need to take agroup shot of 150 people, in low light, help!

[macobee]

Hi, here we had a meeting about our upcoming gala dinner, and it was mentioned we should hire a photographer to come take group shots in the end.

However we are over budget already for this event so i am now asked to take a couple shots.

doh!! shiver shiver!

the setting will be in a restaurant with pretty subdued light (low) my equipment is a 350 D with kitlens and 430 EX flash

how would i set my camera best to get some reasonable pictures of a group of 150 people?

anybody any tips? or should i say ......no way this is too hard for me to do with y equipment?

[Jim G]

Uhm. I'm not sure if an external flash can really output enough to cover 150 people! Unless you mean not all at once? If you're doing small groups what I'd do is set the camera to M mode and select an aperture/ISO/shutter speed combination to let in as much background light as is desired with a shutter speed high enough to prevent motion blur (probably 1/100 for convenience) and let the flash do its ETTL thing... you should get some very good results there.

If you're trying to do everyone at once in a dim environment, uh.. well I may be wrong here but I don't think the 430 will really be up to the job!

Whatever you end up doing practice first! Set your camera to what settings you think you might use and have a play in some dim rooms in your house with some friends/family... it's much easier to get the hang of things in a no-pressure environment :)

[samnz]

No budget for a photographer should be a good lesson to all organisers if they expect to have a large group photo taken in a somewhat difficult location.

Going by your "doh, shiver, shiver" reaction, I take it you aren't very confident about the 'gig'? If that's the case, don't do it. Certainly have your camera for 'snap shots', but try and enjoy the evening without the extra responsibility.

You've got some great gear and I wouldn't under-estimate for one second the potential of your equipment and your skills, however it's not worth the stress...Lighting, Exposure, Composition etc...I'd much rather be having a good time.

[Mike Reynolds]

somehow you need to get enough light to capture the group photo. Here'a my suggestion...experiment.....figure the area your 150 people will cover. set your iso to the highest setting, rent, beg, or borrow some lighting to iluminate that area for your shot. see if you cn set up a practice session at the actual location. Good luck!

[René Damkot]

150 people? Wow.
I don't think on camera flash will be very helpfull.
You'ld probabely set them up in about 7 rows 20 wide or so. So you are going to need DoF.
Also you'ld probabely need some 'step up' for the hind rows, to keep them visible. Either that, or you need a high standing point yourself...
Use a tripod, as that will allow you te relatively easy swap a few heads afterward in PS. (there's always someone with the eyes closed...)
If you want to enlarge big, (you probabely will, when there's 150 people) you need to be very carefull about movement, focus and DoF...
Also, I would not go higher then ISO 800 or maybe 1600, depending on how 'noise resistant' you (and the customers!) are...
I agree with mike on the 'rent beg or borrow' and 'practice session' (specially the last).
If you know nothing about flash, the event itself might not be the best time to find out, so practice in advance.
If the entire location is lit by tungsten lighting, you might give some Halogen 'bouwlampen' a try (don't know the english word; construction lights?). Bounce them to the wall/ceiling outside of the frame...

On the day itself, make sure everything is set up in advance; 150 people should not be kept waiting while 'fiddeling' the lights. It's probabely hard enough to get them all facing the camera at the same time ;)

Oh, and the easiest way to make sure all heads are visible in a group shot is to build 'triangles': One person is behind and between two others, and so on.

[DocFrankenstein]

Rent a 1200 wattsecond monolight for 30 bucks for a day. Should be just about enough.

[PhotosGuy]

or should i say ......no way this is too hard for me to do with y equipment? My first instinct is that that would be a good plan! Or quote them $5,000 & be happy that they turn you down? :D see if you cn set up a practice session at the actual location. Well, that's a great way to see if it's even possible with what you have. Maybe they can turn up the lights for you? But I wouldn't expect much from that & would most likely say "Thanks, but no thanks. ;)

[Mark_Cohran]

I wouldn't try this with the equipment you have. Candids at various tables, yes; group shot, no way.

Mark

[macobee]

Hi, thanks for all replies and sorry for me coming back so late, the group shot was dropped, but also the normal table etc shots are less then good!
i am really struggling with low light flash pics in larger areas then lets say a home or so.
you can have a look here : http://marco-veringa.smugmug.com/gallery/2319424#P-103-15

i think i need a course, very urgently!! sigh anyway i still love daylight photography and go prety well with that.

[PhotosGuy]

Smugmug is loading SLOW! & I'm not inclined to wait 2 minutes for each image to load.
Generally, the thumbs look OK except for the food which could have used some side highlights at the very least. You didn't ask for advice on the food stuff, but last week I picked up a cheap manual AC/battery strobe for $5 just to have something I could throw in the car's glove box for emergencies. I still use these, too.
Simple "every-day-emergency" location lighting (http://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthread.php?t=66358)

http://www.imaginginfo.com/article/article.jsp?siteSection=19&id=2221
http://www.rickbeckerstudios.com/
Good advice from Rick Becker: Ways to Enhance Your Images

1. Skim highlighted edges on products for pop
2. See the lighting, see the shot, before you light the subject
3. Don’t be afraid to try new angles, techniques
4. Shoot multiple lightings (different captures) and blend the best of each
5. Handhold lights and mirrors for accents
6. Highlights, highlights, highlights, Shape, shape, shape

[Lonnie]

From the shots I looked at, which were the group shots on stage...the 420EX isn't cutting it. The 420ex doesn't seem to be able to light up that large of an area. Having said that, for some free shots that they wouldn't have had otherwise- not bad.

Could probably use a couple of cheap off camera optical slaves with umbrellas to make these shots a lot better next time. It would take a bit of time to setup and practice getting the right exposure before the event, but the results would be much nicer. I suggest you browse the lighting forum here for some ideas. Curtis and some others have posted a lot of good info there.

Also, I have read that for large groups, if your equipment isn't quite up to the task, ie lens or lighting aren't sufficient, you could try doing a panoramic shot. I wouldn't want to rely on the pano to come out good...but you could have much more even lighting and better image quality by stitching several shots together. Just an idea you may want to play around with next time.