Family Reuinion Photos
Jun 4, 2012 21:03:32 #
Hello fellow shooters,
I have a family reunion coming up (not mine) to shoot. I am in need of any suggestions about how to arrange members of each family, combinations of poses, etc. or any other suggestion you may have that would be helpful for a successful shoot. 5 families, mostly adults some younger and older kids. Grandmas and grandpas, aunts and uncles cousins etc. I have done some weddings, engagements, group of employee shoots, one other family reunion. I normally scout a location and set up photo spots by number in my head but that is for a couple for engagement pics, or after a wedding, or senior shoot. I will not have an opportunity to scout this location. Its at a mountain log type home converted to sleep up to 15 people or so. Shoot will be in the morn around 8:00 to 10:00. Seeking professional help only please...pros who have been faced with this dilemma...or similar. I am only kinda freaking out because I work for one of the leaders of the family group. Any help, images you would like to share to give me suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Hoping for a partly cloudy/cloudy day. Lighting...should I bring my strobes etc. My gear is Nikon d300, d200, lens 17-55 Nikon 2.8, nikon 35mm 1.8, Sigma 18-200 3.5-6.5, Tokina 11-16 2.8, 1- Nikon fisheye 10.5mm 2.8....all DX lenses except the Sigma. 1-sb800 flash 3 125 watt and 1-250 watt strobes w 1- soft box and 3 umbrellas. Thanks in advance....
I have a family reunion coming up (not mine) to shoot. I am in need of any suggestions about how to arrange members of each family, combinations of poses, etc. or any other suggestion you may have that would be helpful for a successful shoot. 5 families, mostly adults some younger and older kids. Grandmas and grandpas, aunts and uncles cousins etc. I have done some weddings, engagements, group of employee shoots, one other family reunion. I normally scout a location and set up photo spots by number in my head but that is for a couple for engagement pics, or after a wedding, or senior shoot. I will not have an opportunity to scout this location. Its at a mountain log type home converted to sleep up to 15 people or so. Shoot will be in the morn around 8:00 to 10:00. Seeking professional help only please...pros who have been faced with this dilemma...or similar. I am only kinda freaking out because I work for one of the leaders of the family group. Any help, images you would like to share to give me suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Hoping for a partly cloudy/cloudy day. Lighting...should I bring my strobes etc. My gear is Nikon d300, d200, lens 17-55 Nikon 2.8, nikon 35mm 1.8, Sigma 18-200 3.5-6.5, Tokina 11-16 2.8, 1- Nikon fisheye 10.5mm 2.8....all DX lenses except the Sigma. 1-sb800 flash 3 125 watt and 1-250 watt strobes w 1- soft box and 3 umbrellas. Thanks in advance....
Jun 4, 2012 21:51:04 #
I have watched Hanson Fong do this in-person, but here is a video that takes the place of me typing for 10 minutes:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WImfO56Y5mU
Build triangles, make use of chairs & stools. No people side-by-side at the same height. Make sure you can see every face from camera position.
Your 17-55 is probably the go-to lens.
leave a little room on the sides for cropping.
Good luck.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WImfO56Y5mU
Build triangles, make use of chairs & stools. No people side-by-side at the same height. Make sure you can see every face from camera position.
Your 17-55 is probably the go-to lens.
leave a little room on the sides for cropping.
Good luck.
Jun 4, 2012 22:40:01 #
Jun 4, 2012 22:43:40 #
CaptainC wrote:
I have watched Hanson Fong do this in-person, but here is a video that takes the place of me typing for 10 minutes:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WImfO56Y5mU
Build triangles, make use of chairs & stools. No people side-by-side at the same height. Make sure you can see every face from camera position.
Your 17-55 is probably the go-to lens.
leave a little room on the sides for cropping.
Good luck.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WImfO56Y5mU
Build triangles, make use of chairs & stools. No people side-by-side at the same height. Make sure you can see every face from camera position.
