Viewpoint Jon Bentley
Get away from the default of groups lined up, and be inspired by centuries-old paintings
Every group event these days needs commemorating with a group photo. Whether it’s a meeting of family and friends, a team’s celebration of a job well done, or just a pleasant night out at the pub, the occasion wouldn’t be complete without a shot of the happy participants.
Group portraits may be more common but our instincts on how to arrange ourselves within them haven’t changed much. Some sort of genetic predisposition to standing side-to-side quickly takes over, with everyone forming an orderly line as if summoned to an impromptu identification parade.
This knee-jerk behaviour can jar with a photographer’s instincts, especially if you’re called on to record the occasion. But in the heat of the moment, finding the inspiration to rearrange the group into something more interesting can be a challenge.
Happily the problem isn’t a new one, and the work of some old masters can provide inspiration. I’m not talking about photographers, but painters.
Dutch artists of the 17th century often immortalised their local city’s voluntary guards on canvas, most famously Rembrandt in his 1642 masterpiece, The Night Watch. Rembrandt’s soldiers aren’t lined up in rows, they’re ready for action, not empty-handed but carrying their weapons, the musketeers pouring powder into their muskets’ muzzles.
The lesson seems to be to find props and ask your subjects to interact with them whether beer glasses, pets or cars.
William Hogarth, the British satirical painter, took things further. He started his serious career with group portraits called conversation pieces. His subjects would be artfully arranged, playing instruments or card games, drinking tea, or looking through a telescope and would appear totally involved in their pursuits.
Centuries later, Hogarth’s work can inspire us to arrange everyone in as diverse a way as possible – using seats to vary head heights, creating a foreground and background by staggering how near people are to the camera, and dividing the ensemble into sub-groups to vary the composition. His pictures can also encourage us to try shots with people not looking at the camera but absorbed in their activities. Also, people running, jumping, scrummed over a camera on the ground or distracted by an event that’s out of the frame can work.
On The Gadget Show we often create quick group publicity photos with contributors. One that I thought worked rather well was for a recent item with a group of TikTok influencers. A shot of me and some of the group through their ring light, while they were in turn shooting a video of us dancing, was much more effective than just lining up side-by-side.
I’d like to think that if Rembrandt or Hogarth were called on to render some 21st-century TikTokers, it’s the kind of picture they’d have painted.