Big Family Shoot Coming Up...

[mstark70]

I have really only done one on one portraits (mostly babies and kids) or at the most two people (my own girls). I have been asked to do a shoot for a family with about 9 adults and 8 kids. It will be at a park in the evening (around 7pm). So lighting should be good. I have asked them all to wear solid color shirts in a matching color preferably.
I am not sure how to pose them all! Any group posing ideas? Also what lens I should use? I do have a tripod. I have a 50mm 1.8 that I use for my individual portraits (don't think this would be my best choice for a group this size). I also have the kit lens of the 28-135mm and I have a Sigma lens (My mom is letting me borrow) of 28-200mm. So which one should I go with and what F-stop should I use to make sure I get everyone in focus?
Looking forward to this new experience and only learning and improving from it.
Thank you for any help or ideas~!

[Kit]

make sure you've allowed enough time to shoot such a large group. Take lots of photos and rememmber that they will probably want to break off into smaller groups (individual families, kids/parents etc). My last experience in shooting a group of this size was that it was very difficult to get everyone looking in the same direction at the same time, let alone smiling!!!

Take the large group photo first. The younger ones will get bored fast so you want to capture the main portrait when they are at thier best.

look for layers in the landscape and use that to your best advantage. Brick walls, trees, park benches will all allow you to stagger the family members.

Keep the families in thier groups. Centre them around the family's matriach. This is how they will see thier family i.e. head of the family centred and kids posed around.

Good luck

[kleidascope]

Bring an assistant to help you. Someone that will follow your instruction and an extra set of eyes to observe, make sure everyone is in order so you can concentrate on the camera and taking the pictures.

the 50mm might be a little too 'narrow' for this type of photo, it won't allow you to get 'close', I tried using it on a grouping of 4, and I had to get too far back to get a decent shot.

[naeno]

Make sure to use a fairly small f-stop, around F11 or F16. If you go smaller than that, you are very likely to get people out of focus who are on the edges.

50mm is great for individuals, but just not big enough for groups.

Here's a good article to read How to Take Great Group Photos. You can also Google "Posing large groups" for more ideas on poses.

[candleman]

use a tripod, take lots of the same pose (that way you can merge smiling faces into one shot)
check the shots as you take them, and check everybody's face can be seen properly..

f/ stop dependant somewhart on focal lengh..

f/8 is a pretty good all rounder. but you will need to watch your shutterspeed if its indoors.
i'd suggest a flash

[mstark70]

Thank you all so much for your tips and advice. I have ordered the other kit lens for my camera the Canon 18-55mm. I know it is from from the perfect lens for the job but better then what I have on hand and my only affordable option right now. I will post some shots later to show what I got!

[SusanH1970]

Originally Posted by mstark70

Thank you all so much for your tips and advice. I have ordered the other kit lens for my camera the Canon 18-55mm. I know it is from from the perfect lens for the job but better then what I have on hand and my only affordable option right now. I will post some shots later to show what I got!

I cannot WAIT to see how they come out! You'll rock it. Remember....fantastic equipment DOES help, but it's the person behind the camera that takes a beautiful photo. Good glass is wonderful, and I wish I had some, but my clients are happy with the results I get with what I have....and yours are too. Just remember that!