Family reunion photos are great for those “remember when” conversations. What family reunion is complete without the large group photo?
Plan the large group photo in advance. You will want to keep the background simple if at all possible. Or use your background to highlight something about your location. My extended family reunions are usually at Wayne and Elsie’s cabin on the Mississippi River. The river makes a good backdrop for our family reunion photos. Avoid using the side of a house for your background it flattens the photo and is very uninteresting.
Rather than lining everyone up like they are a firing squad try having some people kneel in front. Avoid having tall people kneel in front. Think pyramid shaped when grouping everyone together. A pyramid shape will work to get the faces closest to the center of the photo. If you have access to a flight of stairs they work great to create a tier of people. Be sure your structure can handle the weight of all the extra people on it.
You will have to work quickly. Little ones lack the patience for taking an hour worth of photographs. Some adults will also lack the patience for an extended photo session. When taking large group photos take several shots. The more photos you take you increase your chances to get the great shot. More people in the photo increases the number of eyes that could be closed during picture taking. Don’t forget to take other group photos also. For example, take photos of all the kids, all of the first generation, all of the cousins, or all of Uncle John’s family.
Most digital cameras come with a self timer. Use it. I am more comfortable behind the camera than in front of it but a couple times a year I get in group photos. Practice with your self timer before the reunion. Nothing is more embarrassing than not knowing how it works when 50 of your closest family members are staring at you.
My mother came up with a neat way to label who was in the photo after the fact. She enlarged the photo. Then placed a piece of light weight paper over the photo and traced around each body. Like a coloring book outline of each body. Inside the body outline she wrote the person’s name. It is a technique I have seen in magazines but never thought to use with my own photos.
Plan ahead for the large group shot and it will become a treasured photo for many years to come.