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Tuesday Tidbit: Posing Large Groups (Part 5: The blinking trick)

We’ve come to Part Five in our “Posing Large Groups” series….so far we’ve talked about triangles, building from the center, color balance and posture. This Tuesday’s tidbit is short and sweet: it’s a little trick I picked up through the years for the blinkers out there–you know ‘em…every time that flash goes off, they’re blinking. And when you’ve got a large group, well, the chances of having a blinker in the crowd goes up. So what’s a girl to do?? (Btw, this really only applies if you’re using flash)

The anti-blink trick

First thing you have to do is tell everyone you’re going to ask them to do something that feels sort of silly but is going to help make sure to minimize the “blinkers” in the group. Second, ask everyone to close their eyes (you should have everything set to go at this point, don’t make them stand there with their eyes closed while you fiddle with your gear). Then tell them that you’re going to count down from three and say “open”. When they hear open, they should open their eyes and smile. About a split second after you say open, press the shutter and you’ve got a 99% chance that you haven’t got a blinker in the bunch. Take a second shot just to be sure.

That’s it. And it works. So say goodbye to those blinkers!

Happy shooting from Vantage!

Related posts:

  1. Tuesday Tidbit: Posing Large Groups (Part Three: Color Balance)
  2. Tuesday Tidbit: Posing Large Groups (Part 1: Triangles)
  3. Tuesday Tidbit: Posing Large Groups (Part Six: You’re In Charge)

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