There are a few simple tricks that can help make group photos more interesting. Dropping my daughter off for Halloween with friends recently, I had a chance to put some of those to work.

The more people you have in a photo, the harder it is to make a nice picture. There are simply too many heads, faces and bodies to deal with. If it's just a couple of people you can find a nice pose and concentrate on their faces, hands and background. They key to either one is avoiding having everyone lined up shoulder to shoulder, staring at the camera.

For the Halloween group, the costumes and makeup certainly helped. However, there's still a big difference between the two pictures. With one I'm too far back, and they're just lined up for a photo. In the other, I've moved in close, asked them to crowd together. I've also had the ones in front bend down so their heads can be on a couple of different levels. Getting up above the group, from atop chairs or stairs, is a great way to get more of a birds-eye view, which makes the faces more prominent in the pictures. That's an especially good way to photograph people who are overweight, as it will emphasize their heads and make their bodies look smaller.

I've also told them to have fun. Remember, every group shot doesn't have to be people just smiling at the camera. Have them shout, holler, laugh, make faces. Kids are especially good with this. Anything that brings more life (or in this case, death) to the picture will help.

One last thing to remember when doing group shots is to shoot a lot. You're bound to have people blink during some of the frames, so the more you shoot, the better the odds you'll have one where everyone has their eyes open. Group shots can be a lot of work, but they don't have to be boring. With a few simple tricks, they can turn out better than you expect.