(another) question about team shots

I'm taking the team photo today for the girls Lax. When I did the boys last week, I think it came out fine, but it always seem like when they're so far away, it's hard to get their faces real sharp. I was wondering what the best settings to use are, to get the best picture. Oh, and it's pretty cloudy today.........

Thanks for any advice!!

Here is the one I did last week. I think it's ok, but the faces aren't real sharp. I'm not sure if it's because they're so far away, or because I did something wrong. Help! (this is the orginial, before my DH Photoshopped out the pole!)

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just my ideas

1. 26 total / 3 rows=8 per row plus 2 coaches
2. first row cross leg on ground
3. 2nd row kneeling all with rt knee down
4. 3rd row standing
5. make sure players are between each other chest out show numbers
6. get a wide angle lens
7. tripod keep lines straight
8. maybe a scoreboard or press box in the back or league or park sign if possible
9. for heights Ive done it like this
line all up shortest to tallest
take a row of what you want in this case 8
divide by 2 on each side
do for the other rows
that way you get tallest in the middle

I hope I explained it ok
Maybe I didnt

kinda like a pyramid

burnet44 wrote in post #14399777
just my ideas

1. 26 total / 3 rows=8 per row plus 2 coaches
2. first row cross leg on ground
3. 2nd row kneeling all with rt knee down
4. 3rd row standing
5. make sure players are between each other chest out show numbers
6. get a wide angle lens
7. tripod keep lines straight
8. maybe a scoreboard or press box in the back or league or park sign if possible
9. for heights Ive done it like this
line all up shortest to tallest
take a row of what you want in this case 8
divide by 2 on each side
do for the other rows
that way you get tallest in the middle

I hope I explained it ok
Maybe I didnt

kinda like a pyramid

Thanks!!! Now.......what settings???

depending on sun
Im sure others know better
but something around f8 or so depending on ss
I personally wouldnt go past 5.6
but Im sure many who are better than me (which is all of this forums) know better than me

also use fill flash to get faces lit if needed
maybe 45 Degrees
make sure sun is behind you
have every one close their eyes because its bright
say open wait 1/2 a second and shoot em
that way ya dont get squinting


also take about 5-10 to make sure ya got one with all eyes open

and never forget
DOF

http://www.dofmaster.c​om/dofjs.html

to me this thing is great

I hope that a real live pro will comment
Im just a slappy

there is also an app you can dl for your phone

As well as using the right aperture to get dof remember that acceptable sharpness exists both in front and behind the actual point of focus. If you focus on the front row then the second row will be slightly less sharp and the third row even more so. However, if you focus on the second row instead, then row one and row three will both be about the same.

I agree with everything except the wide angle lens, well the term I would use is a standard length zoom. I use a 70-200 for individuals, and a 24-105 for the groups. Remember that the farter away you get from the group, the more it will "compress" the image Your DOF is definatly the reason for a lack of sharpness. I have shot an entire marching band from the other side of a football field at about f16 and had everyone tack sharp.

thanks you guys know better than me

You're so far away because you're having to be that far away to fit everyone in the shot. I would agree with rearranging them so they aren't spread so far apart.

The suggestions I have are;

1. When I do team photos I try not to leave so much head room. I prefer more foreground so I can add text - team name, year, varsity or jv etc.

2. Make sure you use a tripod!

3. Use a remote to trigger the camera.

4. Put your camera in AV mode and choose 11 or 16 and that way everyone will be in focus.

Hope that helps and post the team photo if you get a chance.

Andy

Cloudy is good. It means no harsh shadows. If you have a flash or preferably two, you could set them up for fill.

1)You want 3 rows- front row sitting legs crossed, second row on 2 knees, and the third row standing.
2) Twenty six players/coaches works out to 9-8-9. Always have even/odd or odd/even rows so that you can pose players in the 2nd and 3rd rows the gaps between players in front of them. Always gap, never stack.
3) Do not think of a pyramid, think of a U. You want your shortest players in the front row, tallest players in the back row, and the shortest players in each row in the middle, with the tallest players in each row at the ends.
4) ^^^ Reread #3....Players in the front row, and players in the center of each row are closer to the camera. Players in the back row, and players on the ends of each row are farther from the camera. The closer to the camera a player is, the larger they will appear, the farther away, the smaller they will appear. Building a pyramid will exaggerate the effect, making the tall players in the middle look even taller, and the short players on the ends look even smaller.
5) Line the players up shortest to tallest, place the first player in the center of each row, then add 1 player to each side, back and forth, until you have the correct number of players in that row. Do the same for the other 2 rows.
6) I shoot backlit whenever possible, and use adequate fill. Keep in mind that you will need 600-800ws of flash to adequately fill a group this size in full sun.You won't get the job done with an on camera flash.
7) If you have enough flash output, in full sun, at ISO100, set your camera on manual 1/250th sec at f11. However, you may want to adjust your shutter speed to compensate for either a bright, or a dark or shadowed background. Focus on the middle player in the second row.

Coach21 wrote in post #14412148
The suggestions I have are;

1. When I do team photos I try not to leave so much head room. I prefer more foreground so I can add text - team name, year, varsity or jv etc.

2. Make sure you use a tripod!

3. Use a remote to trigger the camera.

4. Put your camera in AV mode and choose 11 or 16 and that way everyone will be in focus.

Hope that helps and post the team photo if you get a chance.

Andy

#1: Personal preference
#2: Tripod for individuals, not for the team.
#3: Get real... this make zero sense
#4: Put your camera in manual and set everything yourself. NEVER, EVER, EVER let the camera pick a setting.

sch_photo wrote in post #14414113
#1: Personal preference
#2: Tripod for individuals, not for the team.
#3: Get real... this make zero sense
#4: Put your camera in manual and set everything yourself. NEVER, EVER, EVER let the camera pick a setting.

I've told her that in other threads but she's not comfortable shooting in M. LAXmom - if you don't go out and buy that book (Understanding exposure) I'm gonna send you my friggen copy. I can't stress it enough - if you want to peruse photography what-so-ever, you need to learn to shoot in M. It's a game changer and you're only limiting your creativity by not figuring it out. And honestly, it's really easy once you understand the fundamentals. Google: exposure triangle in the meantime. Actually, I just did it for you and hilariously enough, this was the first result:

http://digital-photography-school.com …re-in-digital-photography

Go figure!

Aressem wrote in post #14415566
I've told her that in other threads but she's not comfortable shooting in M. LAXmom - if you don't go out and buy that book (Understanding exposure) I'm gonna send you my friggen copy. I can't stress it enough - if you want to peruse photography what-so-ever, you need to learn to shoot in M. It's a game changer and you're only limiting your creativity by not figuring it out. And honestly, it's really easy once you understand the fundamentals. Google: exposure triangle in the meantime. Actually, I just did it for you and hilariously enough, this was the first result:

http://digital-photography-school.com …re-in-digital-photography

Go figure!

I actually went out yesterday to find it, and they didn't have a copy. I STILL plan on getting it, but will probably try Amazon. I DID however buy "Understanding Photography" by Bryan Peterson. It's not like I can't learn other aspects of photography too, so figured it would be useful too. But yes, I totally agree with you, I need to improve on exposure, and learning to shoot in M. But, I hate to experiment when I'm shooting for people. I don't want to get a whole bunch of crappy shots because I didn't do it right. I'd rather experiment with something new when it doesn't matter, and I'm just doing it for me. KWIM?