Adding a Third Person

A group portrait of three is still small and intimate. It lends itself well to a pyramid- or diamond-shaped composition, or an inverted triangle, all of which are pleasing to the eye. 

Don’t simply adjust the height of the faces so that each is at a different level; turn the shoulders of those at either end of the group in toward the central person as a means of looping the group together. You can also try creating a diagonal line with the faces at different heights and all the people in the group touching. 

Or, create a bird’s-eye view—cluster the group together, grab a stepladder or other high vantage point, and you’ve got a lovely arrangement. It’s what photographer Norman Phillips calls “a bouquet.”

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Posing Couples

The simplest of groups is one with just two people. Whether it’s a bride and groom, mom and dad, or the best man and maid of honor, the basic building blocks call for one person slightly higher than the other. A good starting point is to position the mouth of the lower person even with the forehead of the higher person.
Although they can be posed in parallel position (both subjects facing the same direction), a more interesting dynamic can be achieved by having them pose at 45-degree angles to each other, so their shoulders face in toward one another. With this pose you can create a number of variations by moving them closer or farther apart.
Another intimate pose is to have two profiles facing each other. One should still be higher than the other, as this allows you to create an implied diagonal line between their eyes, which also gives the portrait direction. Since this type of image is fairly close up, make sure that the frontal planes of the subjects’ faces are roughly parallel so that you can hold the focus on both.

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Put the Weight on the Back Foot

The basic rule of thumb is that no one should be standing at attention with both feet together. Instead, the shoulders should be at a slight angle to the camera, as previously described, and the front foot should be brought forward slightly. The subject’s weight should always be on the back foot. This has the effect of creating a bend in the front knee and dropping the rear shoulder to a position lower than the forward one. When used in full-length bridal portraits, a bent forward knee will lend an elegant shape to the dress. With one statement, “Weight on your back foot, please,” you can introduce a series of dynamic lines into an otherwise average composition.
By raising the camera height in a three-quarter- or full-length portrait, you enlarge the head-and-shoulders region of the subject, but slim the hips and legs. Conversely, lowering the camera reduces the size of the head, but enlarges the legs and thighs. Tilting the camera down when raising the camera (and up when lowering it) increases these effects. Also, the closer the camera is to the subject, the more pronounced the changes are. If you find that, after you adjust camera height for a desired effect, there is no change, move the camera in closer to the subject and observe the effect again.
When you raise or lower the camera in a head-and-shoulders portrait, the effects are even more dramatic. Raising the camera height lengthens the nose, narrows the chin and jaw line, and broadens the forehead. Lowering camera height shortens the nose, de-emphasizes the forehead, and widens the jaw line, while accentuating the chin.

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