Group shot with one speedlight?

caseysrt · May 11, 2012

I have my first group shot next week. It will be a T-ball team of about 13 people outdoors. I have one SB700 speedlight that I can fire off camera. The only two lenses I have to use is the 50 1.8 and the 18-55.

Can this be done with one speedlight and look decent?

Kerbouchard · May 11, 2012

In your case, I would probably use the 18-55 since you will be at f/8 anyway. Shoot somewhere around 24mm. ISO 200 to 400. Then, put your SB700 at full power with whatever type of diffuser you have. Next, put the center of that light source at around 9 to 10 feet high and place your stand about 3-5 ft from your camera axis. Then, take a test shot. If it is too bright, move the light back. Too dark, consider raising the ISO or moving your light closer.

Basically, you want your light to be fairly far away from your subjects so that you won't get a lot of fall off from one row to the next.

Other things, pay attention to your background, the position of the Sun, and hats/props. I would probably try to have the sun at their back if possible with a non-distracting or complementary background.

As far as hats, generally, you will want them to wear their hat higher than they normally would wear them at. If they pull it down around their eyes, the picture won't look good.

Props can be a good thing, but only if planned well. Perhaps the front row(guys on one knee holding a bat, and the middle and back rows wearing their glove. For balance, you can have the guys on the end of the middle or back row holding a bat, also. Basically, what you don't want is people randomly holding gloves, bats, or whatever. The coaches/assistants don't generally need props.

Finally, experiment and try to have fun. Oh, another tip, let them do the silly/goofy shot first. Let them get it out of their system so they will be more willing to give you good expressions for the rest of the session.

Buckster · May 11, 2012

caseysrt said:
I have my first group shot next week. It will be a T-ball team of about 13 people outdoors. I have one SB700 speedlight that I can fire off camera. The only two lenses I have to use is the 50 1.8 and the 18-55.

Can this be done with one speedlight and look decent?

It would be a lot easier if you could get your hands on at least one more speedlight. Know anybody in the area that might have one? Can you rent one locally? Might be worth asking around. You could even buy one at a place with an easy return policy like Walmart or Best Buy, then return it for a refund immediately afterwards. Of course, you'll need triggers or cords, plus stands or assistants to complete the setup.

Thought you might find the following link interesting: Taking the White Sox Team Photo-Behind the Scenes Insight on My Tips, Tricks and Lighting Techniques Sports Photographer Ron Vesely :: Baseball Photography Archive and Sports Photography Blog

Notice how he's got lights on the right and left of the team. A second speedlight would let you do that as well, and you have far fewer players (and they're much smaller, since it's T ball) to deal with, so that should cover them well.

You might also Google Image "Baseball Team" to see lots of examples on posing, arranging the players, props, etc. Pay close attention to the shadows and highlights to see how they used lighting, especially the natural sunlight that's usually a part of it.

They're little kids (presumably), so it's going to be a lot like herding cats. Stay upbeat, make it fun for them and hang in there. One idea is to have them all close their eyes after you get them posed, and tell them, "On THREE - OPEN your eyes! ONE... TWO... THREE!!!" then start snapping. That gives you a better chance of picking off a shot with no blinkers.

Good luck with it! Be sure to post up a shot or two from it!

caseysrt · May 11, 2012

Great replies! That's the reason I don't regret leaving another forum to come here, I get actual help!

Thanks and I will post them up as soon as we get them processed.

camerateur · May 14, 2012

caseysrt said:
Great replies! That's the reason I don't regret leaving another forum to come here, I get actual help!

Thanks and I will post them up as soon as we get them processed.

I agree!! those were some great replies!!
I don't think I'll need to know how to pose/shoot a tball team anytime soon, but its useful just in case. thanks for the thread.