GROUP ARRANGEMENT There is some truth underlying the saying that " two are a group, three a crowd." The difficulty of securing a perfect rendering of a single figure is enormously added to by every further addition. In fact, when many figures are to be included at the same time it is hardly possible to secure anything more than a num ber of mere portraits. When the group is a small one it is often possible to secure a natural arrangement in which each member has some common point of interest or occupation. In such a case, however elaborately the sitters may be " arranged," the result should appear natural and fortuitous, as though it had merely been taken at a happy moment. The figures must not be placed with any appearance of balance or symmetry having been deliberately aimed at, but at the same time they must not seem in dependent and isolated.
In the case of larger numbers, such a homo geneous composition is practically out of the question. The worst arrangement that can be made is, unfortunately, the most common one. This is placing the figures in one or more straight lines right across the picture. A narrow band of small figures with a wide expanse above and below is never satisfactory. It is better, when ever possible, to take advantage of a sloping bank or a flight of steps, so as to increase the height of the group on the plate. Such a group must not appear ill-balanced or lop-sided. Another common fault to be avoided is the use of a short-focus lens, which exaggerates the difference in apparent size between the nearer and more distant figures. A long-focus lens
and a more distant standpoint give a more natural effect.
A football or cricket team, a wedding group, a family party, and so on, admit only of a more or less formal treatment, the desideratum being a collection of good portraits. This does not apply to renderings of groups for what may be called pictorial purposes, such as fishermen on the beach or women in a market place. In such cases any attempt at deliberate arrange ment is often impossible, and oftener inadvis able. The only satisfactory method is to watch carefully the ever-varying arrangement of the figures composing the group and to seize the most promising opportunities that offer. Appro priate and characteristic poses should be watched for, with careful regard all the time to the relative positions of the members of the group. The figures will from time to time naturally fall into satisfactory arrangements, and these moments must be waited for and taken instant advantage of. As has been said, the difficulty of obtaining a perfect arrangement increases with the number of figures included, but it is seldom possible to make this arrangement deliberately without introducing a suggestion of unnatural posing and stiffness. In a satisfactory group arrange ment it must be remembered that all the figures must not claim equal attention ; some should be prominent and others duly subordinate.