Group Shot, need quick answers please!

I am going to shoot group shots of 8-10 people. I own an XSi and need to know what settings would be best and spot metering. I've noticed on some shots of 4+ people I've taken, some people are out of focus. ANY and ALL tips would be helpful!!!

Thanks so much!
Sara

A wide lens, ƒ8, tripod, mirror lockup, and remote. Aperture priority set to ƒ8 should give you the depth of field to get them all in focus and save resetting for the multitude of shots you should take, and as we don't know the setting for the shot then if the lighting is not to good the slow shutter speed from ƒ8 will be offset by the tripod etc. Have fun.

okay, thanks for your repsonse! now, I don't have a remote and was planning on handheld?? Do I really need a tripod even if the kit lends is IS?? also, what is 'mirror lock'?? what spot metering should I use?? and AF focus? oh and what Mode? I ususally shoot in 'P' mode.

thanks again!

hulabean said:

okay, thanks for your repsonse! now, I don't have a remote and was
planning on handheld?? Do I really need a tripod even if the kit
lends is IS?? also, what is 'mirror lock'?? what spot metering should
I use?? and AF focus? oh and what Mode? I ususally shoot in 'P' mode.

thanks again!

Click to expand...

More experienced/better equipped folks may do this differently. For you in this situation, I'd give this a shot:

Assumption1 : You have decent lighting and are not dealing with a situation in which flash is required and the group is not backlit.

Assumption 2: The group is a "reasonable" distance from you -- not way off on stage and not so close that you can't get them in the picture using the kit lens at 18mm (widest) setting.

1. Use Aperture Priority and set your aperture to f/8
2. You can use the kit lens with IS on and no tripod.
3. Use Evaluative or Partial metering. Do not use Spot or Center Weighted.
4. Leave it on One Shot AF
5. Make sure you focus on a person, not the wall behind the group by accident.

6. Take several shots to be safe, and check them on the LCD ensure there is nothing obviously wrong with them.
7. Don't worry about Mirror Lock.

You can also take this picture in Program mode, though you run the risk of it picking an aperture that does not get everyone from front to back in focus.

If you need flash, you need to ensure that the group is "tight" enough and close enough so that your flash get everyone from front to back and left to right. To deep a group, and the back will not get covered or the people in front will be overlit. Too wide a group, and the people on the edges will not be lit, or the folks in the middle will be overlit. If you have to use flash, it would be best to use an external flash like the 430EX or 580EXII.

As an aside, you asked what "spot metering" to use. Spot metering is one type of metering, so what you really wanted to ask was "what metering mode do I use?"

Hope this helps.

David

With any kind of decent lighting, you should not need a tripod.

First check the lighting. IT SHOULD BE UNIFORM ACROSS THE GROUP. Sorry for the shout, but I just spent too much time correcting blown highlights, that could have been avoided had I remembered that rule.

It is not a good idea to have the group facing the sun. You will have a lot of squinting eyes. I like to use backlighting if possible. Use fill flash set at about -1 FEC to fill in the shadows.

Arrange the group so that you get flowing lines, not one head popping up here and another there.

Make sure you can see everyone's head.

As was suggested use f8 or smaller in Av mode. Make sure the shutter is below the maximum flash sync for the camera. On my 5D it is 1/200 sec. Adjust the ISO to make sure that you have a reasonable shutter speed, that is, between 1/100 and the maximum sync speed of the flash. Take a test shot and check the histogram. Note that you don't need spot metering, evaluative will work fine if you have followed rule 1.

If it is a bright sunny day, take a black cloth so you can see the screen after the shot and make sure that everything is lined up correctly, you can see everyone, etc.

Take several pictures. I can guarantee you that in the one shot where you have nice experssions on everyiones faces, and the positions are correct, someone will have their eyes closed. Just clone their eyes from another shot.

I have learned all of these things the hard way. Following these suggestions and others will keep you from making mistakes that I have made.
--
Jim
http://www.pbase.com/jcassatt

Thanks so much Dave!!! That helped ALOT! and I'm doing taking the pictures outside, so the lighting should be okay

Thank you much Jim for you tips!!! : D

Where do these ideas come from anyway?

BAK

BEginners often get into trouble with cropping.

Find out what final print size you want.

If it is 8x10, remember to leave empty space at both ends, to allow cropping (your normal size would be an 8x12 print.)

Pay attention to the height of the group. It's very easy to arrange the people so they are wide and shallow,a nd then you are stuck with lots of empty space in front (at the bottom) and above the group.

BAK

Thanks a bunch BAK!!! : )

and thanks to ALL with you useful tips and suggestions!! Today is the day of the photoshoot and I'm hoping all goes well....

Let us know how it went.

D.

thanks again everyone for your tips! Turned out that there were 8 subjects... just it was 5 people and 3 dogs : ) I used AV mode and f/7.1 (i think that is the term?)

hulabean said:

thanks again everyone for your tips! Turned out that there were 8
subjects... just it was 5 people and 3 dogs : ) I used AV mode and
f/7.1 (i think that is the term?)

Click to expand...

Its either the pictures are blurry or my monitor is dying. If you have a P&S camera, I suggest using that for group shots. Group shots with a DSLR is nearly impossible IMO. The depth of field is just too limited.

I think it might be the forum?? cuz on my computer, looking at the originals, they seem fine? weird

I believe they look "blurry" due to the resizing I did to fit them onto my personal website...I went and rechecked the orginal sizes (cuz I panicked : p ) and they are all clear! : D

I'm glad it turned out well and you were happy!

David