A Group Shot Master Class

I have long been a fan of Annie Leibovitz' work. Her American Express ad series (way back when) was one of the things that got me really thinking about light as a way to amp my photos.

I have a signed poster framed in my basement that shows every single double-truck from her second book. A very cool gift from my wife, through her connections in the publishing biz.

Each year, Leibovitz does a tri-fold cover group shot of the heavy hitters in Hollywood for Vanity Fair magazine. I was cruising around their website and came across this gallery of the last 13 years worth of images.

Just really neat stuff, and well worth a trip to view the photos if you are looking to see what can really be done with a group shot. Beautiful light, posing, concept, etc. Not easy to do, either. Can you imagine the egos? The logistics?

This has gotta be a lot harder than grabbing a photo of 20 guys at a Elk's Lodge Annual Dinner.

More down-to-earth tip: If you are assigned to do a group shot and cruising for ideas, you can always head down to the local record store (or Best Buy, Borders, etc.) where you'll find thousands of groups shots waiting to give you inspiration.

Nothing beats flipping through stacks of cool images which have already solved many of the same problems you are dealing with. It is a great way to fill your head with new ideas.