Group Shot, 250 People ... Help me Setup

[jsaenz76]

Hi, everyone I am asking for some advice on shooting this kind of picture.

I have been asked to shoot a Family Reunion in Late June. There will about 250 people in this photo. What will be the best way shot this picture, what equipment, how many rows of people, what about lights, how large of print?

I will be using my Nikon D70, with the Standard 18-70 Lens, SB600 Flash, a tri-pod, Epson Stylus 7600, Photshop CS, MAC runinng 10.3.5 for this picture.



I am open for any sugestions you may have.



This is what I am thinking of:

Set up at a Football Stadium, using the bleachers, take serval shot to form a panaramic shot, use Photoshop stich the iamage , and print on my Epson using 24" Roll paper.

Photo time will be about 11:00 am , Sun will be slightly overhead.


Thanks in advance

Jorge Saenz

[johnastovall]

Have you thought about some SPOT custom tasking imagery?

You could do to a couple of thousand people with a system like that.

[Bill]

Try it out very soon with a model. Diagram it out so you have an idea about spacing. You can sqeeze more people into a space by having them stand angled toward the center, overlapping. The model tells you how big a face has to be to be rcognizable. Also good for testing depth of field at different f/stops. Focus on model, move up 1-4 rows without refocusing. Could be cloudy and have to open up aperture or boost the ISO.

Test with verticals, horizontals and rows of verts and horiz. 250 is a lot of people. Pixels are free.

Room for a caption under the bleachers on the print. Or even everybody's name, also.

There will be special needs to plan for. Wheelchair users, the infirm, infants, sullen teens(I'm thinking Tasers!), and those who want to assist you by taking control of everything.

Do timed tests after you have it down. People get restless, especially if they are thinking about eating lunch. Fast is good, but hurried is not.

It may be very hot, water is good. I've heard it can even get into the 80's down there in June. You wish!

A bathroom break for all beforehand is good.

May need fill if a bright sunny day. The SB-600 may be sufficient if panorama segments are small enough and shooter is close. Test at various ISOs. Or big reflectors.

A coach's stand can give you some height. Check with coach, band director, drill team sponsor. Or very sturdy ladder. Or scaffolding.

Plan B: Small group shots put together by PS in a collage. Like a big scrapbook page.

Plan C: An obvious panorama, one that is a little rough around the edges. Can be arty and allow you to avoid going insane over a 20 piece panorama. Maybe like a bunch of snaps put together a little imperfectly.

Plan D: It's just too hot or a thunderstorm occurs. Alternate locations available? Gym, auditorium, church.

I'm sure it will be a blast.

Bill

[msthomas]

250 Good Luck.
Bill had some good thoughts. But to get 250 people to look at the camera at the same time?
You are going to need a hill, or a bleachers for a start. Something to get stagered. I tried it with about 10 people and not good, to many heads were cut off.
You might also try this, using your camera, since you are shooting digital. Had a test shoot, get two or three friends. Stand about ten feet away and take one picture, then step back a few feet and take the next picture. Soon you the faces are going to be to small to see who they are.
Let us know how this tured out.

[CaptainTom]

a bull horn and a couple of "in your face" type assistants who can manage the people.

[jsaenz76]

Thanks, all for those comment, I will start working on them ASAP.

I like the water part, the temps will get up above 86 degrees.

Special needs, I am working on that, .... good point.

Not realy sure what "SPOT" is....

captions are good, al most forgot about those..... another good points

Thank..... Keep them comming..

I will kept y'all posted.

jorge

[Bill]

"Spot" is a satellite photo. When John says, "Look at the birdie," he means it, way up there kind of bird.

Bill

[Cerbera LM]

My ½ cent.

Had a family rebellion photo taken 3 years ago, with 180+ in the picture. It was taken in a gym, don’t have to worry about sunglasses and squinting. Took about 25 minutes from the time people started walking in till the photographer said that's it. He used two strobes and made a platform out of folding tables. He had one assistant and two family members herding people into position. I didn't pay attention to what he was using for a camera.

If using a football stadium, I’d be tempted to put the photographer in the bleachers and the 250 people on the field. Maybe a couple rows of chairs for the old folks to sit. Gets the front railing out the way and don’t have to find as tall of stepladder.

Definitely need a bullhorn, especially if it is outside, manned by bossy family member who knows names. Better to call out a name instead of you in the red shirt. Rope off the section of the bleachers/field you want people to sit/stand to minimize the time spent getting everyone to showup in the viewfinder.

Don’t worry about people looking at the camera. If you can get the parents of crying kids to ignore them long enough to look at the camera, you’ve done your best.

[jsaenz76]

Fotgot about the Bull Horn, I better one of those !

Thanks,
Jorge