Group Shot Help With 300+ People

Canon EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS

06/20/2010 11:12:34 PM · #1

I'm looking for a bit of help / advice. I've been asked to take a large group shot for my company of around 300 people to celebrate a 10 year event.

I've never had to take anything on this scale before and was looking for some pointers on managing / taking a shot like this.

I'm going to be able to choose a location, but will be severely limited to anywhere within short walking distance of the office. Here's the situation:

We're in a business park, the glass buildings type with some surrounding grass areas
Shot will be taken during the day, I'll probably get to specify morning or afternoon
Weather will be broken cloud / sunny

Here's my questions:

What's the best way to manage / setup such a large group
Sound I try and get a tiered shot on a slope or group them on flat ground and take it from above?
What's my best equipment choices (from what I have), I'm guessing the 14-24 but input is welcome
Any other advice you want to throw my way :)

Thanks all in advance!

scooter97

Canon EOS-6D

06/20/2010 11:14:55 PM · #2

Bring a ladder and use the widest lens you have available to you.

Leo

Apple iPhone Xr

06/20/2010 11:40:26 PM · #3

Any access to a second floor balcony (maybe roof). Seems like the best shot would be from above for that large a group. Have help in "corralling" the group. Since this is for a company 10yr event, bring along something to identify the company (large company logo? a company banner?). These suggestions are from remembering the class photographer getting a high school class picture (350+) students...some 25+ years ago. Good luck.

Message edited by author 2010-06-20 23:43:23.

Canon EF 300mm f/2.8L IS USM

06/20/2010 11:56:09 PM · #4

Thanks for the suggestions, I'll see what I can arrange to get above the group and I'll speak to our communications folk about a logo or banner as well.

Cheers!

Skip

Canon EOS-1D X

06/21/2010 12:05:31 AM · #5

good luck...

some ideas and details here.

Judi

Canon EOS-5D Mark III

Canon EF 17-40mm f/4.0L USM

06/21/2010 12:07:25 AM · #6

Or you can be creative and stand all the people inside the people facing out of the glass windows....using as many levels as required and shoot from across the road. Now that would be interesting to do....two way radios or mobiles would be a must.

MelonMusketeer

Nikon D7000

Nikon MF 50mm f/1.4

06/21/2010 01:30:18 AM · #7

Look at the local weather for a norm. Here we have afternoon showers/ thunderstorms this time of year, so that sort of shot would be best in the morning.
If they want a grand shot of 300 or so people, they may have, or might spring for a bucket lift, to get you 30 or 40 ft elevation. That way you could pick your shooting position relative to the existing light.
If you are shooting into the light, so that everyone does not have to squint, it may be a good idea to use a lens shade to help reduce lens flare.
If you are going with a very wide lens, then avoid the polarizer, as it may make part of the sky much darker than the rest. If you are going to have some sky in the shot, a gradient neutral density filter will help make the sky look better.
You might look for a setting that has a building wall that will reflect sunlight back onto the shadow side of the crowd at the time of day that you want to shoot.
If you want to cover all the bases, go a couple of days early and try a test shoot on location with one or more of your friends, to see how the light and setting will look at the time of day that you want to do the real shoot.

geinafets

Canon EOS-50D

Canon EF 50mm f/1.4 USM

06/21/2010 01:56:19 AM · #8

Depending on your angle, I don't think a wide angle would work. Then everyone who is close to you will be relatively large and therefore identifiable, but because of the lens, everyone in the back will be so small that you won't be able to tell who they are. Maybe getting back as far as possible and using a medium range lens would work better. Or shoot from above so everyone is more or less equidistant from you.

Nikon AF-S DX Zoom-Nikkor 17-55mm f/2.8G IF-ED

06/21/2010 02:56:40 AM · #9

Thanks all, great suggestions. I'm going to scout about tomorrow and see if I can find the best place to take the shot, hopefully I find some environmental help :)

justamistere

Nikon D3s

06/21/2010 04:17:10 PM · #10

Put in the address and I can see what Google or Bing aerial photos show. That could be helpfull too. You could email every on that when they see a green flashlight to look and smile if they are not within the reach of a megaphone.

You can buy giant numbers like a "10" and spray paint them some company logo colors, from a Crafts store like "Pat Catans". I just bought some 24 inch 3D brown carboard box style letters "JCF"

Shine some battery powered strong spotlights on the company banner.

If it is rainy or cloudy. I like Judi's idea of plastering everyone against the window glass of the outside windows on different floors. With lighting indoors if its dak enough. That can be shot by each floor separately and put together a large panorama.

You could still do an outdoor panorama. You have to have the same exposure to get the colors to match or intentially unmatch for an artistic effect.

07/01/2010 08:30:15 PM · #11

Here's the end result, I went with some of your suggestions, used a ladder, wide angle lens, kept them all close to stop the back ones from seeming too distant and included a company banner (deliberately blurred here):

The light was slightly unforgiving, but the best I was going to get, this was done at 10am, any time after that the sun would have started to move behind them, any earlier and they wouldn't have turned up!

This was about the only spot that was in any way good for the shot around the complex but I'm pleased with the way it turned out. You can't see it here but in the full size you can clearly see everyone is laughing and smiling because I had just made some joke about Australia and the world cup, which was particularly ironic coming from me as I'm Scottish :)

MinsoPhoto

Canon EOS-7D

Canon EF 50mm f/1.4 USM

07/01/2010 08:51:03 PM · #12

Originally posted by Covert_Oddity:

Have you tried cropping it pano style? Get rid of most of the grass at the bottom and some of the sky? Just hard to really see anyone in the group like this.