 BetterPhoto Member |
Outdoor Portraiture I'm photographing a large 20-person group at 4:00pm in a couple of weeks and am wondering which direction would be the best to place them. I've done small groups before and have had much success, but a group this large seems to be a little bit more overwhelming. I found a spot near a lake that would make a very nice backdrop but the lake would mean me facing the people with their backs to the sunset west. From everything I've learned this would not be the best choice. There are a couple spots where I could possibly place them in the shade of a large tree. Would I just use my fill flash then to balance the backlight from the sunset? Any suggestions would be much help.
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BetterPhoto Member |
Man, tough one. First, ideally diffuse light would be best. We love clouds for outdoor portaiture. Barring this fortunate meteorological occurence, mix it up a little. Take a step ladder, face them into the sun and shoot down on them. The ground would provide less contrast than would a bright sky behind your subjects. Try to make lines from the faces, angles or triangles. They are very pleasing to the eye and give the portrait solidity, sense to the madness of forty eyes staring back at you. Don't use props like pets or hobby paraphernalia as they will clutter an already jumbled portrait. If they are in the shade of a large tree, fill flash would definitely be best as some of the faces may be in sunlight and some in shadow. Even lighting is the key. But try a roll on someone you know in the same place and positions you might use on the shoot and one-hour the prints and see how they turn out. Then you can make adjustments to your technique. Do it again next weekend and one-hour those. Fine tune your technique once more and then go out and have no fear. Have fun. After all, you are the photographer that they chose. You are the pro. Act like it and you will see just what can come of preparation and practice. And get to know your subjects. They will be more comfortable with you and make your job A LOT easier. Good luck. Walrath Photographic Imaging
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GARY FESPERMAN |
Hi Donna Christopher gave you some good advice. In addition if you shot Digital you can do your photo test on site. Important when doing group photos. Ask them to ware like clothing. Example Jeans, with Jean shirts and Skirts or light blues. Solid colors work best. Avoid bright colors such as Red, Orange, and Yellow - unless everyone is wearing them. Gary
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Pete H |
Donna; 1)Be careful with that many people that the shadow of one person does not fall on another..with 20 ppl its easy to overlook this error, so scrutinize the scene before you shoot. 2)If you are shooting with any tele at all, be careful not to position anyone too deep or shallow in the photo as DOF will be small and some ppl may be out of focus. 3)Don't use fill flash! Unless you are positioning all these ppl in a VERY tight arrangement, I doubt your flash will cover the ppl at the ends. 4) Shoot your best FPS, "Frames per Second" 5) When you have them all arranged the way you want them, tell them to relax and look at the cam, BUT tell them you're not ready to shoot just yet..Then..BAM! Crank off a few. You might be surprised how much better a group shot is when they think you're not shooting for real...just testing. (wink) Old hollywood movie technique. 6) With 20 ppl, there is a good chance some will have their eyes closed..So Bam-Bam-Bam..short rest, maybe 5 secs, then Bam-Bam-Bam..Three more in rapid succession. Happy shooting, Pete
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anonymous A. |
A friend of mine recently handled the contrast problem in a similar shoot by getting assistants to hold white sheets - beds sheets - above the group to difuse the light. Another sheet on the ground acted as a reflector to soften the shadows. No flash, lovely, soft, natural light!
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