Your 17-55 is probably the go-to lens.
leave a little room on the sides for cropping.
Good luck.
I went to your web site....your work is out standing. I am wondering if you are shooting HDRs or processing single exposures as HDRs...whatever..I am very impressed with your work. Thanks again for your tips. I have used my stools before but forgot all about them. Rich ...www.richardraul.com, www.hdrvt.richardraul.com
Jun 4, 2012 23:20:42 #
rrg6481 wrote:
quote=CaptainC I have watched Hanson Fong do this... (show quote)
Thanks for the compliment. The only HDR is the background of the baseball player looking over his shoulder - that tunnel was a 7-exposure HDR. The person and the tunnel were shot about 9 months apart.
Jun 4, 2012 23:39:24 #
Jun 5, 2012 00:15:49 #
Well...the problem is that there is no secret sauce here. I use multiple lights or reflectors so much of what you see was because of the way the subject was lit. Even outside I use at least one speedlight and two or three is not unusual. Same with reflectors - or a combination of speedlights and reflectors.
I use a light meter religiously to balance ambient and flash/strobes.
I am pretty decent with Photoshop and most of the images you see are the result of multiple processes done on multiple layers with layer masks. I use plugins from NIK, OnOne, Imagenomic, and Topaz. The trick to using those is to use them sparingly - when it is glaringly obvious, you went too far.
I have a general idea of what I want as the final image and then just use my experience with Photoshop and the plug-ins to get where I want to go. Every image is an original as I cannot exactly duplicate an image for a second copy.
So the long answer is that I cannot give you a "cookbook" answer. The images are a combination of lighting, posing, background selection, post processing, and interaction with the subject.
Today's images are also the result of several years of crummy images and lots of critique by professionals who were not concerned with my reaction to their very honest critique. If my poor little self-esteem was wounded, well that's tough. Take their evaluation and learn from it.
One of the biggest things contributing to the images is 7 years of print competitions, both at the local club level and at the regional and international PPA competitions. Now those judges are REALLY nit-pickers!
There are other shooters here far more accomplished than I. My guess is their explanations would be similar to mine - there is no "here is how you do it," answer.
You could sit beside me for a week and watch me work and still not be able to duplicate what I do. What you would learn is some techniques and processes you could adapt to YOUR vision to develop YOUR style. Your work would never look like mine and you would not want it to.
I use a light meter religiously to balance ambient and flash/strobes.
I am pretty decent with Photoshop and most of the images you see are the result of multiple processes done on multiple layers with layer masks. I use plugins from NIK, OnOne, Imagenomic, and Topaz. The trick to using those is to use them sparingly - when it is glaringly obvious, you went too far.
I have a general idea of what I want as the final image and then just use my experience with Photoshop and the plug-ins to get where I want to go. Every image is an original as I cannot exactly duplicate an image for a second copy.
So the long answer is that I cannot give you a "cookbook" answer. The images are a combination of lighting, posing, background selection, post processing, and interaction with the subject.
Today's images are also the result of several years of crummy images and lots of critique by professionals who were not concerned with my reaction to their very honest critique. If my poor little self-esteem was wounded, well that's tough. Take their evaluation and learn from it.
One of the biggest things contributing to the images is 7 years of print competitions, both at the local club level and at the regional and international PPA competitions. Now those judges are REALLY nit-pickers!
There are other shooters here far more accomplished than I. My guess is their explanations would be similar to mine - there is no "here is how you do it," answer.
You could sit beside me for a week and watch me work and still not be able to duplicate what I do. What you would learn is some techniques and processes you could adapt to YOUR vision to develop YOUR style. Your work would never look like mine and you would not want it to.
Jun 5, 2012 00:50:08 #
CaptainC wrote:
Well...the problem is that there is no secret sauc... (show quote)
Yup I get it...the one aspect of your style that I might learn more from would be from your reference to "interaction with the subject"...definitely one of my many weaknesses...does this make or break a photo for you?
