Best lens for large family portrait (10+ people)

[megkunert]

I have a friend wanting me to take some family portraits for her extended family. They currently have 5 living generations, so it will likely be around 10 people, maybe a few more or a few less. This would be my first time photographing a large group. I told her that, but she still insisted on me doing them. I don't want to disappoint, so here I am looking for some advice from those who have been there.

It isn't until the summer, so there will likely be lots of natural light available. All I have is the 35 1.8 and the kit lens. I'm not opposed to renting a lens for a short period of time (I get the results I want, don't have to shell out a ton of money, and helps build my portfolio), so with that in mind, what lens should I use?

Would you recommend a wide angle lens like the 24mm 1.4? Would I have to worry about distortion? I definitely do not want people on the lower row to appear bigger than people on the back row, haha.

What about the 85 1.4, the holy grail of portrait lenses? I've used it before - with amazing results on individuals, but not sure how it would work on a large group.

I thought about a 50mm 1.4, but don't have any experience with it. Anyone used this for a large family photo?

Also, we will probably be at a park or some place with plenty of open space, so focal length and space to work will not likely be an issue.

Any ideas?

[TheEagleSpirit]

Not being used to taking large crouds I took a portrait of 50 people at a class reunion using a tamron 17-50mm f2.8 lens. I didn't use a tripod but focus was sharp. The folks in the longest line were 24 and 3 lines deep with 4 in the last line. I focused on the middle row and the eyes shooting raw. With a bright backround and flash I had to do some post processing on exposure. What I should have done was focus on each end of the second row and split the difference on the exposure meter for a better shot and used jpeg fine since raw made a large file I was not used to working with. I am very happy with the lens shooting jpeg fine even in a concert with tricky lighting at iso 2000 at f2.8 giving me sharp and great exposure in aperature mode also some in auto and no flash. I also have a 85 mm f3.5 nikkor lens with vr that I used in the same concert for portrait shots of the entertainer. The entertainer shots are on the link to my photoshop page.

[WayneW]

As far as your lens and distortion is concerned, you might try the old brick wall trick. Make an educated guess as to how wide the group will be. A (standard) group shot might have two tiers, let's say, children and seated seniors in front, with others standing in the rear. Let's say for this example our group extends to 8 feet in width. Now find a brick wall and measure out about 10 or 12 feet. (Add this extra space on the sides for composition - don't want their elbows at the edge of the frame). Mark the distance with a couple of broomsticks or whatever. Use a tripod and take some shots, varying the distance to the wall, as well as your focal length, to cover the same section of the wall with each successive shot. You can then examine the images for distortion at all the focal lengths you used. Above all, don't stick to my example for your actual pictures! Think outside the box and enjoy doing it!

[autofocus]

a few tricks to consider:
1) no heads directly behind another head and try to stagger the height of the heads of folks next to each other.
2) don't limit to setting up two straight rows one behind the other..you can form the group in a V, or C formation facing you. This will help narrow the group.
3) you can consider shooting the group from an elevated position...bring a ladder or step stool to stand on.
4) take advantage of a front porch to set them up on (if wide enough)
5) informal groupings or clusters can also be nice arrangements

Lenses: forget the 85. The 35 may be OK, or even the kit lens (18-55) might be OK. Also be aware that you will need a smaller aperture to get everyone in focus, which will also require you to be watchful of your background. I would recommend not any wider than f/5.6. And also be aware that many lenses lose sharpness as they go out to the edges...so check your lenses for that.