I was asked by friend of mine, if I could take picture of her extended family that is visiting them this weekend. I have never took a picture of such a huge family, so I really have no idea what to do. The only time they can do it is Sunday at noon! Which is probably the worst time of the day for this. (It is supposed to be partly cloudy, but I can't count on that. If we have clear sky, I would have to put them all in the shade somewhere ... use the largest f-stop number and tripod...? I have Canon XSi, Tamron 18-270mm, Canon 50mm 1.8 and tripod, that is my whole photog equipment. I'm quite nervous to agree to this, but on the other hand if I never try it, I will never learn.
Please if you can give me any kind of advice, camera settings, posing, location.... anything. Thank you very much in advance! (I didn't reply to her email yet.)
@megsy I think she wants to do the whole 18 people family photo. That is what makes me nervous most. Any advice about that kind of photo? I'm trying to research internet, but I'm not finding much...
I have not done anything like that before either - other than street photography with people sitting around a statue! Where are you all meeting? Hopefully the weather will be dry. You would sort out the taller people from the smaller people etc., gosh what a task. I am sure some great photographers on here will have some great ideas/tips for you x
@zuzana your aperture is important when doing a group that big... if the aperture is too shallow, some of the people in the group photo will not be sharp.
Dont do it in direct sunlight. Make it easy on yourself and find nice evenly lit shade to do it in. That will give you soft skin tones and not blown out highlights and ugly harsh shadows. Also everyone wont be squinting because of the light. Also if positioned correctly you can get beautiful catch lights in their eyes.
firstly i agree with megsy. i am no expert and have no experiance but hey ho here goes, i would try to get a variety of shots such as a standard portrait,a jumping picture,a conga picture any fun configerations you can think of.i imagine this would warm them up and get them smilng. i dont think you will get everyone in with the 50mm,put your camera on burst and shoot in three's make sure your shutter speed is fast enough and f8 should be fine i imagine. good luck.
I would also be wary of shooting near the 18mm range of your lens as it tends to distort and widen the people on the edge of frame. Better you get farther back from the group and zoom in (or use your 50mm). Good luck
Hey, first of all, don't panic! You can do it! I myself have never done a picture of so many people, but I have one advise - do at least 2-3 shots while they are in one and the same position and if you make several variations (for example sitting, standing, etc.) - do the same. This will help you a lot in post-processing, cause there is a technique in Photoshop where you can superpose (put one above the other) the same photos and you can change which face from what picture to use ... Not sure if I explained it so it can make sense...
I also think you should use f22 and somewhere in shade, cause sun can be pretty tricky! Good luck! :x
I read somewhere that putting large groups in "pods", 2-3 or 3-4 people per "pod", can add to the fun of the shoot. Also, if they all want to be in the same picture, rather than line them all up in rows, keep them in the pod bunches. It adds some fun to the shot if they are together in a more casual environment.
With that large a group, I'd keep stay around f22 and 18-24mm. Look for shade...noon is going to be very bright! Find an awning or large tree...getting the family in pods around a large tree can cause a "family tree" link that they might like.
You may also want to get a ladder and take some top down shots. If the sun is not too bright, you can get some cool shots of the pods looking up. They could also be sitting, standing, squatting in pods that could add additional visual interest.
I'm not an expert, but I am not bashful! Go BIG. Have Fun! Experiment a lot, and take a TON of shots. If you take 1000 shots and only 25 come out, thats a lot better than taking 100 shots and having 2-3 come out. Have fun and good luck!
I googled a bit and here's the nice link with some tips and examples I found http://www.hongkiat.com/blog/group-photography-tips-and-beautiful-examples/ As for the personal advice, have a talk with them before the shoot, that will help you all to relax, make all kinds of shots, all-18-involved pics, 4-5 people in group pics e.g. children, parents, grandparents as well as photos of each member of the family - you could make a lovely collage out of it. Good luck with the shoot!
@zuzana yes... if you don't want the background in focus, then try to position them so there is enough distance between them and the background @thomastoth idea of using a ladder (or if there is a building with a balcony, shoot from the balcony down on the subjects) is a good one. Also start with telling everyone to just be themselves and do what feels natural and snap some shots while they're doing it... its a great warm up and sometimes, you'll end up with a great portrait.
If you know the location of where you are shooting, go a day or two earlier (at noon) and scout out possible locations. Shady spots, nice background, etc. Once you've got that nailed down the rest will flow smoothly.
Most importunely, when you to the big group shot, make sure you shoot as many shots as possible. this is because invariably, most of your shots will have someone with their eyes closed, looking the wrong way, and a whole slew of other annoying things you may not catch looking through your lens. If you take 30 shots you'll be lucky if two are usable. The law of averages says if you take enough shots a few will have what you were hoping for.
You will do just fine Zuzanna.
Find the shade so no one is squinting.
Place the important people in the centre and then build from there.
Make sure you can see everyones face.
Stand on a stool so people are looking up a bit - makes the women look better.
Two or three rows you only need an f-stop of 8 - anything higher and you may have to slow the shutter speed which should not be below 1/100 to ensure a crisp shot.
Set the ISO at about 200 (higher if you need it to prevent the shutter speed from being too slow).
If you have a flash, use it. Filling the faces in shade will give more even tones.
Do not worry abut taking a shot, checking your exposure and taking another shot until you have the exposure right - then take several shots because there will likely be blinkers in there.
Have fun!!
I have taken groups up to 500 people (stood on a cherry picker for that one). People really are quite patient so take your time and act like you do this all the time. :)
This was first group I did (I think I've done just one since.. a subset of this group). 32 people, and yes, I was a bit nervous, but it was fine! I wrote just a bit more in the description.
Some key point out of what other people have said.
