Taking a school year group photo - help..!
Discussion
My niece (15, no pics!) has got into photography and as the 'official family expert' I've been helping her master the basics. Her parents have bought her a Nikon 3200 with a kit lens plus a cheap zoom and she's really getting the hang of it. In fact she won a local photography competition recently.
Anyway, at school she's in charge of charity fund raising or some such, and she's had the idea that she'll take the school year photos for her year and above, charge parents the usual amount and put the savings made by not employing a photographer to the charity.
I must admit I'm a little uncomfortable about parents being charged presumably a 'professional' rate for a non professional photo, but the school have okayed it (it's a small private school) so hey ho.
So of course, 'expert uncle' has been drafted in to help, and to loan decent photography kit (she isn't going to get a professional result with a 3200 and a kit lens!)
Anyhoo, never done anything like this so err, help!
Any top tips, thoughts and suggestions?
Anyway, at school she's in charge of charity fund raising or some such, and she's had the idea that she'll take the school year photos for her year and above, charge parents the usual amount and put the savings made by not employing a photographer to the charity.
I must admit I'm a little uncomfortable about parents being charged presumably a 'professional' rate for a non professional photo, but the school have okayed it (it's a small private school) so hey ho.
So of course, 'expert uncle' has been drafted in to help, and to loan decent photography kit (she isn't going to get a professional result with a 3200 and a kit lens!)
Anyhoo, never done anything like this so err, help!
Any top tips, thoughts and suggestions?
As it's a private school at least the class sizes should be small, so not too many kids to get lined up for each shot.
Background and lighting are key. If doing the pics outside I'd do it with the sun right behind the kids in a spot with the least cluttered background that you can find. Then get the kids arranged and off you go.
Have you thought how she'll take print orders and payments?
Background and lighting are key. If doing the pics outside I'd do it with the sun right behind the kids in a spot with the least cluttered background that you can find. Then get the kids arranged and off you go.
Have you thought how she'll take print orders and payments?
Full sun doesn't have to be a problem 
There's a fantastic video on Kelby One by Cliff Mautner. If you want to learn to shoot portraits outdoors at any time of day, it's worth paying a month's subscription just to watch this one video.
http://kelbyone.com/course/mautner_around_clock/
There's a fantastic video on Kelby One by Cliff Mautner. If you want to learn to shoot portraits outdoors at any time of day, it's worth paying a month's subscription just to watch this one video.
http://kelbyone.com/course/mautner_around_clock/
As above, sun intensity/location and background are the main ingredients, as well as the positioning of the group themselves. I wouldnt go for the Sun behind them personally, particularly if its a bright/clear day and your background doesnt cover the Sun up. However they're stood/sat, uniformity is important. It probably wont look so bad to your eye but when you examine the photo afterwards it will look a shambles if they're all different.
Done my fair share of groups unfortunately (biggest was 365 people plus three aircraft) and hated every single one of them. Good luck!
Done my fair share of groups unfortunately (biggest was 365 people plus three aircraft) and hated every single one of them. Good luck!
MartinP said:
As it's a private school at least the class sizes should be small, so not too many kids to get lined up for each shot.
Background and lighting are key. If doing the pics outside I'd do it with the sun right behind the kids in a spot with the least cluttered background that you can find. Then get the kids arranged and off you go.
Have you thought how she'll take print orders and payments?
If the sun is behind the kids, won't that leave their faces in shade?Background and lighting are key. If doing the pics outside I'd do it with the sun right behind the kids in a spot with the least cluttered background that you can find. Then get the kids arranged and off you go.
Have you thought how she'll take print orders and payments?
Beyond that, I'm thinking high tripod bringing camera to about eye level and a 24-70 F2.8 lens, fast-ish shutter speed in case any of the little blighters blur and mid-ish aperture (F9?).
