Posing an odd group, need suggestions

[ash12783]

I shot this family recently and I expected it to be just the young couple and the baby but when they showed up it was also her husband's parents and brother...it threw me off to say the least lol. I was a little frazzled with posing them because no matter what I was trying to put together it just seemed odd to me because of the brother (on the far right) I'm dying for suggestions on how you would have posed them so I'll know for next time (by the way, she loved the pic which is great so I'm really only looking for CC on posing) Thanks!

oh, and "mom" was told to wear something plain and that matched them by the daughter in law but she kinda went the other direction on that lol

 

[frommrstomommy]

I am no good at any of this.. I'm really curious to see what others say! Mom really made it rough with that pattern she went with, my goodness!

 

[ash12783]

I am no good at any of this.. I'm really curious to see what others say! Mom really made it rough with that pattern she went with, my goodness!

I know right? lol It's like BAM! Look at me! haha but yeah, it was tricky to me not because of the number of people but because of the relationships between the people I guess. Oh, and mom requested one with just the parents, the 2 sons and the baby and the daughter in law was pretty offended lol- I think it hurt her feelings

 

[fjrabon]

well, the first thing was the husband has crotch hand, which is a big no-no.

Second, just center the mom. You have her off centered a touch, then build around her. If you had simply shifted everybody about 8-10 inches to the photographer's left, then I think they're positioned correctly. The mom appears to be contorted into position, with her right arm kind of oddly on top of her husband, which made her arm look very unflattering, but yet her legs are angled away from the daughter in law (seems to be a body language indicator that she is attached to the baby, but isn't as close to the daughter in law). The daughter in law has her arm mushed on top of the mother in law, which makes her right arm look unflattering. I almost always advise new mothers to wear something with sleeves. She's a gorgeous woman, but a lot of women would not be happy with the way their arms looked in that photo.

I always have them take off digital watches unless it shows a really bad tan line, given the brother's complexion, I don't think it would be possible for there to be much of a tan line, so have him take the digital watch off, and unless the white bracelet has some special significance, it should probably be taken off as well.

The big thing, move the grandfather over about 1-2 feet, so that his shoulder is just on the edge of the pole that is currently behind is head. Then move his wife so that her arm is just barely touching his, then center the mother and child, and then repeat the steps on the opposite side. Have the husband put his free hand on his knee, make sure the pole is right where his and his brother's arms meet.

 

[jowensphoto]

When you pose groups, it's best to have them all on a different level. Straight rows of heads can look amateurish. When posing groups, think of triangles. Here is a link that has some really good pointers, I've used it myself: 08-09-2010 - Top Five Poses For Family Portraits

As always, mind your backgrounds Dad has a pole growing out of his head. Exposure and skin tones look pretty good!

I am no good at any of this.. I'm really curious to see what others say! Mom really made it rough with that pattern she went with, my goodness!

I know right? lol It's like BAM! Look at me! haha but yeah, it was tricky to me not because of the number of people but because of the relationships between the people I guess. Oh, and mom requested one with just the parents, the 2 sons and the baby and the daughter in law was pretty offended lol- I think it hurt her feelings

Who was the paying client? If mom was paying and wan't happy about that idea, you're better off not to do it. Part of being a family photographer is dealing with certain family dynamics that are not always ideal. Your allegiance is to your client, not her pissy MIL.

 

[jowensphoto]

oh, and "mom" was told to wear something plain and that matched them by the daughter in law but she kinda went the other direction on that lol

Typical MIL.

 

[12sndsgood]

maybe could have tried a reverse triange and gone with the 3 men standing behind the seat in between the pillars and the two women on the seat with the baby perhaps?

 

[Derrel]

I am no good at any of this.. I'm really curious to see what others say! Mom really made it rough with that pattern she went with, my goodness!

I know right? lol It's like BAM! Look at me! haha but yeah, it was tricky to me not because of the number of people but because of the relationships between the people I guess. Oh, and mom requested one with just the parents, the 2 sons and the baby and the daughter in law was pretty offended lol- I think it hurt her feelings

Okay...if you want to make some sales and make the people with the biggest bank balance HAPPY, when you get a family group like this you NEED to split the group into the various components!!!! That is YOUR job!!! Of course the grandmother wanted a shot of her "old" nuclear family PLUS the grandbaby!!! GRANDMA is quite,quite often the person who causes these photo shoot to happen, and is often the one who will,quite logically, buy the most pictures and the biggest print sizes as well. The grandmother may very,very well be the one who writes the check for the entire sessions' sales...not kidding you....grandma's have decades 'invested' in the family!!!!

She ALSO probably wanted a shot of her husband, alone, and then her husband and and the two young men--i.e. a shot of "all three of the guys"...the three guys she spent 25 YEARS with, married to one, and raising the other two from babyhood to young adulthood

I also bet that the grandmother would have like a few shots of just HER and her hubby. And just HER, and her two SONS. And then Her and her two sons and the BABY..

And her older son and his infant child. And the two adult SONS, alone. And one with the two sons, AND the grandbaby in the arms of her daddy.

This is the responsibility of the photographer, to understand how family photo sessions like "this one" actually "go". You're shooting their family portraits, but there are really three,separate entities within that group.

To avoid awkwardness, ie, to avoid asking the grandmother to explicitly request what she did, and possibly hurt the daughter-in-law's feelings, it helps to know in advance that clients of her age almost ALWAYS really desire the family to be split into some differing groups, without the married-in member(s), hearkening back to the "OLD" nuclear family--meaning the grandma, her husband, and the two adult sons, then adding the baby to that group. You can break it all down on paper. THINK about it....grandpa alone, then add his wife, then split him off, the add the two boys to grandma, then bring dad back in, then add the baby, the split the group and do the son+ infant, son+Infant+wife, have the wife+baby duo (sales for the new daddy!!!), shoot the two brothers alone, then bring in the baby )might be the very FIRST grandbaby--in fact I bet it is the first grandchild!), and shoot the new daddy solo (for his wife!!!), then do the married son + wife.

 

[tirediron]

...To avoid awkwardness, ie, to avoid asking the grandmother to explicitly request what she did, and possibly hurt the daughter-in-law's feelings, it helps to know in advance that clients of her age almost ALWAYS really desire the family to be split into some differing groups, without the married-in member(s), hearkening back to the "OLD" nuclear family--meaning the grandma, her husband, and the two adult sons, then adding the baby to that group. You can break it all down on paper. THINK about it....grandpa alone, then add his wife, then split him off, the add the two boys to grandma, then bring dad back in, then add the baby, the split the group and do the son+ infant, son+Infant+wife, have the wife+baby duo (sales for the new daddy!!!), shoot the two brothers alone, then bring in the baby )might be the very FIRST grandbaby--in fact I bet it is the first grandchild!), and shoot the new daddy solo (for his wife!!!), then do the married son + wife.

Outstanding advice Derrel! Family photography condensed in to one paragraph!

In answer to your posing question, I would probably have put the brother standing behind Dad on his right (image left) side, and left the two couples & child as-is (don't forget to give them suggestions to straighten up), or perhaps had him sitting on the groud in front centre. You could also have had the men-folk standing behind the women, each with a hand on his wife's shoulder and the brother in the middle with a little bit of space... lots of options!