Relax.
Get a ladder so you are up and it make people look up a little. It removes the double/triple chins.
F 8 or above. This really depends on how close you are, The closer you are the higher the F stop should be. F 11 should give you nice focus through the image.
Zoom in. If you can stand back and use your zoom the better it will be. This does two things. 1) It flattens faces 2) it reduces the effect of F stops so you are more likely to get the entire image in focus. I would shot it at around 70mm or greater depending how far I can get back
Set your focus on the eyes at the people at the front. If you set your focus on the back the people in the front will be out of focus, where if you set you focus at the front the people in the back will be in focus.
Find a shady area. 100% shade and not part shaded.
Try with and without on camera flash.
Take around 4 images in a row so you catch everyone with their eyes open. If you find that this is an issue you can ask everyone to close their eye and on 3 open them. You then count to 3, they open their eye, you wait a second for their eyes to adjust and then snap the photo.
Make it intimate. i see soo many group and family photos where you may as well of grabbed strangers and put them in the picture. Get them to hug, hold hands get close and touch each other. I do this a lot and when you do it make it a bit of a game or fun. For example if I have kids, I will say something like - I know you don't want to touch your brother as he stinks and has boy germs but I really know you want to!!!.
Another thing I also do is get people to do a fake laugh..... Weird I know but hear me out... Ask everyone on the count of 3 to think of something laugh out loud..... Then what happens is they start laughing then after a second of so, the think about how stupid they must look and feel and they start to laugh for real.... it is at that point you take your photo.
If you have a lot of large people (ie. over weight) get them to lean forward so they have to raise their chins to once again remove some of the double chin thing.
Where possible get the females to turn on an angle and into their guy.
Tweets ahoy!
Join the Group
Pin With Me
2) Have fun
3) Keep snapping away
4) Don't stress
I would do as many candid shots also. Good luck x
http://digital-photography-school.com/posing-guide-21-sample-poses-to-get-you-started-with-photographing-groups-of-people
I also think you should use f22 and somewhere in shade, cause sun can be pretty tricky! Good luck! :x
With that large a group, I'd keep stay around f22 and 18-24mm. Look for shade...noon is going to be very bright! Find an awning or large tree...getting the family in pods around a large tree can cause a "family tree" link that they might like.
You may also want to get a ladder and take some top down shots. If the sun is not too bright, you can get some cool shots of the pods looking up. They could also be sitting, standing, squatting in pods that could add additional visual interest.
I'm not an expert, but I am not bashful! Go BIG. Have Fun! Experiment a lot, and take a TON of shots. If you take 1000 shots and only 25 come out, thats a lot better than taking 100 shots and having 2-3 come out. Have fun and good luck!
http://images.popmatters.com/tv_art/s/sopranos-2007.jpg
Most importunely, when you to the big group shot, make sure you shoot as many shots as possible. this is because invariably, most of your shots will have someone with their eyes closed, looking the wrong way, and a whole slew of other annoying things you may not catch looking through your lens. If you take 30 shots you'll be lucky if two are usable. The law of averages says if you take enough shots a few will have what you were hoping for.
Good luck!
Find the shade so no one is squinting.
Place the important people in the centre and then build from there.
Make sure you can see everyones face.
Stand on a stool so people are looking up a bit - makes the women look better.
Two or three rows you only need an f-stop of 8 - anything higher and you may have to slow the shutter speed which should not be below 1/100 to ensure a crisp shot.
Set the ISO at about 200 (higher if you need it to prevent the shutter speed from being too slow).
If you have a flash, use it. Filling the faces in shade will give more even tones.
Do not worry abut taking a shot, checking your exposure and taking another shot until you have the exposure right - then take several shots because there will likely be blinkers in there.
Have fun!!
I have taken groups up to 500 people (stood on a cherry picker for that one). People really are quite patient so take your time and act like you do this all the time. :)
Relax.
Get a ladder so you are up and it make people look up a little. It removes the double/triple chins.
F 8 or above. This really depends on how close you are, The closer you are the higher the F stop should be. F 11 should give you nice focus through the image.
Zoom in. If you can stand back and use your zoom the better it will be. This does two things. 1) It flattens faces 2) it reduces the effect of F stops so you are more likely to get the entire image in focus. I would shot it at around 70mm or greater depending how far I can get back
Set your focus on the eyes at the people at the front. If you set your focus on the back the people in the front will be out of focus, where if you set you focus at the front the people in the back will be in focus.
Find a shady area. 100% shade and not part shaded.
Try with and without on camera flash.
Take around 4 images in a row so you catch everyone with their eyes open. If you find that this is an issue you can ask everyone to close their eye and on 3 open them. You then count to 3, they open their eye, you wait a second for their eyes to adjust and then snap the photo.
Make it intimate. i see soo many group and family photos where you may as well of grabbed strangers and put them in the picture. Get them to hug, hold hands get close and touch each other. I do this a lot and when you do it make it a bit of a game or fun. For example if I have kids, I will say something like - I know you don't want to touch your brother as he stinks and has boy germs but I really know you want to!!!.
Another thing I also do is get people to do a fake laugh..... Weird I know but hear me out... Ask everyone on the count of 3 to think of something laugh out loud..... Then what happens is they start laughing then after a second of so, the think about how stupid they must look and feel and they start to laugh for real.... it is at that point you take your photo.
If you have a lot of large people (ie. over weight) get them to lean forward so they have to raise their chins to once again remove some of the double chin thing.
Where possible get the females to turn on an angle and into their guy.
Have a look through some of my group shots here:
http://brendanmaunder.photomerchant.net/galleries/bredbo---day-1
and here:
http://brendanmaunder.photomerchant.net/galleries/bredbo---day-2
Does that help?