Large family shoot/pose help...

[lextalionis]

I have my first large family photo engagement this weekend and I’m actually looking forward to the challenge. This will be 3 families with their children (one family of 4 one family of 3 and one couple, essentially this is a photo for the mother of the mom/dad of each of the 3 families), so a total of 9 people. I’ve read if the eldest, grandmother/father, are in the family shot that they should be in the middle with the children around them, but in this case I will just arrange them in family clusters.

I met the family of 3 yesterday evening and did some sample shots and during this experience I leaned I need more practice and experience in two areas which are posing and DOF. The posing seems so trivial at first, but once we got started it was awkward at times, not an easy thing to accomplish. There were several shots where one face (foreground face, aka face closest to the camera) that was OOF due to DOF at f/5. Oh and glasses…boy are they a PITA to deal with…it’s all that the father’s glasses never reflected once in all 20 shots, but the son’s glasses reflected both flashes every time. Show I ask for glasses to be removed?

My setup for this single family of 3 (mother/father/son):

1. Canon EF 70-200 f/4L USM at about 105mm 1/200th, ISO 100 f/5 outdoors in shade with a dark tree line as BG (only about 15’ from the subjects due to space limits)
2. Canon 580EX and inverted white umbrella (shot through) at 1/2th pwr camera left.
3. Canon 430EX and Gary Fong Studio Whale Tail diffuser camera right at 1/4th pwr

I took 3 different poses and 20 shots total and the below shot came out the best. Since I will also take a shot of each family, I will try to replicate this setup for each family this weekend; however, I may bump it to f/5.6 or a bit higher.

Where I need some insight or pointers is for the family of 9 and right now this is what I’m thinking:

1. Pose…what pose? OMG, posing 9 people…HELP!
2. Light? Well, I’m thinking 45 degrees camera left/right and light’em up! I’m a bit worried about faces/bodies blocking my key, what about one camera left with bodies facing it and then one more in front of camera on the ground pointing up? So I ditch the Whale Tale and use direct undiffused flash?
3. Focal length…oh gosh…IDK, maybe 70mm, at f/7.1, 1/120th, ISO 100/200???? I also have the EF-S 17-55mm f/2.8 IS lens?

I’m read a lot of good threads, but hopefully with my specific requirements someone could chime-in with some tips.

Thanks,
Roy

[toverman]

I'm hoping somebody else chimes in, too. My suggestions:

1. Pose: I'd group the three families together in little pods, arranging them more or less separately and then putting them together in a pleasing way. Multiple levels (kind of like your shot with the kid high) work pretty well. Seating some of them on chairs can work if that's possible. You might also consider elevating yourself via a stool or ladder for a different perspective. The shot you posted is nice, but the mom is somewhat disconnected from them ... maybe have her turn toward them? Also, watch your cropping is the photo might benefit overall from having more of them in it.

2. For the lighting, undiffused lighting pointing up at them probably won't look natural. There's a school of thought that the people themselves should always be lighted from above because in most cases that's what the sun or other sources do so it's more natural (background lights can work pointed up, of course).

3. For choosing an f stop to regulate your depth of field, it used to be easier because lenses had the depth-of-field scales on them. You could measure or estimate the distance to the furthest object or person you wanted in focus and choose it that way. For a large group f/11 might be your failsafe, although that could require some exposure fiddling. Even if you use a tripod, with any group (esp. one that includes kids), you're going to want to stick with a semi-fast shutter like 1/125 or higher. If you use a wide-angle, I wouldn't get wider than 24 because a group of 9 is likely going to be on varying focal planes and you could get some distortion most visible with a wide lens.

Hope that helps at least some!

[lextalionis]

Todd,

Thanks for the reply and help. Couple of follow-up questions:

1. I wouldn't feel very good about using f/11 mainly due to exposure requiring a slower shutter speed. I could probably eaisly use ISO 400. I'm thinking f/8 and ISO 200-400 now at about 1/200th. I most likely don't want to expose too much BG.

2. Roger that on the light pointing up and having the light higher, but what about diffused with a stofen vs. no diffusion at all, which would you prefer?

I think I will bring a step ladder so I can elevate myself if needed.

Thanks,
Roy

[toverman]

As for the flash diffuser, I guess you'd just have to take some test shots to see.

[C!LLY]

I know this is a little late, but as for the sons glasses, it looks to me like the Father has the glasses that dont glare and the son does. It's an option they have for when you purchase glasses. I only know this because I got my first pair of glasses the other day and was offered that option.

[humminboid]

Also a little late, but toverman speaks truth.

Your exposure looks right on, and the family is relaxed, relating well to you. Altogether a nice photo, which could benefit from a little better cropping.

The kid's glasses are a problem, as are anyone's,but that can be easily solved by slight repositioning of the head. LCDs are great for discovering that.

In situations like this, I have found that being quick and having less equipment to mess with is good. Flash, on camera or a bracket, bounce card or SToFen. Pick your mode, preset what you can, kick the tires, light the fires, and go! (Turn the flash on!) Don't ask how I know this!

Light stands, ladders, etc. are nice, but in the main, just inconveniences. Tripod, on the other hand, is recommended.

Get them to relax and enjoy their experience. Schmooze, cajole, witty repartee...whatever it takes.

I was shooting a friend's family one fall. They have one son who is mentally and physically handicapped. He is a free spirit. The mother is one of those nosy, controlling people who are not always right, but never in doubt.

I'd get the family all set, and she would start worrying about making her son "act properly". A lost cause.

I had that all figured out about a dozen exposures ago, and finally told her: "The ADULT people keep looking at the camera. I'll take the picture when Dale is right!"

They liked the pixes, but I was about to tear my hair out by the time it was over!

Enjoy the experience!