Photographing large groups

[Hacker]

I've just had a booking in to do a family portrait next month, when she said family I thought she meant Mum, Dad and three kids. Nope. There will be twenty four of them and she wants a shot with all of them in it. Obviously I doubt I will be able to use my wide backdrop but she does have a big house with a large lounge/sitting area which has quite good natural light.

Luckily it is an old building with some interesting features as far as I can remember and she does have a couple of large sofas which I'll use somehow, kids on and in front of them etc.

Lighting: I'll try and use the natural light wherever possible but for a group this size I'm going top need some more, I'm thinking a couple of studio lights with softboxes, maybe bounced off the ceiling and possibly a bit of fill with the Gary Fong Lightsphere.

Any other suggestions, hints or tips? This is my first proper 'booking' for a portrait shoot - talk about in at the deep end!

 

[Matt]

yup you will definately need a lot of extra light, and avery wide lens!

cant be that much more help though im afraid

 

[CT]

24 isn't that many for a group, but quite a lot for a family portrait. A focal length of around 24mm should fit everyone in, but still let you get close enough to the group. Anything much wider and the group start to look a bit distant. You'll have to watch with a wide angle that the outside members of the group don't start to lean outwards. Camera height and levelling will be pretty crucial... use a tripod and keep on eye on converging verticals.

It's a pity the weather's changed a bit now as I often used to take these sort of shots outside if there was a nice garden or backdrop, just using diffused fill flash.

If you can get away with natural light and the Fong diffuser, it's certainly worth a try..... meter for the room light and use the Fong for fill pointing straight up at the ceiling. You may be pleasantly surprised.

If you do need extra lights then a couple of studio lights with soft boxes should be OK coupled with the Fong. The beauty of digital is that at least you can chimp like mad between shots.

Try to get a pleasing arrangement of bods, and try a few variations.