Family Portrait - of 35 people! Composition???????

Sony 16-50mm f/3.5-5.6 E-mount

12/09/2005 01:09:27 AM · #1

I have been asked to do a family portrait of a family of 7 seven children with their respective spouses and children. The idea is on the wall they would like a central photo of the whole family with individual family shots around the main one. The individual family shots don't pose much of a problems but the main one I can't figure how I can compose this with creating much interest or emotion. Desperately seeking some inspiration from anyone!!!!!

Thanks, Nic.

jmsetzler

Sony Alpha a6000

12/09/2005 01:16:32 AM · #2

I would recommend posing them in a setup where you can make the photo and then create an 8x10 crop without having too much open space on the top and bottom of the image. This would likely involve 'stacking' them up.. having 9 or 10 people standing, the same number on a knee in front of them, and the rest sitting in front. Don't spread them out too wide if you can help it. The ultimate setting could possibly be on steps of a building or something...

Artyste

Sony Ericsson W810i

Tamron SP AF 28-75mm f/2.8 XR Di for Pentax

12/09/2005 01:25:29 AM · #3

Beware that the *ist DL is a 3:2 ratio camera. The default crop would be 8x12, not 8x10.. so you'll want to leave plenty of room on the sides to allow for this if you do 8x10s. Most places will print 8x12s, but finding frames is more difficult.

As jmsetzler says, it's best to try and stack if you can. Allow for the fact that there will be more space on the top and bottom than the viewfinder allows, and take a few test shots to get your framing right.

12/09/2005 02:54:06 AM · #4

We had a photographer at a family reunion back in 2001. I knew even less about photography than I do now, but I was not impressed with the results of the entire group pic. I would've thought he would use a medium format camera, but could be wrong. the 8x10's sucked (blurred faces) - would probably need at least a 20" wide print to get something good from it. Anyway there were a LOT of people...

Good luck with it.

fotomann_forever

12/09/2005 03:44:38 AM · #5

Hey Art, can I circle the cute girls and send the file to you and you send me thier numbers? LOL

wrobel

Canon EOS-300D Rebel

12/09/2005 03:55:07 AM · #6

I did a photo about 25 years ago for a girl's marching team, grades from novice to senior, total about 50 poeple. I had the girls arranged in rows of about eight or ten on a football field (the venue they were competing on) and I set my gear up in one of the stands about 15-20' above them and 40-50' away, using a 200mm lens (still inadequate for the job as I recall). The club reckoned it was the best photo they ever had of the whole team. Sorry I can't find the original for you. I printed the image 20"x30". Canon T90, can't remeber the settings.
Perhaps you could go the other way and set your families in rows in the stands in a football stadium and shoot from the arena? Just a suggestion.

Canon EF 28-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS USM

12/09/2005 03:57:00 AM · #7

Originally posted by fotomann_forever:

Hey Art, can I circle the cute girls and send the file to you and you send me thier numbers? LOL

I circled them for you. I'll PM the phone numbers... ;-P

fotomann_forever

12/09/2005 04:10:26 AM · #8

Originally posted by Art Roflmao:

Originally posted by fotomann_forever:
Hey Art, can I circle the cute girls and send the file to you and you send me thier numbers? LOL

I circled them for you. I'll PM the phone numbers... ;-P

Yup, those are the ones... LMAO

Didymus

Canon EOS-20D

12/09/2005 09:24:55 AM · #9

There are some good hints in the Collections challenge works, particularly blue and yellow ribbons. :-)

Flash

Nikon D700

Nikon AF-S Nikkor 17-35mm f/2.8D IF-ED

12/09/2005 11:19:28 AM · #10

Originally posted by manic35:

Attempt to have some organization to the logic of the arrangement. Meaning, have Mom and Dad either central or in front (perhaps sitting), then arrange each family unit around mom and dad. Symetry will be based on each sub family's unit size and birth order. I try to have the actual child nearest the parent with the in-law next to them and their children arranged by height/age. Babies are held by either the mother or father (which ever one has the most calming effect on the child).

Message edited by author 2005-12-09 11:20:30.

dassilem

Nikon D90

Nikon AF-S DX NIKKOR 18-200mm f/3.5-5.6G ED VR II

12/09/2005 11:32:50 AM · #11

My ex-inlaws had a family photo taken with about 18 people (can't remember and don't have the photo) but anyways, they arranged the [grand]parents in brightly colored Adirondack Lawn Chairs (wide chair arms) in the center of the photo,the youngest 2 kids sat on the outermost arm of the chairs of the grandparents, the 4 children also sat in Lawn Chairs in an arranged semi-circle around the parents. Their spouses and children sat around that chair (on the arm, standing behind, sitting on ground in front, etc) The chairs and placement brought interest to the picture and singled out the main branches of the family.

sabphoto

Samsung Galaxy S8/S8+

12/09/2005 11:39:36 AM · #12

of course depending on your skills you could also do a couple shots and stitch it together for a panoramic but not sure if they would like this. If doing so I would probably take the photos with the camera in portrait instead of landscape, that should allow you to get closer but will probably have to take more photos and have more to stitch.

