The Surprisingly Simple Secret to Photographing the Groomsmen

Issue #29

[Read Time - 7 Minutes]

This is somewhat of a personal preference, and I fully understand if you don’t want to entertain this. I don’t fault anyone for being wrong :)

When you’re shooting the guys, your focus is to make ‘em look cool, period.

Why?

For starters, most guys really don’t want their photos taken anyway.

Maybe it’s just me and the 500+ weddings I’ve shot, but I have yet to see a group of groomsmen genuinely excited about getting photos of themselves.

But of course, you gotta take ‘em, so just know that the dudes are not going to be super stoked about this part of the wedding ritual.

How can you turn this into a good experience?

You guessed it, you make ‘em look cool.

That’s exactly right, you put the guys at ease and even enjoy this process by making them look cool during this part of the day.

How?

• Make them feel cool right off the bat

• Tell them how good they look (most guys feel uncomfortable wearing someone else’s “monkey suit,” so this helps)

• Have a game plan

• Try to avoid anything goofy or campy

• Make it fast

You’re probably not going to have a pre-wedding meeting with the groom, so I’d recommend having a strategy for guys in advance.

Your goal is to assemble the guys in a cool, casual way, perhaps even something fun in case they want to play (this is your game plan part).

If you’re pretty new to this, take a look at some men’s magazines...no, not THOSE men’s magazines! Something like GQ, Esquire or The Rake will work.

You’re looking for style and fashion, but specifically how the guys modeling the clothes are posed.

If they look cool, grab a screenshot. Now imagine getting something this cool for your group of guys, and you’re ready.

You might also troll some wedding sites and see what the interwebs have to offer.

Sometimes, though very rare, the groom might have something in mind. Perhaps a little throwback to the college or high school days. It’s not a bad idea to toss in a little, “Hey, [groom], did you have anything in mind for the shots with your guys, or should we just keep this quick and painless?”

Let them know they are important and they’ll respect the job you have to do.

They all understand…they may not love this part, but they understand.

So let’s take some photos!

When it comes to shooting all of them together, you have a couple of options - a formal lineup or a stylized posse. If you want to do both, cool! Both are fine, but you still have to make them look good.

The Lineup is an essential core shot that moms want. The Posse is great if you have a cool place to shoot and show off in the photos.

The Lineup

Don’t get fancy here. When it’s 103 degrees outside, and there’s nowhere nice to shoot indoors, this is a solid way to go. The key is to keep them close (no gaps).

I prefer to stagger them so they look nice and packed in, but they don’t feel like they’re stacked on top of each other (any gaps in this shot and they look like strangers).

Position them with a subtle angle, and everyone looks tidy and cohesive (”Tidy & cohesive,” Isn’t that what every guy likes to think of themselves?).

What you have here is your basic lineup of soldiers. Nothing more.

Hands are always a concern. What do the guys do with their hands?

You have four options (IMO).

1. The Dead Arms

2. The Fig Leaf

3. The Soldier

4. The Pockets.

To offer some verbal visualization, you have (1) hands hanging straight down, (2) hands in front overlapping below the belt, (3) hands behind their back, and lastly, (4) their hands in their pant pockets.

If your goal is to make ‘em look cool, you really only have one option - The Pockets

As a bonus, since the majority of rental suits don’t fit properly, putting those paws in the pockets covers up the overly long or overly short sleeves.

BTW, no one ever notices this unless you’re doing the Dead Arms, and everyone notices a poorly fitting jacket.

The Stylized Posse

Here you’re going to draw on your GQ poses for inspiration. Your dudes are going to be clustered up but not too close.

Each guy gets his own space and his own pose. You still don’t want any big gaps, so instead of side-by-side, they’ll still stagger but a bit looser this time.

The trick here is in the assembly process. Some are slightly up, and some are further back.

Of course, I don’t have to mention that the groom is the coolest of the bunch, so he gets prime positioning in the center and perhaps a bit closer up.

Don’t get too linear for this. Switch up the angles. Maybe you have something for a guy or two to lean on. Perhaps there’s a fence or something else. Think of this as an environmental portrait.

But what’s the key thing to focus on? That’s right!

Make the guys look cool!

And then, if you’re feeling brave, once you get that shot, you can put it into motion.

Have the guys start walking and talking to each other. If there’s a brother, a best man, or both, have the groom focus on those guys so you can see their faces.

If you do decide to go for the “walk and talk,” put that camera into motor drive and blaze away.

I don’t recommend doing this more than once. The first time will have genuine smiles as they play along, but if you repeat it, they’ll start to feel awkward, and it’ll show.

BONUS POSE: Bro Love

Since you’ve got them all together, bring ‘em in for a little Bro Love. Nothing weird, just a nice brotherly group up with arms on shoulders.

Quick note - unbutton the jackets for this one. When their arms go up, a buttoned jacket bunches up and looks weird and “weird” is not what we’re shooting for here.

I prefer to add this quickly right after The Lineup to loosen things up, even if I don’t do the stylized shot.

I’ll say something like, “OK, let’s give [groom] a little love,” and boom, the guys make it happen. If the group of guys has a tight bond, this could be a really special shot.

Occasionally, there’s some inappropriate groping behind their backs, which makes for some genuinely funny reactions.

This does NOT have to take long, and it shouldn’t.

The guys understand the need for these shots, but unless you’re really good at keeping them interested, I wouldn’t push any boundaries here. Cheesy is cheesy, and nothing brings back an uncomfortable moment quite like seeing the photos a week later and remembering HOW uncomfortable that moment really was.

And that’s the BTS of shooting the guys and making them look cool.

So now you’re probably asking, “Why do I need to go through all this trouble if the guys don’t care anyway?”

Fair question, and I got your equally fair answer, but first, a question for you.

Will the guys ever see these photos? The answer is, of course, YES, and when they do, they’ll say to themselves, “Dude, I look pretty cool!” and who do you think they’ll consider for their wedding?

Wait, almost forgot!

Posing the dudes using Paws in the Pocket™ method isn’t just for their group photos. Use this for the guys for all photos, even at the reception. And yes, this goes especially for the groom. Never, I repeat NEVER let the groom hold the flowers with the bride!

Your goal is to make them cool and that’s your biggest responsibility to the groom and groomsmen. A guy with his paws in his pocket can’t help but look cool!

“Clothes and manners do not make the man; but when he is made, they greatly improve his appearance.”

– Arthur Ashe

Photographing the guys and making them look cool is one small part of the “inner game of wedding photography.

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