Jun 5, 2012 01:05:46 #
rrg6481 wrote:
quote=CaptainC br So the long answer is that I c... (show quote)
For portrait work, yes. it is important to get the subject to relax and not feel so self conscious. Conversation, being amusing (naturally amusing - don't force it), keeping their attention, etc., are things that can make or break a portrait session.
With your upcoming reunion, you need to take control and ensure they are paying attention to you, not looking anywhere BUT at you. Make sure those not in front of the camera are not talking to the ones you are shooting and pulling their attention away from you.
Jun 5, 2012 05:33:21 #
CaptianC's reference to Fong reminds me of a mind puzzle; excellent rhythm of a person having solved the problem and done the dance many times.
I recall one person who regularly shot large groups,,, class reunion type of thing perhaps 50 or so. He shot from an elevation, used multi small flashes to spread the light evenly and not intensely. One on camera, slaves two on each side evenly spaced. The results were great. Like bleached hair, no dark ends.
I recall one person who regularly shot large groups,,, class reunion type of thing perhaps 50 or so. He shot from an elevation, used multi small flashes to spread the light evenly and not intensely. One on camera, slaves two on each side evenly spaced. The results were great. Like bleached hair, no dark ends.
Jun 5, 2012 08:04:14 #
It sounds like you have enough experience to do a fine job. Diamonds, triangles, no two sets of eyes parallel to eachother. All sound advice. The one thing I always tell myself,,,make mom look good first, and build around her. Getting them to lean in a little to get closer to eachother will also help make them look like a family, and not just another group photo.
As far as equipment goes, I don't think just one sb800 will do. 2 or 3 would be nice. I always bring more equipment than I need for 2 reasons. If I don't have it I'll wish I did, and it's nice to have spares if you need them.
As far as equipment goes, I don't think just one sb800 will do. 2 or 3 would be nice. I always bring more equipment than I need for 2 reasons. If I don't have it I'll wish I did, and it's nice to have spares if you need them.
Jun 5, 2012 08:06:00 #
Jun 5, 2012 08:06:15 #
Jun 5, 2012 08:58:32 #
CaptainC wrote:
You could sit beside me for a week and watch me work and still not be able to duplicate what I do. What you would learn is some techniques and processes you could adapt to YOUR vision to develop YOUR style. Your work would never look like mine and you would not want it to.
You could sit beside me for a week and watch me work and still not be able to duplicate what I do. What you would learn is some techniques and processes you could adapt to YOUR vision to develop YOUR style. Your work would never look like mine and you would not want it to.
hey captain...when i hit the lottery....i want to find your price to let me come and watch you work for a week. if i could make my photos look half as good as yours....i would feel "accomplished".
you are a "master" at what you do.
Jun 5, 2012 09:17:04 #
Aaaa-Shucks CaptainC, Ansel Adams said the same thing!!
Yes you are right tho, each has their perception of the image-of-the-moment. Given the same people and stools etc we would have many variations of the pyramid of people; each with their own justification for why.
I have suggested to the CClub that they send out a photo with lots of things going on and no PP and we each bring our variation of the photo the following meeting. 40 entries and 40 different photos I am sure would result. Each would think a different part of the photo is the main photo and would crop acordingly. Some would kick the color etc.. I will have to reintroduce the suggestion and see if they take up on it. Some times I end up with a great number of variations on what I am going to submit for the meeting and live with them for a while on my wall and then pick.
Yes you are right tho, each has their perception of the image-of-the-moment. Given the same people and stools etc we would have many variations of the pyramid of people; each with their own justification for why.
I have suggested to the CClub that they send out a photo with lots of things going on and no PP and we each bring our variation of the photo the following meeting. 40 entries and 40 different photos I am sure would result. Each would think a different part of the photo is the main photo and would crop acordingly. Some would kick the color etc.. I will have to reintroduce the suggestion and see if they take up on it. Some times I end up with a great number of variations on what I am going to submit for the meeting and live with them for a while on my wall and then pick.
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