Group shot trouble!!

J

Jenninic

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Hello,
So Im trying to take a photo for my local school PTA who want to make up a calendar for fundraising. The photographs will range from 14-20 children in each one. Ive already tried some but when I put them on screen they were not focused. I was shooting in aperature, f6.3 at 18mm ISO 250 using a flash and it was outdoors. Can anyone help?

Im using a Nikon D300 with a 18-200 lens
Thanks

J
 
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what was the shutter speed ?

my first thought is dirty weather , low light - lowish iso = low shutter speed and camera wobble and or subject movement

if its not that i'd say that you've probably got your focus point in the wrong place

its not likely to be a lack of DOF caused by the aperture as you'd expect some to be in focus if that was the case

can you show us a sample photo ? that would make it a lot easy to advise what went wrong
 
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tricky with lots of kids on it!

that sounds like you were shooting quite close
have you tried focusing manually? is the lens/camera normally quite good?
larger aperture number might help but at least some of them should be in focus.

what shutter speed?you've mentioned everything else
 
It was actually a bright morning when I took the photo. 1/320 was speed. Im sure Ive made loads of mistakes...! Help!
 
Jenninic said:
Ok... so how do I attach a photo on here for you all to see :)
Click to expand...

You need to have it hosted somewhere online to start with..you have gallery space on here but truth be told its a little limited currently so the majority use sites like Flickr etc, upload a full size image if possible and please also make sure the exif data is intact too (y)
 
I wouldn't narrow the aperture any more as with a group of kids you need a fast shutter speed, so get that baby open as wide as possible!

You could bump the ISO a bit more and you'd benefit from a tripod and remote release
 
F 6.3 at 1/320 sec doesn't sound too bad, although I might have been tempted to go to F8-ish.
Are any in focus? you should have something, you didn't have auto focus turned off by any chance.
 
No-one was in focus! The camera was set at AF-Continuous and the AF sensor mode switch was in the middle position.
I have so much to learn!!
 
what about single point af and use between f8-f11 and a fast shutter speed that should keep most of them in focus if you keep the af point in the center of the group
 
I would have thought at least the focus point should be in focus?
 
nothing in focus would suggest camera wobble - but 1/320 sounds a little fast for that to be the problem

silly question but the lens was switched to AF wasn't it, if it was inadvertently left in M that would do it.

(also not wanting to be harsh but if you are only just starting out it might be an idea for your PTA to get someone with more experience to take the shots if this calendar is going to be saleable)
 
AF-Continuous may be the problem. Unless the subject is moving don't use it, it could be re-focusing for no apparent reason.
Also ensure that you are focusing on a child and not on the background between 2 children :)
 
Suvv said:
AF-Continuous may be the problem. Unless the subject is moving don't use it, it could be re-focusing for no apparent reason.
Also ensure that you are focusing on a child and not on the background between 2 children :)
Click to expand...

That sounds the most lightly answer.
 
big soft moose said:
nothing in focus would suggest camera wobble - but 1/320 sounds a little fast for that to be the problem

silly question but the lens was switched to AF wasn't it, if it was inadvertently left in M that would do it.

(also not wanting to be harsh but if you are only just starting out it might be an idea for your PTA to get someone with more experience to take the shots if this calendar is going to be saleable)
Click to expand...

:shrug: Or she could just need a little help/advice!
 
Jenninic said:
Im using a Nikon D300 with a 18-200 lens...
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Were you pointing the lens down at an angle?

The Nikon 18-200 MkI* is known to suffer from zoom creep (i.e. the focal length changes in its own :eek:) - it's unlikely to happen if the lens is horizontal and it shouldn't do it at the 18mm end.


* The MkII was fitted with a zoom lock to stop this happening.
 
personaly i dont think id want to use the wide end for the pic,somewhere in the 35 to 50 mm range ,( if i had the space ) camera on tripod vr off f8 /f11 (ish )and 250th (ish ) shutter speed. iso to match .manual focus and use a remote shutter if available .not sure what flash set up you have but i would think it would have to be quite substantial for a group that big ,( was it an indoor shoot ? )
 
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sorry just re read and it was outdoors ,,i think id lose the flash if it isnt up to the task ,look for even light out of the sun ( if there is one )
 
Cg_Girl said:
:shrug: Or she could just need a little help/advice!
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Indeed - and I gave the technical help and advice first. However the best advice that can be given to someone who's just starting is not to let themselves be pressured into running before they can walk. There is a great tendency among non photographic colleagues to assume that because you have a DSLR you must be David Bailey, and my point above was that jenny shouldn't be afraid to say " sorry but you need someone with more experience" if she feels her skills aren't up to the challenge.
 
Try again with single shot auto focus and f8. As long as you gain a shutter speed of above 1/200th I would have thought you'd be fine?

Don't forget to check the image to see if anyone is blinking after you've took the shot.
 
Jenninic said:
It was actually a bright morning when I took the photo. 1/320 was speed. Im sure Ive made loads of mistakes...! Help!
Click to expand...

Will the D300 synch with flash at that speed?

And what sort of flash? You'd need a wide spread to light a group of ten or more people. The on-board flash, or even a standard flash gun without modifier is going to struggle.

I almost agree with BSM, just the usual TP lack of subtlety could have been given a miss. The follow-up description of why is surely much more useful to a new poster.
 
righty, so where's the pic then?
if you add it to your talk photography gallery on here, then you can host it and then share.
certainly the best way
also make sure the EXIF embedded information is intact (incase you resize it first).
cheers!
 
Unfortunately this happened ;
MWHCVT said:
You need to have it hosted somewhere online to start with..you have gallery space on here but truth be told its a little limited currently so the majority use sites like Flickr etc, upload a full size image if possible and please also make sure the exif data is intact too
Click to expand...
... which means she may never be able to simply upload to the TP gallery and show it here: people with no knowledge of forums/image-posting are easily put off. Especially since the advice is impossible to follow without even knowing what EXIF is and what size restrictions TPForum is currently enforcing.

Also : I'd like to add my support to Mr.Mischief's comment which was wrist-smacked by a mod. I think it was completely valid in the case.

Massive DSLR, 'important' task, C-AF of unknown configuration.
My advise: set to S-AF, centre-point, focus on the middle child's eyeball. Take ten frames of the same picture (yeah!), rinse and repeat.
 
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