upcoming group shot

[anel]

don't know if this is the right forum section but;

next week i'm going to shoot my whole class for sort of a yearbook but not really; our photos will be put into powerpoints and each classmates information and such will be put by the photo. i have to take a picture of 28 people in my class and the last one as a group shot with our teacher.

i've already determined how i'm going to shoot the portraits - with a basic umbrella and a nifty-fifty lens (we only have our classroom as location becaues we're not allowed or just don't have time to go anywhere else)

i have problems with the group shot though,
could you give me any advice on how to photograph 29 people with a single umbrella?
I was thinking of putting my umbrella on a desk so it's pretty high up (about 3 meters? and shooting them like that.. would that be ok?

 

[Iron Flatline]

I guess there's no harm in trying, though I'm not convinced you're going to get meaningful lighting out of a single flash/umbrella.

Bring a tripod, go for a slightly longer exposure, ask everyone to hold still, and get a few shots. Push comes to shove you can switch out a head or two in Photoshop.

 

[anel]

why would i go for longer exposures? don't u think an umbrella at 24mm a bit far away could be sufficient? i don't mean i'll rely on flash power alone.. let's say F11 at 1/200..
i mean trying to balance ambient and flash power.. longer exposures are definitely out of the question..

 

[Big Mike]

My advice is to get the group outside and use natural light.

 

[Goontz]

Do you plan on using the 50mm for the group shot as well? That's pretty tight for 29 people; you might need to use a wider angle for the group shot. I'm thinking if you end up using the umbrella for the group shot, it would end up being in the shot, as you'd need to be pretty far away with 50mm and 29 people. You could also try taking the flash off the stand and bouncing it off the ceiling for the group shot.

 

[anel]

nope, i'll be using the sigma 18-200 for the group shot- it's really great at F4.5 and higher so i'll just put it on F5.6. i'm going to put the umbrella on a table and probably sit by the table, therefore underneath my umbrella.. and at 18mm i think i'll be able to get pretty close.. at F5.6 and my flash at 1/16 power i'm thinking i'll get something around 1/60-1/125.. without blacking out the ambient..