Family Portrait

[Miss Frizzle]

Saturday begins our yearly family vacation in San Diego. Every year we take a group picture, and usually what happens is everyone lines up their point and shoot on the back of the couch, and my cousin goes down, pressing the shutter of each one, and running back to the group before the self-timers go off. :rolleyes: I'm bringing my DSLR this year, so I'm hoping everyone will put their point and shoots away and I can just use my camera, tripod, and shutter release remote.

My question is, does anyone have any suggestions for camera settings for a group photo - 15 or so people? Every year we do it indoors, usually in the evening, around this couch that has a huge window behind it. It's not the ideal photo situation. Maybe I can talk them in to a new location.

I don't have an external flash which probably would be useful. What is my best bet with what I have?

Thanks!

[Celtic Tiger]

Saturday begins our yearly family vacation in San Diego. Every year we take a group picture, and usually what happens is everyone lines up their point and shoot on the back of the couch, and my cousin goes down, pressing the shutter of each one, and running back to the group before the self-timers go off. :rolleyes: I'm bringing my DSLR this year, so I'm hoping everyone will put their point and shoots away and I can just use my camera, tripod, and shutter release remote.

My question is, does anyone have any suggestions for camera settings for a group photo - 15 or so people? Every year we do it indoors, usually in the evening, around this couch that has a huge window behind it. It's not the ideal photo situation. Maybe I can talk them in to a new location.

I don't have an external flash which probably would be useful. What is my best bet with what I have?

Thanks!


Well it's been awhile and no one has weighed in here so even though I am relatively new I will. Sometimes it just takes one response to get people posting (especially if its bad advice). I have a technical answer and a human relations answer. First the technical.

With a group that large you will likely be at least a couple rows deep. Therefore you will need a reasonable DOF. In order to get everyone in focus you may need an aperture of f/8 or probably more like f/11. You'll need flash for that. Since you don't have an external flash, you'll end up using your on-board flash which is generally despised around these parts; but you gotta go with what got. You can go Av with f/11 and let the camera select your shutter speed or I guess you can go manual and select a shutter speed you can live with. In a external flash eTTL situation, this makes the flash rise to the occasion. I assume the on-board works in a similar fashion.Now the human relations part.

It sounds like the P&S on the back of the couch thing has become a bit of a tradition. Even if you offer to share your shot with everyone via e-mail or even get prints made; they may not view it as the same. Everyone wants their own shot in their own camera. If it were me, I'd be a little careful not to come off as the fancy schmancy photographer with the tripod and shutter release. You know how families can be. I think maybe some get a kick out of the tradition. Maybe see if you can do both..just my 2 cents.

[Miss Frizzle]

Very true.... They probably would all still want their own picture. They are crazy about group pictures. We'll probably end up doing both.

Thanks for the tips! Would a certain lens be better? I think I would need a wider angle with so many people, so I probably would need my 18-55. Or if I got further back do you think my 50 1.8 would be best?

[photography by trish]

i think the 18-55 would be fine. if you're going to use a smaller aperture, i don't see how the 50 will be better than the 18-55. personally, i would bust out my tripod and set the timer, but that's me. even if everyone wants their own, i still want mine to be the best it can be. that's just my humble opinion. :) have fun!

[Celtic Tiger]

Thanks for the tips! Would a certain lens be better? I think I would need a wider angle with so many people, so I probably would need my 18-55. Or if I got further back do you think my 50 1.8 would be best?

Unless you have a really, really large space I think your 50 will be too long on a crop camera. Here is a shot I took about 5 hours ago with a 30mm on a crop from about 10-15 feet away. It's only 4 people.


Use your 18-55. Set up your tripod; let everyone get their shots and then take yours. I hope you have a great time.

[Miss Frizzle]

Thank you! And beautiful photo btw!

[Celtic Tiger]

Thank you! And beautiful photo btw!

Thanks! Now get some sleep...you've got a big vacation coming up;).

[Miss Frizzle]

Okay.... here we go.

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2551/3755705527_44b37d18b5_b.jpg

Focal length: 34mm (kit lens)
Aperture: f/11
Shutter Speed: 1/20

I photoshopped the exposure ever so slightly, and I cropped it a bit closer. I tried a closer crop but I wasn't sure if I liked it with the legs chopped off and so much extra space at the top. If I were to do this again I would have had the one at the top come down, so it was more even on both sides. Also, I would have figured out if I could have done anything about the window glare. I messed around in photoshop but ended up not being able to do anything about it.

The rest of the family did the point and shoots on the back of the couch, and then after I used my self timer and took five shots. The fifth one turned out the best, I think. Let me know what you think. Constructive criticism is welcome!

[Miss Frizzle]

I think my family would kill me for putting up these photos, so maybe I'll take them down in a few days. But here is the photo I took last year with my point and shoot. I adjusted the exposure just a bit in photoshop as I did in the photo I took this year. But yeah, just a comparison. :)

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3447/3755817429_59e4c3d827_b.jpg

[anthony11]

I photoshopped the exposure ever so slightly, and I cropped it a bit closer. I tried a closer crop but I wasn't sure if I liked it with the legs chopped off and so much extra space at the top.

For me, the tables on either end are distracting: I'd crop horizontally a bit to remove them. I suggest also bringing up the exposure a bit, as it looks dark on my display (color-managed browser). You'll wash out the stuff outside, which isn't necessarily such a bad thing.
[quote]If I were to do this again I would have had the one at the top come down, so it was more even on both sides.
Maybe between/behind the guys with the hat and beard.
Also, I would have figured out if I could have done anything about the window glare. I messed around in photoshop but ended up not being able to do anything about it.
A circular polarizer might have helped, but would have required either a larger aperture or even longer exposure. Maybe on a cropper you could get away with f/8 and still have enough DoF.