Need help photographing middle school band (indoors)

I'll be photographing a middle school marching band in the gymnasium at a school and this is the first time I have ever done this.

The kids will be staged specifically in an incline orientation, staggered between eachother for every row so all their faces will be visible. The format will be similar to these photos ----->

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For shots like these I actually prefer to use a longer focal length to get some compression, which helps to give everyone the appearance of being the same size even though subjects in the back are technically farther away. A wide angle lens will exaggerate that and you'll notice all your subjects in the front will be much larger than subjects in the back. Not necessarily a bad thing, just a different look. I think for this shot and the examples you gave (especially that last one) that will really help to give you the look you're after. Requires you have some room to step back, though. Hope this helps

Use the longest lens you can get away with for the composition you need. It keeps perspective distortion down (people in front looking bigger than those in the back). On your flashes, if you assume your are in the middle, place your flash halfway to the end of the group (from where you are standing) pointing straight ahead so that the shadows will all go backward. One flash on each side of you. This will even up the spread and combat falloff. Get them up high if possible.

I'll add to Gonzo's post and say that if you have only one flash, place it high and directly behind the camera.

whuband wrote in post #15815721
I'll add to Gonzo's post and say that if you have only one flash, place it high and directly behind the camera.

yes, you better hope the lighting in the gym is good for that many people!

Thanks guys!

I'm planning on getting the two 60" umbrellas to light everyone and probably going to go with a mid range prime lens hopefully to get everything sharp. I was thinking of using my 70-200 f2.8, but then I don't know.

My buddy went to the school today and he said it is approximately 30 feet from the bleachers to the center of the room, so I would imagine double that for the maximum amount of space available. We're looking at around 50-60 ft of maximum shooting space from the camera to the first person on the bottom row.

Any clue on how high up the camera should be if I'm standing on a ladder?

GeminiZ wrote in post #15841953
My buddy went to the school today and he said it is approximately 30 feet from the bleachers to the center of the room, so I would imagine double that for the maximum amount of space available. We're looking at around 50-60 ft of maximum shooting space from the camera to the first person on the bottom row.

Any clue on how high up the camera should be if I'm standing on a ladder?

Ideally you want your camera about the height of the center of the group. So it depends on how high the top row is on the risers.

Here's how one of the shots came out. I don't think it's too bad for the first time trying this.

Looks good. I'm impressed that everyone is looking forward.

gonzogolf wrote in post #15865940
Looks good. I'm impressed that everyone is looking forward.

One of the very few where they all looked forward or didn't blink. So glad I took many multiples.

GeminiZ wrote in post #15866487
One of the very few where they all looked forward or didn't blink. So glad I took many multiples.

Thank god you didnt have to spend a couple hours replacing heads.