Photo: Eleven (11) people in a convertible. Need help pretty bad...

[keith204]

This week I will be taking a group photo of the Marketing team at the corporation I work for. They want the photo to take place in a convertible! Wheww...I am having a hard time figuring this out. Mainly, the driver will be the man in charge of Marketing, while the director will be holding the map in the passenger's seat. So, we've got 3 seats left with 9 people to go.

Any clever ideas? What equipment from my list? What lighting? I will have 2 alienbees that I *can* use for this if needed. How can I capture all their faces?

 

[wiredwilsons]

i'm envisioning a group of people pushing the car in back - - every team has their behind the scenes/pushing the load types, right? the concept helps clear the car from overcrowding a bit

 

[William Petruzzo]

My first thought is super wide, maybe even fisheyed, from in front of the windshield. If you do it that way, you might even be able to fake everyone else in the back seat, without actually having to do it.

 

[tirediron]

i'm envisioning a group of people pushing the car in back - - every team has their behind the scenes/pushing the load types, right? the concept helps clear the car from overcrowding a bit

I think this is a great idea, but I wonder if maybe pushing from the sides wouldn't allow everyone to be seen more clearly? Say, the shortest two pushing near the wing-mirrors, two more pushing on the quarter-panels, and the last two at the back, ( I think you might need to elevate them a little) positioned so that there heads appear between the heads of those sitting in the back seat.

 

[Neuner]

I like the pushing idea as well.

In order to get everyone in the shot without looking like a family reunion gathering you may get a tall step ladder and shoot down on them from the front of the car with them looking up.

 

[GeneralBenson]

I think it would be cool to get some pics of the other 9 people just trying to get in the car. Not posed, but just tell them all to get in and start shooting. That's gotta yield some good shots.

 

[Neuner]

Yea, have them do it as fast as they can where they are climbing all over each other. Cover of Rolling Stone would have it done with style.

 

[Big Mike]

Typically, the key to a good group shot, comes down to how you arrange the people....more specifically, their faces. Imagine the photo and consider only the people's faces and where they fall into the image. You want to create a pleasing composition of those faces. So try to create a good layout, not having them too crowded or two spaced out. Of course, with a shot like this, you may have to throw that out the window and go with what works.

I'm picturing a somewhat close up position near the driver/man in charge, with a wide angle. This should allow you to get the other people in the background or area surrounding him. Crop out most of the car, concentrating on the people...but still letting the viewer know that it's a car/convertible.

 

[keith204]

Typically, the key to a good group shot, comes down to how you arrange the people....more specifically, their faces. Imagine the photo and consider only the people's faces and where they fall into the image. You want to create a pleasing composition of those faces. So try to create a good layout, not having them too crowded or two spaced out. Of course, with a shot like this, you may have to throw that out the window and go with what works.

I'm picturing a somewhat close up position near the driver/man in charge, with a wide angle. This should allow you to get the other people in the background or area surrounding him. Crop out most of the car, concentrating on the people...but still letting the viewer know that it's a car/convertible.

Great tips there. The faces thing is my biggest fear. Turns out, there are more details:

16 people, 2 convertibles, 5 seats per convertible (barely, one's a mini cooper).

I'm thinking the cars facing away from each other, except their back ends overlapping a bit...mini cooper in front of Mustang's back end. This will allow the 10 people in the cars to look at the camera. The other 6 people...that's the problem. Maybe they all just hang out standing behind the cars, acting cool. This would help scrunch everything for faces sake. I'd probably stand back with as much of a tele as I can get, so that I narrow out the ugly backgrounds (houses, cars, etc around us).

How would you light the area? I am pretty sure that shadows will be harsh. It will be taken at 10AM.

 

[Big Mike]

With that many people and the complication of the cars etc....I'd be temped to try to use natural light, that way you won't have to worry about shadows from a light, falling onto other people or light fall off as the subjects get farther away from the light.

An overcast day would probably be the best case scenario, but if it's sunny, maybe try to find some shade.

Since they seem to be giving you some direction...ask if they have an idea or shot in mind. You could spend hours trying to set it up and pull it off, only to find that it's not what they had envisioned.

 

[keith204]

With that many people and the complication of the cars etc....I'd be temped to try to use natural light, that way you won't have to worry about shadows from a light, falling onto other people or light fall off as the subjects get farther away from the light.

An overcast day would probably be the best case scenario, but if it's sunny, maybe try to find some shade.

Since they seem to be giving you some direction...ask if they have an idea or shot in mind. You could spend hours trying to set it up and pull it off, only to find that it's not what they had envisioned.

Yeah, their ideas are good for the creative side of things / positioning the cars, good concepts of "who holds the map, who drives" etc. But, getting faces to show up and be recognizable is my main concern. Your'e right, it's probably best to use natural lighting here. They're wanting this more for a fun picture for internal use on the local intranet and in our weekly internal newspaper.

Here are a couple mugshots I took of two people today at work - http://www.thephotoforum.com/forum/showthread.php?t=137467