The Totem Stack

How to set up The Totem Stack

1. Set the frame before anyone moves. The Totem Stack wants a waist-up frame, with 3–4 people already close enough to touch. Siblings line up with heads stacked vertically, tallest at the back. Playful and perfect for showing age gaps.
2. Get them into the standing shape, then say this once and stop directing: "Stand one behind the other and peek out to the side. Biggest at the back!"
3. While they hold it, make one flatter change and shoot again. Stagger them slightly to the side so every face is fully visible.
4. If the first frame feels stiff, do not rebuild the group. Try this next: Everyone peeking from behind a tree.

Who it suits

The Totem Stack is a sibling pose. Contact matters more than lining up by height. It suits 3–4 people and a standing shape. It is intermediate: you need a bit more space or balance than a standing hug, so shoot an easier frame first. With three or more, check that every face has a gap of background behind it so nobody’s head merges with someone else’s hair.

Where to shoot and how to light it

The Totem Stack works indoors or outdoors. Outside, use a simple background. Inside, use a window and clear the clutter behind the heads. The pose does not depend on a specific place, which is why it is marked for either.

For The Totem Stack, the rule is the same in either place: open shade outside, a window and no ceiling light inside. Keep the light on the faces rather than on the background. A medium frame has nowhere to hide a squint.

The usual miss on The Totem Stack is a gap, a straight line of heads, or a face waiting for the next instruction. Stagger them slightly to the side so every face is fully visible. Then take the frame before anyone resets.

Variations

• Everyone peeking from behind a tree
• Hands on the shoulders of the one in front
• Silly faces version