Frederic Aranda

I am a portrait photographer with a passion for Group Portraits. This selection highlights some of my group portraits taken over the last few years, including some published in 2017. They are a mix of published commissions from Vogue, Vanity Fair, Harrods, and a personal commission (the final shot called Young Family).

Group portraits are a fascinating genre: bringing people together creates dynamics which are impossible to create in Individual Portraits. We are a social species, and Group Portraiture makes this abundantly clear. From a photographic point of view, it is challenging to compose a group visually whilst taking into account the different factors of hierarchy and seniority and to play with such dynamics if one wishes to.

In cases where I can control the casting, I enjoy bringing together diverse groups of people. This raises interesting and relevant questions about the representation of different ethnic and social groups, not to mention gender, ability and inter-generational representation. However, what is even more revealing is when I am not in control of the casting. For example, when British Vogue commissioned me to photograph editor Alexandra Shulman's leaving portrait, I didn't have any control over who would be in the picture. She wanted to be photographed with her entire team at Vogue. When the picture was published, it went viral because Naomi Campbell posted it on Instagram, decrying the lack of diversity at Vogue. This generated a great discussion worldwide in the media and online about (the lack of) diversity and social mobility in certain industries. It is in such times that Group Portraits can be most useful and meaningful: they create a real platform for necessary social debate and change by bringing social issues to the light of day which would not be possible by showing an individual alone.