The Trials of a Group Photo

How hard is it to take a group photo? This is something I am desperately trying to get better at (I need to for part of my job) . Departing from the in-laws; the girls have had a fantastic week with G&G and wanted to get a nice pic of them all. Fannied around with position of chairs in garden- I need to get my head around this sunlight business - before plonking them all down and snapping away. Advice suggests it is wise to take loads of snaps to increase the odds of getting a good one of everyone. My father-in-law was not very impressed with this method and got fed up with time taken....I think this is apparent. Thank God for 5 year olds though - their enthusiasm never dwindles if attention is to be had!