A group photograph has a problem no other photograph has: it has to satisfy several people at once, and it almost never does.
In a group of eight, somebody has their eyes shut, somebody is mid-word, and somebody has decided afterwards that they hate how they look. There is usually no frame where all eight are fine, and there is no amount of choosing that produces one.
Choose for the recipient, not the average
The book is for one person, or one couple, or one family. That is the tiebreaker, and it is the only one that works.
Take the frame where they look right. Everyone else is a supporting character in a book they are not receiving, and nobody in the group photograph is going to audit it.
The exception is a book several people will each get a copy of — a wedding party, a team. There, rotate: a different frame favouring a different person across the book.
The second problem: size
A group of eleven printed across a quarter page is eleven small heads. At three inches, nobody is recognisable at all.
| Group size | Needs |
|---|---|
| 2 to 4 | Any size. Works small |
| 5 to 8 | Half page or more |
| 9 to 15 | Full page, or a full spread |
| 15+ | A full spread, or accept it as a scene rather than as faces |
A large group shot is a full-page photograph or it is nothing. Placing one small to save space is the commonest waste of a good group picture. Photo book layout: how spreads actually work →
The third: they all look the same
Six group photographs from one event, all of the same eight people arranged slightly differently, is six versions of one page.
Keep one or two of the formal ones and then look for the ones where the group is doing something — walking, arguing, eating, mid-setup. Those are different photographs; the posed ones are variants.
Why it still has to be in the book
Despite all of it. A book with no group photograph has no cast.
Individual portraits and pairs do not establish who was there, and a reader ten years later — or the person’s own children — needs one frame that says these people, together, then.
Put it early, so everything after it has context.
What to do about the person who hates it
Very common, and worth planning around rather than discovering at the proof.
If you know somebody dislikes a photograph of themselves, do not use it in a book you are giving to them. In a book going to someone else, it matters much less than it feels like it does. Photographs where someone looks bad →
Frequently asked
How do I pick a group photo when nobody looks good in all of them? Choose the frame where the person receiving the book looks right. There is usually no frame that works for everyone.
How big should a group photo be printed? Full page for nine or more people. A large group printed small is a row of unrecognisable heads.
Should I include several group shots from one event? One or two posed ones, then look for frames where the group is doing something. The rest are variants of the same page.
Does a book need a group photo at all? Yes. Without one there is no cast, and nothing establishes who was there.
What if someone hates the photo? Do not use it in a book you are giving to them. In a book for someone else it matters much less.
Part of our guide to choosing photographs. See also: choosing between two similar photographs and photographs where someone looks bad.
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