 Rachel Hyde |
Large Group Photography I have been asked to shoot the cast and crew photo for my daughter's 6th grade play of the "Wizard of Oz". It is a large group - about 120 kids. I shoot with a Canon EOS Digital Rebel XT, and my lens is the 18-55. I'm looking for advice on lighting: What do I do with house lights? Spots? Stage lights? Do I need to bring in extra lighting?And do I need a wide-angle lens for this or a bracket flash? This is a whole new world for me but I welcome the opportunity to learn!
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Christopher A. Vedros |
Rachel, It will be difficult to arrange that many kids to get them all framed in one shot. You might be able to arrange them in rows (1st sitting on stage, 2nd kneeling, 3rd sitting on chairs, 4th standing, 5th standing on chairs). If you're in a theater with house lights, stage lights, etc. - that's great - turn them all on. You'll do a much better job lighting a group that large with the theater lights than with any camera-based flash. Arrange the kids, and tell them to sit still and to be patient. I know that's asking a lot! ;-) Back up far enough so that you can frame the group when your lens is zoomed to somewhere between 30mm and 55mm, rather than at the wide 18mm end. This will help avoid distortion where the kids on the ends of the rows look smaller than the kids in the middle. Increase your ISO to 400. Put your camera in Av mode and move in close so that your frame is filled with just a couple of faces and no dark background. Adjust your aperture to the highest f-number that will give you a shutter speed of about 1/60th. Then switch to manual mode and set to that shutter speed and aperture. Back up to frame the shot and shoot. Shoot a few shots at the selected settings, then shoot a couple at the shutter speeds one over and under the selected, and then at the apertures one over and under the selected. This should give you something you can work with. Shooting several shots not only will help with getting the exposure correct, it will also increase your chances of getting a shot where most of the kids are looking ahead, not making dumb faces, etc. Good luck, Chris A. Vedros www.cavphotos.com
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Rachel Hyde |
Thanks Chris! The advice is much appreciated. I'm shooting the photo on June 3, I'll post and let you know how it goes. Thanks again! Rachel
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Slim Brady |
you sunk my battleship!!
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Bob Chance |
Hi Racheal: A couple other suggestions too. If you are posing the kids up on the stage and shooting from the center isle, you may want to bring a step ladder from which to position yourself on when shooting. Shooting large groups from a higher vantage point reduces the chance of any kids in the back rows being hidden by the ones in front of them. Bob
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Rachel Hyde |
Thanks Bob! Great things to keep in mind! Rachel
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Sara L. Tanner |
Rachel, You might want to see what the school has. My high school had risers for our chorus. These would allow you to position the kids in several rows. Also the school may have bleachers outside which would allow you to use natural light. Good luck, Sara
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Jody E. Ellis |
Hi Rachel, Along with the 'big' picture, you might want to think about taking small group pictures of the kid - i.e. the witches / the monkeys / the wizard behind his curtain etc. If you get to shoot at the dress rehearsal these photos look great as the mini-posters in the lobby and the parents love to see their kids close up. If some of the kids are serving as the crew for the show make sure they get photos too! This assignment sounds like a lot of fun! jody
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Bob Kerr |
Hi Rachael: Have had great success with stiching a panorama shot with digital software backup from that supplied from Canon -Zoombrowser. Use a tripod and clickety-click you go accross your group. Take many shots each time you stop and if you use PhSh its a breeze. Good luck. Bedford Bob
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Robert Weeks |
Good answers for group shots. You probably will shoot at a rehersal thoughmaybe not. If you are lucky you will. If planning on taking shots during performance, try to get there during rehersal to check light level in spot light vs non spot. Plan accordingly for manual. Most small schools have little lighting, you may need a tripod
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Rachel Hyde |
Rachel
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Rachel Hyde |
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