Herding Cats: A Practical Guide to Nailing the Group Portrait

Ask any photographer what their most stressful job is, and many will say “the large group photo.” It feels like trying to herd cats. Someone is always blinking, someone is hidden in the back, and getting everyone sharp and well-lit feels like a matter of sheer luck. But it doesn’t have to be.

A successful group portrait isn’t about luck; it’s about preparation and applying a few key techniques that are different from shooting a single person. From camera settings to posing, this guide will give you a clear roadmap to take control of the chaos and capture group shots where everyone looks great.

A well-composed group portrait of a large family, posed in a dynamic arrangement with every face visible and sharp.
A successful group photo requires control over posing, lighting, and especially your camera’s aperture.

1. The #1 Technical Mistake: Your Aperture is Too Wide

When shooting single portraits, we love wide apertures like f/1.8 for that blurry background. For group photos, this is a recipe for disaster. If you have people standing in more than one row, a wide aperture means only one row will be in focus. The most critical technical step is to choose a smaller aperture (a higher f-number) to increase your depth of field.

Start with an aperture of f/5.6 for two rows and go up to f/8 or f/11 for larger groups. This ensures that everyone, from the person in front to the person in back, remains sharp. You may need to increase your ISO or add light to compensate, but a sharp group is non-negotiable.

2. Posing Strategy: Build Triangles, Not a Firing Line

The classic “everyone stand in a line” photo is boring and unflattering. The goal is to create a cohesive unit where everyone feels connected. The key is to think in triangles. Stagger people’s head heights to create a more dynamic composition.

  • Have some people sit on chairs or on the ground in the front.
  • Place taller people towards the back and center.
  • Have people on the ends turn their bodies slightly inwards towards the center of the group.
  • Tuck people in close. The closer their heads are together, the more connected the group will feel.

This approach creates visual interest and guides the viewer’s eye through the entire photograph.

3. Lighting the Masses

Lighting a group evenly is a challenge. A small, close light source will be bright on the people nearest to it and dark on those farther away. The solution is to use one large, diffused light source, positioned further back. In a studio, this could be a large octabox or umbrella. Outdoors, your best bet is to find “open shade”—the consistent, soft light found in the shadow of a large building or on a cloudy day. Avoid direct, patchy sunlight at all costs, as it will create distracting hot spots and dark shadows on different people.

4. Taking Control: The Director’s Toolkit

As the photographer, you are the director. You need to be confident and clear in your instructions.

  • Use Burst Mode: Don’t take single shots. Fire off short bursts of 3-5 photos at a time. This dramatically increases your odds of capturing a single frame where no one is blinking.
  • Give Clear Instructions: Tell people exactly where to stand and where to look. Count it down: “Okay everyone, on the count of three, look right at my camera! One, two, three!”
  • The Head Swap (Your Emergency Tool): In a pinch, if you have one perfect shot where only one person has their eyes closed, you can often take their open-eyed head from the photo taken a split second before or after and composite it in post-processing. It’s an essential trick for any group photographer.

Photographing groups will always have an element of unpredictability, but with these techniques in your arsenal, you can shift the odds firmly in your favor. By controlling your aperture, arranging your composition, and directing with confidence, you can turn potential chaos into a cherished memory.