside of the intended areas. In my experience, this often adds unwanted grain and other artefacts to the nice background blur (bokeh) created by fast lenses (low f-numbers).

Here is a simple Photoshop workflow to preserve the bokeh while applying the effects to the subject:

1. Open the image in Photoshop.
2. Create a copy of the background layer. It will become the top layer.
3. Apply the desired effects to the top layer.
4. Create a layer mask for the top layer and fill it with black colour. This will hide the layer with the applied effects.
5. Using a brush tool and white colour, paint the areas that should show the applied effects on the layer mask. This will reveal the effects in the areas that are painted white.
6. Save changes and close the file.

I used the above procedure on this image of cherry blossoms on Moss Street in Victoria, BC. I applied Nick’s “tonal contrast” and “structure” filters to the flowers that are in focus, but left the blurred-out areas untouched.