Washington DC has some of the most iconic backdrops in the world and we've been photographing groups in front of them since 1919. The most popular spots for group portraits include the U.S. Capitol (Ulysses S. Grant Memorial), the Thomas Jefferson Memorial, the Lincoln Memorial, the Washington Monument, the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial, and the U.S. Marine Corps War Memorial. Each one has a different feel — from the grand symmetry of the Capitol to the quiet power of the MLK Memorial. We photograph at all of them and can help you figure out which fits your group best.

Yes. We work with all types of groups: school field trips, corporate team events, government agencies, family reunions, national associations, tour groups, large-scale conventions. If you're gathering people in Washington DC or Philadelphia, our panoramic format was designed for exactly this. Groups of 3 to over 3,000 people, any occasion, any size.

Most sessions wrap in around 15 minutes. For very large groups, plan for closer to 20. We've been doing this since 1919 which means we've gotten exceptionally good at moving groups efficiently. Our team handles all the positioning and coordination so you just show up. Minimal disruption to your itinerary, maximum impact on your wall.

Contact us with your group size, travel dates, and preferred location and we'll take it from there. If you're coming through a tour operator, make sure to specifically request Central Photo Company as part of your itinerary — our name goes a long way with the operators we've worked with for decades. Independent groups can book directly through our site. Spring and fall fill up fast, so the earlier the better. And if your trip includes a stop in Philadelphia, we photograph school groups at the Rocky Steps too.

We photograph groups of 3 to over 3,000 people. Our panoramic format is specifically designed for large groups: wide, beautifully composed, everyone visible in a single frame. No awkward splits, no faces lost in the back row. For smaller groups of 10 to 50, we also offer a classic 8x10 portrait. Both formats are available in Washington DC and Philadelphia.

A Central Photo portrait is a real moment in the middle of the trip where everyone stops and comes together. Your tour guide is not a photographer. When you hand your phone to a stranger and ask them to get 200 people in the frame, something is bound to go wrong. But that's almost beside the point.

When you book with Central Photo Company, we handle everything: getting dozens or even hundreds of people positioned, coordinated, and ready in about 15 minutes, so nobody has to stress about it. Every single person in your group is visible in the photo. It doesn't get lost in someone's camera roll and if someone wants it at their 20-year reunion, we can find it because we've kept an archive for over a century.

Yes. Our Moving Portrait is a video add-on that turns your group's DC experience into a professionally filmed and edited 2-minute highlight reel. From arrival through iconic moments to final reflections, it's built to live everywhere your photo does: social media, your website, digital frames, lobby displays. Delivered in both vertical and horizontal formats and available at select locations alongside any photo service.

Absolutely. Every portrait we take is available for print and framing and so is nearly anything in our archive going back to 1919. Have a physical print from a trip decades past? We'll scan it, restore it, and frame it. Or we'll send the frame on its own so you can do it yourself. However it gets on the wall, it belongs there.