Good luck with it.

BMacD

Olympus OM-D E-M5 Mark II

Olympus 14-54mm f/2.8-3.5 Zuiko Digital Zoom

12/09/2005 11:44:43 AM · #13

My nephew was married last summer and our side of the family numbered in the 70's. The photographer had us standing on a hill, and he used a tall step ladder. The hill allowed him to reduce the width of the group. Worked really well.

livitup

Nikon D70

Nikon AF-S DX Zoom-Nikkor 18-70mm f/3.5-4.5G IF-ED

12/09/2005 12:12:45 PM · #14

Originally posted by Art Roflmao:

Originally posted by fotomann_forever:
Hey Art, can I circle the cute girls and send the file to you and you send me thier numbers? LOL

I circled them for you. I'll PM the phone numbers... ;-P

Ken, does the first person to spot you get a prize?

12/09/2005 05:31:11 PM · #15

Originally posted by Artyste:

Thanks for that tip, Artyste. I had no idea about that. That's why I love this site.

12/09/2005 05:36:48 PM · #16

Originally posted by Flash:

I love that idea - i think that the seven subgroups would work very in this arrangement. I will position their mother in the centre - I would like to bring particularly attention to her and I think that this arrangement will achieve that. Thanks for your suggestion.

Message edited by author 2005-12-10 03:41:40.

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

12/09/2005 05:38:17 PM · #17

Originally posted by manic35:

Thanks for that tip, Artyste. I had no idea about that. That's why I love this site.

And all this time I thought it was cuz of thread-hijackers/thread-clowns like me. :(

Strikeslip

Canon EOS-5D

12/09/2005 05:41:49 PM · #18

Originally posted by livitup:

Originally posted by Art Roflmao:

Originally posted by fotomann_forever:
Hey Art, can I circle the cute girls and send the file to you and you send me thier numbers? LOL

I circled them for you. I'll PM the phone numbers... ;-P

Ken, does the first person to spot you get a prize?

Who has the most reflection bouncing off his melon? Talk about blown headlights. ;-)

DelRioPhoto

Nikon D700

Nikon AF-S Zoom-Nikkor 28-70mm f/2.8D IF-ED

12/09/2005 05:43:09 PM · #19

Someone mentioned the idea of stitching. I came across these types of group photos a while back and thought they were pretty cool. They may not be what you are trying to do, but I thought I would share them nonetheless.

This photo is not mine and is from a photographer named Brian Lawler.

//www.thelawlers.com/Images/Rangers_2005.jpg

Nikon AF-S DX Zoom-Nikkor 18-70mm f/3.5-4.5G IF-ED

12/09/2005 05:44:19 PM · #20

Originally posted by Strikeslip:

Who has the most reflection bouncing off his melon? Talk about blown headlights. ;-)

kearock

Nikon D90

12/09/2005 06:14:03 PM · #21

I haven't taken too many shots of large groups, but have been in quite a few over the years with my college marching band. Here's a few thoughts on why the best ones worked.

In this one, everyone's on different levels so you see quite a bit of each person, but the lines aren't perfectly straight and there are more rows on the left than on the right. This makes the shot more interesting without looking unbalanced because of the way the things they're standing on curve (the people on the right seem to fill in the void of the missing rows).

Here people are arranged in a very uneven manner, but since they aren't in regular rows, it doesn't look like a dumb accident. Again, rather than looking uneven, it adds interest where rows would have been boring. The panoramic crop also seems to add something.

And finally my personal favorite, taken by the college's in house photographer (who does great work). Again, no boring straight rows, people are placed irregularly, which adds interest. Also, in this shot, the background is both relevant to the subject at hand and well composed. The angles in the stadium work well to accent the subject and make the whole image more interesting.

To sum up, straight rows are boring and institutional and a well composed background adds a lot to a large group shot. Think about it, when you put a photo of 35 people (a lot) on your wall, you're really not going to look at the individual people much, you'll be much happier having it on your wall if the people are in a nice context something meaningful to the group or something that's just plain pretty.

Message edited by author 2005-12-09 18:19:13.

nsbca7

Mattel Barbie Photo Designer Digital Camera

12/09/2005 06:16:43 PM · #22

Originally posted by manic35:

How about something like this:

12/09/2005 10:05:28 PM · #23

Originally posted by nsbca7:

How about something like this:

That's a fantastic composition - I'm really looking for something different, so I'm definitely going to try something like this on the day. Thanks.