Anyone who has ever attempted to pick out the best company picture has run into the eternal problem of group photos: there is never one that everyone likes. Someone is always blinking, making a weird face, sticking out their gut, looking in the wrong direction, sneezing, etc. Many a company photo shoot has lead to arguments, dissatisfaction, and pleas for retakes.

But thanks to technology, this problem can be a thing of the past. Nowadays, when companies book our services for group pictures, they prefer to have us take individual shots and merge them together with a little help from Photoshop.

It creates a unique look that is absolutely stunning, and has several benefits:

1. No one will be unhappy with the final result anymore. Because they were photographed individually, each person can select their best photo out of 10-30 photographs taken.
   

2. It’s easier for everyone to find the time to show up for the photo shoot. Scheduling a group of busy professionals is exponentially harder than individuals.
   

3. If a team member is added or removed from the team, there’s no need to schedule EVERYONE for another group photo. We simply book a shoot with the new person, and add them to the shot.
   

4. It’s so much easier and quicker to set up the shot, because the amount of space needed to take this type of group photo can be 10-20 times smaller than for a traditional group shot.
   

5. The same individual pictures can be inserted into various group pictures, so if someone works in more than one department, we can use the same portrait in multiple departments of a corporation!
   

6. And of course, it looks super cool. We play with the arrangement, and add in shadows and lighting techniques, so it appears that everyone was in the same place at the same time, and just magically happened to all look amazing!

The one drawback of this technique is that it costs more to take group portraits like this. However, the cost can easily be mitigated over 1-2 years with the time and cost savings of scheduling individually and not having to do retakes.

Clients often tell us they are so happy that they chose to do their company photos this way, and they will never go back. It’s easier for the employees, and everyone is happy with the results. If you want a group photo you’ll actually be proud to post on your website and hang in your office, consider trading in the traditional technique for our more modern
method.

Photographing large families (20-30 people) and doing group shots usually make a photographer cringe. What about photographing Whole Foods Market’s 350 (yes, you read that right, three-hundred and fifty) staff members ?!

I had a fun time shooting the entire team of Whole Foods Market, the one just moved and opened in a huge new store in Cupertino. They have a total of over 350 employees. What a crowd! We had to do the shoot under the shadow of the building where the light is best and right under the rising sun. Lighting such a large group can be extremely challenging if the clients’ schedule isn’t very flexible. You are pretty much at the mercy of the location and the sun.

I then shot the team, each department staff in their area, seafood, produce, meats, senior staff, etc. etc. All 9 departments. It was fun, everyone collaborated well and the shots are marvellous. The group shot is now hanging within the store.

- Michael Soo