Large Group – John McRae Photography & Studio

NAPWHA members gathered together in late 2024 for their annual conference, held in Surry Hills, Sydney.

To mark the occasion and for upcoming communication purposes, I was asked to take a group portrait. I always enjoy the challenges of photographing larger groups and look forward to seeing the results.

Finding an ample space can be an obvious obstacle. Fortunately we had access to a large balcony with an impressive view of the CBD.

I always check the lighting before assembling people for a group portrait. I usually take test-snaps of myself posed in various positions in the chosen setting – this creates a silly opportunity to create duplicate images of myself … and this was no exception.

I look forward to working with NAPWHA (National Association of People with HIV Australia) again on a future project. And do not hesitate to get in touch should you require photography of team members or groups.

Prince of Wales Emergency Department, 2023

Just prior to the Christmas break, I was asked to photograph a large group portrait of the entire team who worked at the Prince of Wales Emergency Department at the Prince of Wales Hospital in Randwick. This might well be the largest number of people I have photographed in one portrait.

However, it was not in one sitting, nor was it in a single frame. Understandably it would be almost impossible (nor ethically sound) to ask all the doctors, nurses and allied healthcare professionals to “tools down” at the same time and head outside for a photograph. I’m sure there would have been a few complaints from the patients, to say the least.

Therefore we decided to shoot various smaller groups at staggered times over the period of an afternoon. In the hospital carpark, I set up a make-shift studio. When people were available they could head outside to get their portrait taken.

As a solution to create one final image, I “composited” all the various groups together into one extended image of 120 people (example of separately captured groups, below) with the entrance to the hospital as the background (see background image of the Emergency Department entrance, below).