Group shot 55 People - First big shoot!

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Archive 2009 · Group shot 55 People - First big shoot!

MuratH
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p.1 #1 · Group shot 55 People - First big shoot!

I have read the manual on photographin large groups and I have a shoot around april with about 55 people. Anyone experienced in these kind of shoots? Will be on location, dont know if it will be inside or out..

Conclusion till this far:

- Raise point of shooting: Stand on a ladder
- locate the group in an arc for even lighting and less distortions.

Anymore advice?

wuld 2 lights with 1000 w/s ? Or would you say that the hotshoe flashes would be fine? (would be sb800/sb900)?

Any lighting advice would be great!

Thank in Advance!

M

Edited on Nov 19, 2009 at 01:16 PM · View previous versions

Nov 19, 2009 at 11:32 AM

MuratH
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p.1 #2 · Group shot 55 People - First big shoot!

By the way,

would lighting the subjest with big umbrellas would be the best or with a softlight reflector?

Greetz,

M

Nov 19, 2009 at 11:39 AM

jfnphotography
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p.1 #3 · Group shot 55 People - First big shoot!

It all depends on the location. If you are photographing in hall that has no light at all you will need a lot of power to light the group. If the room is all glass windows with a lot of natural light you only need a little light. Scout the location.

I photographed a wedding with 20 people in the party with one 800w Alienbee light, but the church had a lot of natural light. I put it on a light stand about 8ft high with a 60" Westscott shoot threw umbrella. If you had 2 lights it would cover a group of 55. The Sb800 flashes are almost half the power of a AB800 light.

You should photograph at a f-stop of 5.6f to keep everyone sharp. You might need to shoot at a ISO of 400 - 600 I wouldn't go much past that things get to grainy.

Good luck.

Nov 19, 2009 at 01:55 PM

sherijohnson
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p.1 #4 · Group shot 55 People - First big shoot!

You definitely won't get enough light from your hot shoe for this.

Nov 19, 2009 at 09:22 PM

Gregg Heckler
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p.1 #5 · Group shot 55 People - First big shoot!

A 1000 watts is plenty with a couple of big umbrellas. You can also do it with 2 Speedlights if you raise your ISO, shoot at around 1/40 (tell everyone to be still) and use some of the ambient light. The first image is with Two Elinchrom RX-600's and a couple 60" umbrellas. Nothing fance they just wanted a quick cast shot. I only had 5 minutes. 2 strobes can easily do the job. For the second one I only can a couple of minutes before the play started. 2 SB-900's held by a couple of dads.

2012 © Gregg Heckler

Nov 20, 2009 at 01:31 AM

joezasada
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p.1 #6 · Group shot 55 People - First big shoot!

use a chimera pancake lantern on your lights. big and soft. designed for lighting whole areas or large groups...

Nov 20, 2009 at 08:34 PM

MuratH
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p.1 #7 · Group shot 55 People - First big shoot!

Thank you for the help. Got a clear idea what do and how to do it now! I'll post some pics when its time and the setup!

Nov 21, 2009 at 11:43 AM


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