Group Photography: Tips and Beautiful Examples

We come into this world, we grow, we make friends, we look for opportunities and ultimately, we have to part with our friends and family members. Each one of us has been through this or will cross this path in our life eventually. We wish to live those beautiful and unforgettable moments again by turning back time which is obviously still a fiction. This is why we rely on photographs.

We are featuring group photographs today and group photographs are the perfect testimonials of age and experience. You will want to tell yourself you have live the best moments in life in the future therefore do not commit a corny group photographs. Instead of looking fun and young, it might look bored as dough. Therefore we are here to share some awesome group photographs that can give you inspiration on how to make a memorable group photo!

5 tips to better Group Photography

1. Routine to Break

Most of the group photograph I see down the line looks somewhat the same. They are all lack creativity because most photographers tend to follow a basic rule of just setting a group of people, standing stick still in front of the camera, count to 3, and press the shutter. The trick for capturing amazing group photographs is to break these photography rules. We all have a mind that has infinite creativity. Utilize it, be sure to throw yourself out of the comfort zone and be spontaneous. The outcome may surprise you.

Smile..1,2,3...Click...

2. It’s all about timing

A good timing is absolutely necessary for a good photograph. By saying good timing, I am not only emphasizing on suitable time of the day to take photographs, but also the correct timing to press the shutter release button. Having a good grasp on a correct timing to shoot a picture will reduce your efforts of taking multiple shots for the same thing in the chase of that "perfect shot".

3. Lights, lights, lights

Lights are everything, period. Light is actually the ultimate factor in photography. Any good or awesome pictures are determined by skillful lighting control. And that’s exactly what a photographer might lack of. Here are some tips on how to use lights effectively:

• Make sure everything is brightly lit and there is no shadow overlay on any of the faces.
• If possible, use strobe lights. They always give better results
• Ever thought of reflection while considering lights?

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Bonus: Did I just say that "Lights are everything"? Well, I also said "Break the rules". Have a look at the following photograph :D. Ultimately again, it’s your creativity with lights and shadows

4. Background Matters

In photography, background is as important as the subject itself. A photograph taken with the same subject in a field could sometimes result better than taking it in a closed room. Although it is subjective, changing backgrounds often results in better photographs. Take your family or group outside. Try photographing in a field or any open space where you can also use the larger surface area rather than just shooting in a room or a studio. Plus you will also have the benefit of natural lights :-)

5. Don’t stick to the ground

Perspective is what gives a photograph an edge over thousands of others. Want to take an edgy group photograph? Just don’t stick to the ground. By that I don’t mean that you should try out to anti-gravity, but just change your perspective. Take a group photograph from the second floor of a building while making your buddies stand on the ground. Alternatively, go down on your knees and shoot straight up! Use your imagination and just stay away from the ground.

Image credit.

Beautiful Examples of Group Photos

Last but not lease, we’ll end the article with a showcase of some creative and beautiful group photos. Enjoy!

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New Delhi Commonwealth Games 2010 will Go on with Criticism- [Picture]

Hosting the Commonwealth Games was supposed to be a badge of honour for India’s ruling elite—a chance for the new superpower to shake off unhelpful images of “slumdogs” and replace them with “world class” stadiums. India is shining they said—hoping that for a couple of weeks we can forget about the 830 million who live on less than 30 pence a day. But it seems that facts are stubborn things and, as in so many countries where these mega sporting events occur, the games have become a poisoned chalice.

Collapsing bridges and pictures of half-built apartment blocks being patched up by gangs of child labourers have become their enduring symbol.Of course, the British media were only too happy to embellish the story, playing on racist stereotypes of an incompetent, dirty nation. They behaved as if the cream of British athletes were going to be forced into the most insanitary living quarters since soldiers of the Raj were pushed into the Black Hole of Calcutta. The criticisms came after it was found that some toilets in the British dorms wouldn’t flush properly and a cat had left paw marks on a bed.

