If you’re able to get everyone lined up on the same focal plane, that’s best. In this case, Amy uses the simple direction,”Let’s line up your toes,” to help them get straightened out and back on the same focal plane. Like we teach in our Shooting & Editing Course, the fastest, easiest way to correct problems is IN-CAMERA. The fastest, easiest way to correct this is with a preset in Photoshop that sharpens everyone that’s our of focus. Groups have a tendency to curl in on the ends and make a U-shape without even realizing it! We all do it - even photographers! - but it’s a problem when trying to get everyone in focus because as the people on the ends curl up, they’re unintentionally stepping out of the focal plane, so when you focus on the person in the middle (like you always should), the people on the ends will be out of focus. If you’re shooting a family session alone and don’t have the luxury of a second shooter/assistant, we’d recommend putting your camera down while you instruct and organize the group, step back, take a breath, look at the entire group before you bring the camera up to see if you need to make corrections and then bring the camera to your face to get the shot. If you’re shooting a wedding solo, we recommend asking the wedding planner or the least intoxicated, most responsible-looking family member to assist with the shot list. Splitting up the roles has really helped us execute this well, because trying to do both is a lot for one person - especially if it’s a large group or challenging family - and can lead to mistakes with the camera. This gives Jordan the chance to focus on his composition, settings and getting the pictures in focus. Amy stays near the group, reads off combinations, poses and positions each person (click hereto watch a free posing class with us!) and looks for anything that’s out of order. We always divide and conquer family and group portraits to expedite the process. Here are our top focus tips for getting sharp family and group portraits on a wedding day or during a large group family session. Lastly, the larger the group is, the more combinations they want and the less time there is to work with (which is basically all wedding days!), the more pressure and room for error there is - which makes it really important for the technical part to be second nature to the photographer, so the photographer can focus (pun intended) on giving the clients a fantastic experience. The goal of family portraits is to get every member of the group in sharp focus, so when the family prints the photos for their wall or an album, they look beautiful and professional.There’s not a huge creative license - because there’s rarely time for it. Family and group portraits are a little more utilitarian.We only get one crack at those, and they have a completely different purpose. Time.įamily and group portraits? That’s a different story. So if a few shots of the couple are soft (here and there) in order to get some perfectly crisp ones with the creamy background that f/1.2 – f/2.0 gives us, then it’s worth it. Especially on wedding days when we’re shooting wide open, at lower apertures like f/1.2 – f/2.0, with a bride and groom who are moving - and that’s okay! Because we have a lot more time with the couple than we do for family photos, for example, where we only get the fire the shutter a few times. That’s not a realistic expectation for anyone. We’d be lying if we told you that every image we take is tack sharp. ![]() That was SO HARD for perfectionists like us! It still is today. Maybe your images look sharp on the back of your screen, but when you get home they’re a little soft. Have you been there? We want to change that for you today! In those moments, the doubts that had lingered in the back of our mind for months got louder. We remember exactly what it felt like to be nervous at a session, acting calm and positive in front of the client (Everything looks great, guys! Perfect!) while inside we were secretly scared to death, because someone had finally PAID US to take their pictures… and we were realizing the group images weren’t even IN FOCUS. A few specific focus tips can make all the difference in walking onto a session with confidence. How do you get such sharp family and group portraits? It’s one of the most common questions we get from photographers - because it’s one of the most normal technical challenges new photographers have.
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