Team photo help

So I was sprung with the news last night that the Cape Cod League team I've been shooting wants me to do their team photo. I've never done a team photo before, so I'm looking for advice on backgrounds mostly, and any other tips about putting the players together. It will be at about 4:00pm, and should be sunny. The sun sets on the third base side of the field.

So... I'm not sure in which direction I should face them. I'm thinking that at 4:00pm the sun will still be a little on the high side, but the other part is background. If the sun is the deciding factor then I guess the background won't matter.

Also, I have a 600EX flash, but nothing else in the way of lighting and such.

Any help?

If you can get them in open shade and use a hint of fill flash it would be best. If you had more and bigger lights you could compete with the sun a bit more.

gonzogolf wrote in post #16049116
If you can get them in open shade and use a hint of fill flash it would be best. If you had more and bigger lights you could compete with the sun a bit more.

The only light I have is the 600EX. 98% of what I shoot is sports, and even though I have a flash I don't use it much, if ever. Do you think the 600EX will provide much fill, even in the sun?

kenjancef wrote in post #16049822
The only light I have is the 600EX. 98% of what I shoot is sports, and even though I have a flash I don't use it much, if ever. Do you think the 600EX will provide much fill, even in the sun?

Not in direct sun, but in open shade maybe.

gonzogolf wrote in post #16051476
Not in direct sun, but in open shade maybe.

Absolutely +1 on this; take gonzo's advice.

When I do wedding group work outside I prefer open shade since it will give pleasant illumination without stark shadows and squinting subjects. However you still need some fill flash for optimum lighting to lessen eye socket shadows. Your flash will take care of that just fine.

I prefer to take an incident light meter reading at the subject position, but you can do ok with a reflected reading as long as it's done off a mid tone surface. The incident reading has the advantage of measuring the total light that's falling on the scene. It does not change - unless the sky gets cloudy - or become affected by light or dark clothing. A reflected reading will be heavily influenced by light or dark material which can cause faces to be blown or become too dark.

Once you get the proper light reading, set the flash to output about 1/2 or 2/3 less than ambient. In this way it won't overpower the available light, but it will nicely fill in eye sockets without blowing the faces out. It works like a charm every time .

High sun + baseball caps; a nasty combination without adequate fill. The problem is much bigger than just filling eye socket shadows, it's the mean, hard shadows thrown on the faces from the caps. A 600EX will help, but it lacks the power to do a proper job. You really need a minimum of about 600ws to shoot a baseball team in full, overhead sun. Any chance of renting/borrowing a more powerful flash?

RSB wrote in post #16053477
High sun + baseball caps; a nasty combination without adequate fill. The problem is much bigger than just filling eye socket shadows, it's the mean, hard shadows thrown on the faces from the caps. A 600EX will help, but it lacks the power to do a proper job. You really need a minimum of about 600ws to shoot a baseball team in full, overhead sun. Any chance of renting/borrowing a more powerful flash?

Not by Sunday, and I know what you mean by the caps, I shoot day games a lot, and sometimes I need to get to ground level just to compensate.

Here is a pic of the field:

IMAGE LINK: http://www.flickr.com …s/kenjancef24/9​103594479/

With only a 600EX, if possible, see if you can find an angle where you can pose them so that they are back lit and their entire faces are in shadow. The thing that kills most shots with ball caps, and not enough fill, is the hard shadow angling across the face, leaving the face in half sun/half shadow. Unfortunately, that looks like it would put the buildings in the background.

RSB wrote in post #16053568
With only a 600EX, if possible, see if you can find an angle where you can pose them so that they are back lit and their entire faces are in shadow. The thing that kills most shots with ball caps, and not enough fill, is the hard shadow angling across the face, leaving the face in half sun/half shadow. Unfortunately, that looks like it would put the buildings in the background.

I agree with you totally, and yep, the building would be in the background. It's a high school. I'm not even sure if they have something figured out already, as far as location, but I just want to be prepared if they ask.

Pray for overcast.

gonzogolf wrote in post #16054981
Pray for overcast.

Done and done... lol...

take someone out at 4:30, meter off their face with cap on from various locations, I think diamond facing mound is best.

if you need lights, you can always rent and factor in cost for the shoot.

I would get them to a shade in the park/field and use a 20x20 chroma key...works every time all the time! I use digital backdrops and the parents/coaches love them as opposed to the traditional, same old field background....that's my .02 worth.

I'd actually experiment at that time with a test subject to see if you can battle the sun with your speedlight. Figure out how wide they'll be and how far away you'll be shooting. If you can experiment out on the field, even better. You can play with different focal lengths -- wide would help with the flash, but long would help to blur out the background. You might consider pulling them out in the field a bit to get the building further out of your DoF.

I agree to put the sun behind them. I have very little experience with team portraits myself. I flashed this one at 11am in harsh sunlight (I realized later that I wasn't square with them, as I was trying to the the sun behind them, but they were trying to align with the field). Anyway, for the lighting consideration only, this was a 430EX II:

(you can see how I won the battle with the ball cap)

IMAGE LINK: http://waterrockets.sm​ugmug.com …D/i-3ZWwHSN/1/O/Final.jpg

Water rockets, what lens did you use for the picture with the group in orange?