How To Photograph Groomsmen

Being a female wedding photographer, you may be able to relate that it’s pretty intimidating when you walk into a room with a bunch of groomsmen in their mid-twenties- either they’re a bit rowdy and tease you since you’re the only girl around or, on the other hand, you walk into the room and the guys are silent- all eyes are on you to entertain them and get the shots taken care of.  Over the years I’ve learned to hold my own with the guys, whether they’re crazy or reserved.  However, that’s not how I started out.  Backtrack a few years ago, and I was the shy girl…very shy in fact.  I was assisting my husband at a wedding as his second-camera and it was my job to take pictures of the groom and groomsmen.  Not being very experienced or polished, I had scribbled down a few ideas for how to pose the guys for their pictures.  I took the guys outside under a shade tree and sheepishly asked them to stand side-by-side for traditional shots.   After I took a few pictures, I nervously muttered to the groom “do you have any ideas?”  Well, he looked at me and said, “you’re the photographer, you tell me”.  Whoa, that was humiliating.   All the groomsmen just stared at me, as I drew a blank.  Right then and there, I promised myself that from then on, I would thoroughly prepare for weddings, and be so filled to the brim with ideas so this embarrassing moment would never happen again!  If you’re in the same position I was a few years ago, don’t fret, I promise you will become more at ease when working with groups of people!  Just study up on different poses, learn to laugh at yourself and keep shooting!

 -Lauren-