The Experts

The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly
De Manio offers the do’s and don’ts of assembling a GORGEOUS group shot.

What not to do: The location for this shot is not ideal. The dampness of the boardwalk makes the group look as if they’re standing in water. Also, their closeness to the water’s edge feels tenuous.

The group’s arrangement is chaotic. Everyone is facing different directions, and people in the back are covered up by people in the front.
The bride and groom are lost in the mix. Although the bride’s veil helps locate her, it hides her face, shoulders and dress.
A few hand-placement no-no’s: The woman on the far left is holding her toddler’s crotch (ouch!). Who belongs to the mystery hands holding the boy in the front row?
I would have encouraged the grandparents to stand with the group (if possible), so they do not inadvertently become the focus of the portrait.
The dead tree limb at the top of the frame should be cropped out.
Avoid the horseshoe-shaped arrangement of this portrait. It means that the individuals on the ends will appear larger and more prominent than the bride and groom in the center.

What to do: Stagger the men and women so that no one is hidden. And rather than putting all the men on one side and all the women on the other, I recommend mixing the group so that not all the black tuxedos are at one end and brightly colored dresses at the other.
Arrange individuals away from the bride and groom in ascending (if the couple is short) or descending (if the couple is tall) order.
Make sure the women’s bouquets are held at relatively the same height.
Angle everyone slightly toward the center (in other words, not facing different directions).
Choose a spot where the sunlight is behind the group—you don’t want everyone squinting and straining to keep their eyes open.
Key advice: Before the big day, prepare a list of the group combinations you want photographed, and designate one person to corral all the key players. Otherwise, you’ll end up wasting a ton of time looking for Uncle Larry, who’s downing Harvey Wallbangers at the bar.