Contrast this to the reality of life for the majority living in India. According to the Asian Development Bank, some 650 million Indians have no access to a proper toilet. Every day they are forced to shit in open sewers. But their problems are not our concern. And now the story has moved on. “Security”, or lack of it, is the new fear. But here the authorities do have a plan. There are now 150,000 armed soldiers parading around New Delhi—more than the number of combat troops in Afghanistan. This week, in a bid to reassure the fearful, the air force flew sorties over the city. This is desperate stuff from a ruling class anxious to project itself onto the winners’ podium. So far, however, their only medal is for self-promotion.[source]

Corruption allegations and delays in construction of venues and infrastructure have dogged the
Commonwealth Games, which will take place Oct. 3-14 in New Delhi

A woman labourer balances a pile of bricks on her head outside the main Commonwealth Games 
stadium while her child plays.

An Indian woman waits at a bus-stop adorned with an advertisement for the forthcoming
Commonwealth Games in New Delhi on Aug. 29, 2010.

Cranes remove debris from a collapsed footbridge at the Jawaharlal Nehru stadium, the main
Games arena for India’s Commonwealth Games. Yesterday’s accident is just one of a number of
calamities - from gun attacks to dengue fever outbreaks - to hit the Games, which are due to start in a fortnight.

Indian security personnel and soldiers stand guard outside the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium 
in New Delhi. Part of the stadium’s roof caved in on Wednesday, a day after a footbridge fell apart. 
Several top athletes have now announced that they are pulling out of the Games .

Workers dismantle the collapsed footbridge at the Jawaharlal Stadium. At least 23 people were injured when the steel structure came apart.

Council workers fumigate the Commonwealth Games athletes’ village, as a precaution against 

dengue fever. The disease, which is carried by mosquitoes, has been particularly severe this year 

thanks to a prolonged monsoon season. The village, still-incomplete, was condemned yesterday 

as "unfit for human habitation".

Police officials use a water cannon to disperse activists from India’s main opposition group, the
Bharatiya Janta Party (BJP), during a demonstration in New Delhi in early August. Protest groups
have accused Games organisers of corruption – leading to shoddy construction.

Workers struggle to move paving stones in the mud at the Talkatora Indoor Stadium, which is to 

stage boxing events, in early September. At the time, Games organisers claimed that all venues would 

still be ready for the opening ceremony on October 3, despite torrential monsoon rains which were 

hampering construction.

Work continues on infrastructure and roads which are supposed to be used during the Commonwealth
Games on September 6 – less than a month before the opening ceremony.

An Indian elephant grazes on the banks of the Yamuna River in New Delhi. Earlier this year
dozens of elephants were evicted from the river’s banks to make way for roads and other
infrastructure for the Commonwealth Games.

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Real Pictures of Hazrat Bibi Fatima(S.A) House in Madina Munawara

A Brief History Of Bibi Fatima (a.s)’s life:

Birth:
Bibi Fatimah Zehra [SA] the only daughter of the Holy Prophet Mohammed [PBUH] of Islam, 
was born in Mecca on 20th jumada ‘th-thaniyah 18 B.H. The good and noble lady Khadijah 
and the Apostle Of Allah bestowed all their natural love, care and devotion on their lovable and 
only child Fatimah, who in her turn was extremely fond of her parents.

Character:
The Princess of the House of the Prophet, was very intelligent,
accomplished and cheerful. Her sermons, poems and sayings serve,
as an index to her strength of character and nobility of mind.
Her virtues gained her the title “Our Lady of Light”. She was tall,
slender and endowed with great beauty, which caused her to be called
” az-Zahra’ ” (the Lady of Light). She was called az-Zahra’
also because her light used to shine among those in heaven.