Wouldnt bother with the tripod necessarily - it can be handy if youre going to take multiple exposures (for people inevitably blinking) but even then just shoot 3 frames hand-held in roughly the same place (you only need to take eyes from the frames where theyre open). If the shutter is slow enough that youll get camera-shake hand-held, then its too slow and your subjects will blur.
Aperture dependd on depth of your group and your distance to them. Id generally get as far away from them as you can (helps compress background) but frame them normally, then at 3 rows deep shoot f/5.6, 2 rows f/4 etc and adjust accordingly. F/8 is generally a good sweet-spot if you want to play it safer.
Aperture dependd on depth of your group and your distance to them. Id generally get as far away from them as you can (helps compress background) but frame them normally, then at 3 rows deep shoot f/5.6, 2 rows f/4 etc and adjust accordingly. F/8 is generally a good sweet-spot if you want to play it safer.
Ari said:
Simpo Two said:
What is she unsure of?
Not her, me! 
Personally, as a veteran of quite a lot of groups (!) I avoid sun if possible; if the day is sunny I try to find a lump of shade and use fill-flash. In fact I almost always use fill-flash, but that's another story.
However, the point I'm driving at is that it's important for people to learn by doing, and to develop their own styles and ways of doing things. If you just take advice from a forum, and regurgitate it to her, you may just add to any confusion. Ergo, if she is confident, let her go and do it her way... just a thought
Get them lined up in a curve rather than a straight line so that, as far as possible, all are more a equal distance from the camera.
The old style large group pro systems had to do this of course as they pan but it can still be a valid approach for smaller groups depending on size of group, distance from camera and aperture required.
I would think that standing on something to give a little extra height would also be a good idea, with or without a tripod - unless the young lady is much taller than her peers. (I am assuming that doing such a thing would not require the school to take out additional insurance and every one involved would not have to be trained in "working at height". Also that such an approach would not require the entire group to wear hi-viz clothing. )
Even if not used it might be sensible to have something available just in case.
Alternatively, for an arty look, camera low and a (small) group looking down at it with dramatic clouds in the background could be a "special" shot.
The old style large group pro systems had to do this of course as they pan but it can still be a valid approach for smaller groups depending on size of group, distance from camera and aperture required.
I would think that standing on something to give a little extra height would also be a good idea, with or without a tripod - unless the young lady is much taller than her peers. (I am assuming that doing such a thing would not require the school to take out additional insurance and every one involved would not have to be trained in "working at height". Also that such an approach would not require the entire group to wear hi-viz clothing.
)Even if not used it might be sensible to have something available just in case.
Alternatively, for an arty look, camera low and a (small) group looking down at it with dramatic clouds in the background could be a "special" shot.
Thinking on a slightly different tack ....
It may be a courageous decision by the school. Some parents take great comfort in the concept of the once a year Professional group shot that they can look at a few times and then file away in the attic for 40 years.
Also, of course, it's helping to put some poor pro photographer out of business, a point that I am slightly surprised has not already arisen. Which is why I added it for completeness. It's not like PH to have an incomplete thread.
If the group is small has she considered a selfie stick approach?
It may be a courageous decision by the school. Some parents take great comfort in the concept of the once a year Professional group shot that they can look at a few times and then file away in the attic for 40 years.
Also, of course, it's helping to put some poor pro photographer out of business, a point that I am slightly surprised has not already arisen. Which is why I added it for completeness. It's not like PH to have an incomplete thread.
If the group is small has she considered a selfie stick approach?
Ari said:
If the sun is behind the kids, won't that leave their faces in shade?
Expose for the faces and it will look great. If you can find a dark background then you can get a really nice rim light from the sun too.If you shoot with full sun from the side it will give you half dark/half bright faces and if the kids are looking into the sun they'll all be squinting.
In bright full sun, just about every other wedding photographer I know (well, the ones who know what their doing anyway) will shoot group shots that way.
Even on an overcast day it makes a difference, especially shadows around the eyes.
Gassing Station | Photography & Video | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff