Picture This!

Pretty much everyone finds themselves needing to take a group photo at one time or another when in Walt Disney World. This week, Scott, Lisa and I are going to share some that we’ve taken – along a few tips.

Copyright © 2008 Barrie Brewer, Nikon D300, 18-200VR lens, 1/25s shutter, f22

This lovely group of people was kind enough to stop and pose for me in Italy at Epcot as the sun was setting on the day. I actually picked them out of the crowd because of the clothing they were wearing. We couldn’t have coordinated this better if we had tried! Unfortunately, I do not have their names. I explained that I was taking a photo for this blog and they were very nice to take time out of their vacation to oblige me, but they were off and running as soon as I was done.

To create a nice backdrop, make sure you have some distance between your subject and the background object. Then zoom in on your subjects. You want to fill your frame with them as much as possible, while still getting in some of the background to give your photo a sense of place. And don't worry about getting in their whole bodies, it's their faces you want to see.

Then position yourself just a wee bit lower than your subjects to keep other people out of the shot. If you are too low, the people you are photographing will look like they are looking at the ground, which is generally not a very flattering angle. If you can incorporate something into the foreground to tie it all together, you will have an even better shot.

The bridge across from Italy is a great place for a group photo. As the photographer, you stand on the level below the bridge which gives you a nice backdrop of the Italy pavilion in the background and the bridge railing in the foreground. At this angle you won’t end up with a bunch of unknown guests in your shot. Just before sunset, this spot will provide you with some very nice warm light.