Marriage:
After arriving in Medina, she was married to Hazrat Ali A.S,
in the first year after Hijrah, She gave birth to three sons and two daughters. Her children, 
Hasan, Husayn, Zaynab and Umm Kulthum are well-known for their piety, goodness and 
generosity. Their strength of character and actions changed the course of history.
The Holy Prophet [PBUH] said, “Fatimah SA is a piece of my heart”.
He would go out to receive his daughter whenever she came from
her husband’s house. Every morning on his way to the Mosque,
he would pass by Fatimah’s house and say, “as-Salamu ‘alaykum ya ahli
bayti ‘n-nubuwwah wa ma’dani ‘r-risalah” (peace be on you O the
Household of Prophethood and the Source of Messengership).

The Best Woman:
Fatimah is famous and acknowledged as the “Sayyidatu nisa’i ‘l-’alamin”
(Leader of all the women of the world for all times) because
the Prophethood of Muhammad would not have been everlasting
without her. The Prophet is the perfect example for men,
but could not be so for women. For all the verses revealed in
the Holy Qur’an for women, Fatimah is the perfect model, who
translated every verse into action. In her lifetime, she was a
complete woman,being Daughter, Wife and Mother at the same time.
As a daughter, she loved her parents so much, that she won their
love and regard to such an extent that the Holy Prophet used to rise,
whenever she came near him. As a wife, she was very devoted.
she never asked Hazrat ‘Ali (A.S) for anything in her whole life.
As a mother, she cared for and brought up wonderful children;
they have left their marks on the face of the world, which
time will not be able to erase.

Where Science, Art and Photography Intersect

Caleb Charland demonstrates lessons in physics and mathematics with his mind-blowing photography. Inspired by children's books of science experiments, he photographs everyday objects (like matches, pens and mirrors) in ways we've never imagined, often using multiple exposures to tell the story. For example, in Fifteen Hours, the last photo in this set, Charland used 15 exposures to show how the flame of a dinner candle beautifully burns down.

In still others, like in Cube with Rule and Penlight, Caleb Charland sits in pitch black darkness and, with a penlight in his hand, traces the shape of a cube along a ruler. Though at first glance, you think you're just looking at a box, you soon notice that the mysterious shadows are Charland's hands. Charland made 13 exposures on one sheet of 4×5 film; twelve exposures for each side of the cube, and one exposure with the light on to fill in the shapes of the room and the table.

I caught up with Charland to ask him a few questions about his work. First, just how did he create Silhouette with Matches, the first photo in this set? He explains, "This piece was a simple process of multiple exposure. I shoot all my work with a view camera on 4x5 film. Basically I took one exposure during the day for the background then one at night while lighting and tossing the matches. This process left the outline of my body without the use of Photoshop. In the large print you can actually see a few hair follicles silhouetted on the left side of my head." No Photoshop? Does that mean he never uses it in his work? "Not for the creation of the image, only slight color and tone adjustments to make a nice print," he says.

The beauty of it all is that there's an honesty to Charland's work. By transforming everyday household objects into unexpected experiences, he makes us appreciate multiple disciplines; art, science and photography. In addition, his work evokes that sense of curiosity that often lays dormant in us as adults. While looking at his photos, you can't help but marvel at the scientific laws that govern us and, at the same time, feel as though Charland's somehow cheated them.

“I guess you could do it in Photoshop a lot quicker and easier but I enjoy the analog process” says Charland, “there is something to working within limits.”

Silhouette with Matches

Cube with Ruler and Penlight

Arcs with Arms and Candles

Light Sphere with Right Arm and Cigarette Lighter

Footprints with Matches

Atomic Model

Sun with Face Mirror

Moon with Face Mirror

Table with Mylar and Flashlight

One Second Match Toss

Bouncing Penlight

Three Jars

Skeleton Key with Copper Wires

Helix with Matchsticks

Three Hundred Matches

Candle in a Vortex of Water

Faucet with Oil and Water

Ten Seconds in Oil and Water

Wooden Box with Horseshoe Magnet

Turntable with Candle

Bowl of Vapor

Sparkler Through Propeller

Solid LIquid Gas

Circle with Matches

Fifteen Hours
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