Lighting for 25 people

[shutterman]

going to do a multi-family shot and was thinking about my lighting. Photo will probably be done on the front porch of the house.

going to use the D200.

Want to use my Nikon 85mm since it is the bomb, but that will make me be pretty far away from the group

Should I use my 24-85 zoom at about 50mm? - Not as sharp at the 85mm

Should I simply use the SB-800 on a flash bracket? Will that be enough - figure 2-3 rows of people about 7-10 people long? Will it be enough if I am using the 85mm and be so far way from the subject? Will it be enough if I use the 24-85mm at 50mm?

What if I get the remote commander and put the SB-800 in a mini-softbox off to one side and SB-600 on the other side closer to the family? Then I can use the 85mm. Is that overkill?

Ideas? Comments?

thanks,
Wes

[Loupey]

OK, Wes, I'll put up some thoughts...

1) If you have the room, use the 85mm over the 50mm. The farther away you shoot with a telephoto, the less spacial distortion your 3 rows of people will exhibit (i.e. you don't want the front row of people looking larger than the 3rd row)

2) If you already have 2 flashes, it would be better to use them both (preferably each about 45 degrees to each side) so as not to have the characteristically flat lighting from one near the camera.

3) The closer you position the flashes to the subject, the more noticable the light fall-off will be for those in the 3rd row. So position the lights far enough away so that the fall-off (determined by the difference in distance between the closest and farthest subjects in relation to the distance to the flash) is minimal.

[yogestee]

Hi shutterman,,,,photographing a large group of people ain't easy...Moving away from the technical issues for the moment you really need crowd control..Take heap of shots,,,you will find in a large group someone will always have their eyes closed or not looking at the camera..

Ok now for the technical issues..Is the porch in sun or shade??If in shade the battle is almost won..Groups seem to photograph best in the shade,,,full sunlight is unflattering,,people will squint...Throw in a burst of fill flash and you should get the results..Use a lens close to equivalent to 50mm in the old language..Stop it down to around f8 to get good DOF..I woulden't use an ultra wideangle unless as a last resort..You get too much distortion,,the guys at the front will look bigger than the rear..Tele lens will compress the image making the group look bunched..

Let each person in the group find their own postion in the group,,then after everyone is settled look through your viewfinder and move people around as you see fit..Be firm here!!Ask everyone to stand in a gap..I usually tell the group "if you can't see me,,I can't see you"..

Hope this helps a bit shutterman..

Jurgen
Australia

[Loupey]

Good points, Jurgen.

I have perfected a loud, low, bellowing "bark" that I virtually shout just before tripping the shutter. The sound travels far and is distinct enough that everyone looks and has their eyes open.

Of course the other trick is to say you'll shoot on a count of three but actually snap at 2.

[shutterman]

Thanks guys.

the shoot went well. I had a very large open space with lots of open shade. Not quite enough room for the 85m so I used the 24-85 at around 60-70mm. I used the SB800 as fill only and the results were great! I shot raw and large/fine Jpegs and results were excellent for both. took quite a few shots and came out with 3 or 4 to choose from.

I am so thankful for that shade though!

[yogestee]

Well done shutterman...I would like to see the results...Any chance of posting a pic or two??

Jurgen
Australia

[shutterman]

Jurgen,

good question... I will try to get permission and if I do it will probably go on my website. If I do, I will send you the link where it ends up at www.photosbyjw.com.

thanks,
Wes