Best Group Photo Ideas for All Types of Groups: Small & Large

Looking for creative and basic group photo ideas that suit any family, friends of large group photoshoot? You are absolutely free to try and take those 1000+ group photos just to get the idea how hard it is to capture one perfect photo where all people look awesome. To make everything faster and easier for you, I’ve gathered the best group photo ideas and photography tips to take really beautiful group photography!

Funny Group Photo Ideas

1. Use a Drone

Use the drone for a fun photo of children. The pose from above is advantageous, as you can always come up with a lot of interesting and funny photos that will not only help you create a colorful photo album, but also bring a lot of fun to children.

2. Ninja Time

Men sometimes behave like little children, give them a chance to fool around. This pose will bring a lot of fun to any company of friends, and is also perfect to dilute the official photos of the groom and groomsmen.

3. They Did It

Looking for funny ideas for graduate photos? Fulfill the dream of many schoolchildren by adding explosions and fire during photo editing. This will add theatricality to the shoot and it will definitely become one of the favorites for graduates.

4. Support Each Other

With the help of shooting on the drone, you can realize a lot of cool and interesting ideas. Pay attention to this option, which allows you to build a scheme by lying on the floor and add the story to the photo. Create a tower of children, make them swim in the painted sea, or soar in the sky with kites. All this is possible with this style of photography.

5. Enjoy the Friendship

There is nothing better than walking with friends along the seacoast, enjoying the light breeze and the bright sun. Do you want to capture this moment in your memory forever? Make a colorful, sincere photo, hugging friends and enjoying moments of friendship.

Group Photo Poses Ideas

Family group Picture Poses

1. Holding Hands Walk

This is one of the most heartwarming group picture poses. Ask parents to join hands with children and take a short walking around, not just posing. This way you can capture beautiful group portrait in a natural way. If parents and children look at each other instead of nervous peeping at a camera, a walk like this will let the family feel like they are alone. This is a lucky chance for the photographer to take sincere photographs.

2. Lean on Something

Some group photo poses look very natural. That is why I recommend prefer taking lifestyle photographs. Leaning in a tree or a wall is quite a common habit and most people often do it in the street. Try different positions with family members. Ask your group to link hands or hold the child. When you have a low beautiful branch or a hole in the wall, make the child stand there while parents are holding him/her. Funny group photo ideas like this make models interact with each other in a special way and result in catchy and emotional frames. View other portrait photography poses in the same manner.

3. Seated Poses for Family group Portraits

There are two reasons I prefer to start family group shooting with everyone taking relaxing poses. First of all, in this position I can remain at the same eye level with both parents and children and simultaneously, learn more about them. Secondly, relaxing and holding each other closely lets models become comfortable with a camera pointed straight at them.

To take such a group photo you need to choose the proper place. Make sure it is clean enough and people would be comfortable to sit there. The safety also matters a lot. Ask the family group to sit as tight as possible. Holding hands and hugging would be even better as these holistic ties displayed in the group shot will make it heartwarming and special.

4. Make a «Train»

This pose is a bit more entertaining version of the previous group photo idea. Ask family members to sit one behind another and make sure that every face is visible. Let the tallest people be in the “head of the train”. This pose works great for the large group photos as it lets to arrange even 5 people in an organic and funny way into a frame.

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5. Eye-to-eye With Child

This is a great pose for group photography with kids. Ask parents bend or squat to be on the kid`s eye level so that composition becomes more harmonious. Pictures like this demonstrate deep family affection.

Funny Poses for Pictures with Friends

6. Piggybacks!

This is a perfect pose for group photo ideas friends. Usually giving each other piggyback rides evokes endless sincere laughter so make sure to capture these moments! Especially winning pose for school photos.

7. Let the Sun into the Frame

Group photo ideas like this let you have fun with your BFF even while shooting! Take your time at the beach soaking up in the sun, jumping, enjoying the ocean view, and shooting a lot.

8. Redo the Old Image

Making a collage from old and new photos is another group photo idea that would warm your heart. It`s been a while since you know each other, and surely you have favorite photos so recreate it at the same place with the same poses and make good memories last longer.

9. Confetti Explosion

Confetti undoubtedly adds holiday spirit into the frame! Fits greatly any special occasion and always raises the mood! Tip: Recommend you models to surprise a friend with a Christmas gift while shooting!

10. Must-Have Holiday Pictures

When you and your friends are crazy enough to enjoy every holiday to its fullest don’t waste even a moment! Capture the moment you play snowballs or make a snowman!

11. Involve Bicycles

Group photo ideas with bikes in the pleasant setting are truly limitless. Simply ask someone to take a photo while you and your bestie are riding close to each other.

12. Experiment with Your Environment

Use any day of the year to have fun outside with your friends. Choose a picturesque background and set a camera on self-timer to fully enjoy the shooting!

13. Capture the Motion

Capturing the moment you are flying off the dock or water sliding is another way to realize funny group photo ideas. You can print a picture and hang it in your room.

14. In the Amusement Park

Make best out of your trip to an amusement park with a friend! Look through different funny group photo poses to match your mood.

Large Group Photo Ideas

15. Human-pyramid!

Large family photo ideas should be carefully chosen. When you have a big family, it is interesting to make a human-pyramid. Place strong men in the baseline on their knees and elbows and ask tinier members to take their place in the structure to form a pyramid. Thus, you can realize several tasks: you can fit 10+ people into one frame and involve models into a fun interaction making both shooting and images memorable. Remember to take a few blankets to save models’ clothes clean.

16. “V” Composition as an Alternative

There are lots of ideas to take unique and creative large group photographs. As an alternative to the pyramid you can create “V” composition. Place one person or a couple in front of the camera and others behind them to form “V” construction. This way you get a spacious and balanced picture and have everyone clearly visible in the frame. Try the inverted order so that center model is farthest from the camera. This pose also works great for business groups and wedding shootings.

17. Move a Little!

List of the best group photo ideas can’t go without some action shots. Line up your models on the picnic table, any other plank or even bare ground and ask them to jump up all at once. Or at least, try to make it simultaneously. In one or two attempts you get so much of smiles and laughter that you’d be sorry you can’t join them! Make sure to take a wide shot and think of safety beforehand. The plank or table shouldn’t be too high. You are looking for some smiles not some tears, right?

18. Scrabble!

The winning strategy to realize group photo ideas is to unite a big number of people in one organic composition. This makes the frame well-balanced and pleasant for the viewers. Give people some signs or letters to highlight their relations or simple diversify the setting.

Shot your models holding blank poster boards and add suitable text later while editing pictures in Photoshop.

Posing Tips for Group Photography

Tip 1. Choose Different Height Patterns

This tip takes the first place because it is one of the simplest ways to position several people for a group shot. Try to avoid traditional height patterns, as very often they prevent from perceiving the group as one unity. Instead, arrange models in such a manner that all of them will be standing on different levels. The photo at the right is the bright example of such a pattern, where older and younger generations are respectively equal in height. Such poses are certainly not considered to be professional, they will suit only snapshots. The photo will start to look completely different if a photographer decides to alter the positions of the models.

Even though the equal height of particular groups in this shot appears to be fairly decent, for a more unified look, you’d better change the pattern of heights.

Tip 2. Check That Everyone’s Faces Are Visible in a Shot

Very frequently great shots and excellent poses may be ruined because one of the models is covered up. This one little imperfection usually catches the eye, spoils the impression from the whole photo and won’t go unnoticed by the clients. Before you take large group photos, examine each member of the group carefully and check if all of them see the camera perfectly. When a model doesn’t see a camera, it means that a photographer won’t see him/her either. However, some people mistakenly think that if they do see the camera, their faces aren’t covered. That’s why it is a task of a photographer to check that everyone is seen in a frame.

Tip 3. Add Some Informality to Shooting

One of the hardest challenges for a photographer is to organize a group for formal shots. A person can slightly alter a position of his/her hand or leg and, as a result, a photo won’t look the same. You need to be very patient, especially if a group consists of more than five people. Finally, you have positioned one model, but someone else has changed his/her pose and you have to start all over again! Don’t be afraid to experiment and play around with poses if a formal group photo isn’t a necessity. Especially if you take wedding photos. View more wedding photography poses to try at a wedding group photoshoot. You can use some of the following creative group photo ideas, for instance, position a group on a couch and a floor lazily hanging out as if they are spending a night watching movies together or ask them to run happily towards a camera.

Tip 4. Use Uneven Surfaces for Positioning a Group

If you need models to be placed at different levels, it might be a great idea to organize a photo session in a place with stairs. One of the most remarkable group photo poses is when everybody sits on a different step. It is an effective way to get rid of those height patterns which divert viewers’ attention and to make a group look like a unity. Aside from posing on the stairs, you may ask models to sit on boulders, fallen logs or other similar surfaces.

This photo clearly demonstrates that positioning on uneven surfaces looks very natural. Besides, it is a simple way to avoid misleading height patterns.

Tip 5. Forget About the Shutter!

While you are examining the images in Lightroom and searching for the best one, you may encounter photos which could surely disappoint you, as a person isn’t looking in a camera. When you deal with a group portrait, it is advisable to choose a “continuous low” mode so that you can shoot three frames per second. It means that you should take 3 frames of every shot. Of course, you will spend more time shooting and even more time on a photo post production. Nevertheless, it will give you an opportunity to fix the problem of those covered up models or those who look somewhere else but not at the camera by masking together several images.

Tip 6. Be Careful With Light

If you are a beginner, arranging lights for large group photographs may be a nightmare. There are two main pitfalls that should be avoided. Firstly, never use solely one light for the whole group. In case you do it, a model, who stands closer to a light source, will be too bright while those who stand on a different side will be literally in darkness. Secondly, make sure not to locate a light source extremely close to a group, as it will result in a shadow cast from one model’s head onto the next one. In photography groups, I suggest locating the lighting closer to the camera than you are used to do with individual or couple photo shoots.

