Photographing a large group of people can be something of a challenge – in this video Jared from Fro Knows Photo shares how he approached it (including how he post processed the shot and how he’d approach it differently next time).
© 2006 - 2010 Digital Photography School, All Rights Reserved / Disclaimer
Designed & Developed by Matt Brett / Powered by WordPress
Each day we send out a quick email to thousands of DPS readers to notify them of updates. This email is just short excerpt of the first few lines of our latest post with a link if you want to read it all. You can unsubscribe from this this service at any time.
This service is provided by a third party (Feedburner) and you can subscribe to it by leaving your email address in the following field and confirming your subscription when you get an email asking you to do so.
Enter your email address for
Daily Updates:
For those wanting a weekly summary of what happens on this site this free email newsletter is probably your best option. It includes a summary of the tips posted to the site each week. This newsletter is subscribed to by over 25000 readers (many who also subscribe to the other options above) - come join the community!
To subscribe to this weekly newsletter simply add your email address to the following field and then follow the confirmation prompts. You will be able to unsubscribe at any time.
Enter your email address for
Free Weekly Newsletter:
28 Responses to “Photographing a Large Group of People… With the Fro” - Add Yours
April 6th, 2011 at 8:10 am
I unfortunatly have meet Fro. He is kinda an ass
April 6th, 2011 at 8:36 am
Very fun! Go on with your bad self, Fro.
-www.minacicconi.com
April 6th, 2011 at 9:47 am
Hey Michael, where did we meet?
April 6th, 2011 at 10:26 am
you dont want to know mr.fro, some things are best left unsaid
April 6th, 2011 at 11:05 am
Id love to know.
April 6th, 2011 at 12:04 pm
Whether he’s an “ass” or not is irrelevant.
He is sharing his knowledge with the world, helping his peers become better at their passion. And he’s bringing his own unique flavour to his videos. His style is laid back and a fun way to learn thing. As a hobbyist beginner-intermediate photographer, I wish there were more like him out there.
April 6th, 2011 at 1:46 pm
Rick – couldn’t have said it better myself. Cheers Jared.
April 6th, 2011 at 6:23 pm
I love what you are doing fro.
April 6th, 2011 at 8:22 pm
I’ve been visiting the Fro’s website for a while now and its been great. He’s helpful but also doesn’t everything to seriously. Also gets involved with his community which I respect alot.
Great video.
Thanks
April 6th, 2011 at 9:05 pm
What a response to start the comments, with no clarification.
Pretty basic stuff, for me a good reminder to get out of the “low ISO” habit.
Nice having a cherry picker, I just look for the best high ground I can find:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/lendog64/5581471178/
April 7th, 2011 at 12:35 am
This is a good info for me. I usually take few large group shots and they look good but could be better. I will try to increase the ISO and the F# to get sharper image. Thanks for the video.
April 7th, 2011 at 2:09 am
Who knew that old cherry picker sitting in my garage just collecting dust would come in handy one day?
Couldn’t resist the snark. How much does it cost to rent a cherry picker and will it fit in the back of my Prius hatchback?
Nice job, Jared. Enjoyable and informative as always.
April 7th, 2011 at 3:09 am
What if you don’t have a cherry picker? Just use the resources you have? Do you have any creative ideas you have used in the past that might be helpful to others? Thank you!
April 7th, 2011 at 5:59 am
The year before I had to use a huge huge ladder
April 8th, 2011 at 12:45 am
Where did you focus for this shot?
April 8th, 2011 at 1:43 am
I was going to say, ladders are pretty easy to come by (or borrow) – compared to cherry pickers, anyway. Depending on the setting I’ve also used fire escapes and balconies to get a similar perspective.
April 8th, 2011 at 1:45 am
Side note, thanks for sharing, and sorry to hear that you’re an unsubstantiated ass. “best left unsaid” indeed. Sheesh.
April 8th, 2011 at 3:29 am
Thank you, Rick, for taking the high road. In my opinion, sharing is caring. I appreciate the knowledge Jared puts out via his website and now iTunes! I learn a lot from his site as well as many others. Thank you, Jared!!!
April 8th, 2011 at 4:16 am
Great advice, always good to be reminded!
April 8th, 2011 at 5:47 am
Jared Polin is a fantastic guy as a photographer who is sharing his knowledge free of cost to dumb losers like Michael & joe. If you had some personal issues with Jared, keep them between urselves, dont post them here coz they are irrelevant to us.
Creativity is always welcomed.
I believe after DigitalRevCom [http://www.youtube.com/user/DigitalRevCom] Jared Polin is fantastic.
April 8th, 2011 at 9:47 am
@michael, your comment has nothing at all to do with this tutorial so why share that! Jared, thanks for sharing, some really useful tips. I just wish I could get a cherry picker to take wedding group shots, but not always possible!! I’d be interested to know if you shoot slower than 1/60 and how you get around edge distortion with the wide lens, you commented a bit on that with this tutorial.
April 8th, 2011 at 2:05 pm
Thanks Jared Polin, I really loved you style and the photograph. I have taken some group shots for corporates too, but never had an opportunity to go so high up, I used 15 feet industrial later to get a fairly large group shot.
Check this out: http://digitalstudio.in/images/indoors/sony/IMG_7872.jpg
April 8th, 2011 at 3:40 pm
I shoot large group portraits for a living. I would have not been so high and actually had the group stand about 15 ft back from my platform. Then from about 15 ft in the air you you should be able to see everyone in a a group of 250 without looking like you took the photo from a helicopter. I also out line my frame with some cheap Orange cones it helps people fill in where I want and I remove them right before the shot. Works like a charm with a tall ladder I can set up and shoot a photo of 250 elementary students in about 25 minutes start to finish. I also recommend a large flash. I use a 2500 watt flash head and unit but I do this everyday and equipment is expensive. So if you don’t have that then set your shot up in a shadow or hope for a cloud.
April 8th, 2011 at 4:07 pm
Side note…. posing your group on a uphill slope, stairs, or bleachers helps.
April 9th, 2011 at 8:35 pm
ive been trying to do this for the past two weeks
cept im working with a bunch of teenagers… alot harder when they dont turn up on time :S
April 10th, 2011 at 1:09 am
Love this guy! What a help he is. Where did he focus, in the front or middle to get perfect DOF? Sorry, I am a newbie.
April 13th, 2011 at 4:41 pm
For shooting a large number of groups, the aperture setting should / would be f/8 OR f/11, so that almost everyone is in focus and sharp.
April 16th, 2011 at 8:44 am
I like to set my aperture at 16. Pretty much works overtime.
Leave a Reply