Group Shot Indoor

I have to do a group shot of teachers at a large school. I know that it will probably be in a dimly lit hall, with high ceiling, so I'm concerned about lighting - don't have studio lights yet (due to make a purchase soon, but not in time for this).

Any tips?

Thanks
Paul

Hi Paul,

If perchance the hall has a stage, maybe stage lighting - floods, spots, etc. could maybe solve your problem, if someone will set it up for you.

Best wishes,

Ray

Paul McGuckin said:

I have to do a group shot of teachers at a large school. I know that it will probably be in a dimly lit hall, with high ceiling, so I'm concerned about lighting - don't have studio lights yet (due to make a purchase soon, but not in time for this).

Any tips?

Click to expand...

How many in the group? Besides deciding on the location and shooting angle, the light will need to be strong enough to get a proper and even exposure. Maybe you need to rent some, it depends on the needed/available actual levels and distribution at the site. Can you take some measurements in advance?

Although not the time for experimentation with for you possibly new techniques, maybe stitching could be considered. It would allow to concentrate on-camera flash to a smaller angle, and with overlapping tiles you get to choose the best parts (e.g. open eyes) of segments of the total group. The flat lighting would not be my preference, but maybe it's the best that can be done.

Natural light, or good strobes, will give the most natural looking results, but it depends on the acual situation and expectations (formal line-up, or e.g. birds-eye perspective).

Bart

Problem is that there are time constraints - a govt minister is coming to open the school and the teachers want something to capture the moment by getting the group pic, but due to timing etc, I will have very little time to get set up. If there is a stage though, I will try that, to get some light in.

Would take them outside, but I'm in Ireland and the weather is pretty poor at the moment, so that's unlikely to do it.

I guess I'm wondering if there are any tricks to get as much light as possible from a 580EX flash unit? I'm thinking of using a 10-20m lens to as close as possible.

How big is the group?

You can light a lot of people with 2 580EX flashes and a white ceiling (or white walls, even better). The trick is to set them to manual and get as large a light source as possible (bounce).

Three would be even better (one for the back).

What camera (because max ISO will make a difference too)?

Check the strobist site on flickr and search for group shots. I think your best bet is to bounce 2 or 3 flash units off the ceiling and back walls. As per the preceding poster set them to manual full power
set your iso to 400 or 800. Shoot raw so you can color balance. Borrow or buy a few photo slaves to set off your off camera flashes. Use an on camera flash (also manual) to set off the other ones thus avoiding wires all over the place.
The on camera light should be just strong enough to lighten up the eyes of your subjects.
You should test the setup before hand .
A light behind the group is also quite effective.