Tip 7. Bring a Group Closer

Very often when a group of people is asked to pose together for a photo, they may stand separately, especially if they aren’t very familiar with each other. As a result, such a shot will be far from looking like a real group photo. That’s why if the people you are shooting aren’t friends or a family, you’d better not to forget to ask them to stand closer.

Tip 8. Get a Process Under Control

When you deal with a group photoshoot, as a photographer, you should be totally in charge. Posing a group of people for a shot can turn into an utter chaos and disorder unless you take control in your own hands. Direct the models on group photo ideas so that they won’t get confused and start posing in a strange way.

Tip 9. Do Not Hesitate to Use a Triangle Composition Technique

Even though one of the main rules of large group photography is to use triangle composition, many photographers ignore it, as it can really ruin a shot. This composition certainly looks very weird when a group is located in a corner of a shot while the rest of the frame is empty.

Actually, there is another, more beneficial way to make a triangle technique work for your pictures. One of the greatest large group photo ideas is when you place one model at the top of a pose and other people are positioned in such a way that the bottom is wider. Therefore you will get a finished composition and a group looking unified in an image.

Tip 10. Do Not Get Carried Away With Creativity of Poses

Experiments with poses are much appreciated until they turn into a total disaster and awkwardness. Look at the photo on the left and you will see how too extraordinary group photo ideas have ruined a shot.

Tip 11. Take a Remote and a Tripod

If you have to take a group photo, these particular tools will definitely come in handy. With the help of a tripod, everybody will be looking at the center. Instead of running from one side to another setting a camera timer and trying to take numerous pictures to get a needed shot, just use a handheld remote and enable a continuous shooting mode.

Tip 12. A Wide-Angle Lens is a Must

Using this exact type of lenses, everyone will have a room in a shot and you won’t need to locate a tripod far enough. It is especially important when you need to take a group portrait and everybody’s faces should be captured distinctly.

Tip 13. Pay Attention to Small Details

Such details may include weird positions of hands, a strand of hair stuck to a face, a tangled piece of jewelry, messy pieces of clothing, etc. After you come up with group photography poses and position the people, look at every single model in a matter of seconds to make sure that everything is in order.

Tip 14. Choose a Location in Advance and Take Extra Props To Change the Levels

If you shoot inside, taking chairs or other things to sit on them is an excellent idea. In case you work outdoors, hills or rocks will replace the props and will bring ensure changes in the levels.

When selecting a location for a group photoshoot, remember that it shouldn’t divert the viewers’ attention. A group shot already involves a lot of people and a few buildings in the background will cause additional distractions. An open and broad field or land could serve as a perfect background for large group photo poses. A place for wedding photography isn’t supposed to have any diversions behind and should be well-lit. Think of lighting conditions beforehand, whether they will be appropriate for the shooting time you have chosen. For instance, you may take pictures of a group with the mountains and the sun setting in the background. In this way, the light is indirect and you will get soft and fine shadows.

One of the most interesting photo ideas for groups is to choose a meaningful place for these people, for example, for climbers – the mountains, for a football team – a stadium. To realize incredible group photo ideas for families, go to their hometown or find a symbolic place.

Tip 15. Take Photos in the Shade and in the Evening Time

If you do this, people won’t squint into the sun in the pictures. Moreover, there won’t be any weird shadows under the nose and the eyes. A perfect time for group photography is when the sun is pleasant and warm before it sets in the evening. In case you can’t work at this particular time, look for an open shade. It is recommended to use a flash, if the sun is in the background or is too dark.

Tip 16. Take Numerous Images

Either you take multiple shots or deal with face swapping while processing pictures in Photoshop.

As you take photos of many people, there surely will be someone blinking, looking not straight at the camera, at another person or in a different direction. Children often pull faces and mess around. It is much better to have plenty of images in order to select the most suitable shot or to find an appropriate facial expression for a ready photo.

Tip 17. Ask a Group to Wear Clothes of Solid Colors

Ask models to choose the monochrome clothing for a group photoshoot and avoid bright patterns and logos. Such bold garments usually divert attention from the faces and may spoil even the best group photo ideas.

Tip 18. Think of Family Ties While Grouping People

One of the simplest group picture poses is to make people stand close to their nearest and dearest. In this way, older generations will be able to find their family members quickly instead of taking the time to look for a specific person. If a group photoshoot is dedicated to a certain event, the heroes of the occasion, be it one person or a couple, should be located in the center of a group.

Tip 19. Do Not Forget About Close Up Shots

After you take pictures from a long distance, keep in mind that you should also take close up shots. People may be hugging each other, playing around or just enjoying themselves, specifically if you need funny wedding photos. These group photo ideas will mostly suit small groups and families.

Tip 20. Set an Aperture at F8 or Higher

It is one of the most important group photography camera settings, as it helps get everyone’s faces in focus.

Cherish your memories and create new ones as your friendship and family love continues to grow.

Ann Young

Hi there, I’m Ann Young – a professional blogger,
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