Help with big group photo!

[manda]

hello my dears
i am in need of your help.

ive been asked to photograph a group of 12 yr old kids for an end of school yearbook.
its the whole grade and probably close to 100 children.
has anyone got any ideas of how best i could have them arranged in a photo and from how far back i should be standing etc

im a bit nervous about this!
they would like a formal photo but i also want some fun shots as well.

any ideas would be muchly appreciated!

 

[doxx]

make the crowd look "compact", so "sort" the kids by size - the tallest ones in the back, the little ones in front. It's also a good idea to have one row of kids kneeing in the front. You don't wanna be too far or photograph with a super-wide angle lens

hope this helps



|.|.|.|.|.|.|.|.|.|.|.|.|. tall
OOOOOOOOOOOOO little
ooooooooooooooooo kneeing

 

[voodoocat]

I would just go for a 50mm lens to prevent any disproportioned kids.

 

[nukie]

It depends on how professional they want it to look. If the norm is what they are after, then standing on stairs, and people sitting in the front.

But if its supposed to be informal, then nothing beats the kids just standing with friends in a quad, and you taking a photo from a second story building.

Anyway, yeah.

 

[dlc]

If there are steps available, stack them in rows and not too many per row unless you have a wide angle lens. I have taken wedding groups with a 28mm lens and shot vertical format, although not that large a group. If stacked right and enough room for you to move, you can get all of them.

 

[manda]

well there arent really stais that would fit them all but there is one building that has a large verandah and seats underneath which kids could stand on...

they aparently used to do it on a jungle gym thing we have but there are too many of them now.

we have huge grounds and a basketball court but its all very open and nowhere for me to stand from any sort of good angle.

thanks so much for the advice, i will do all the positioning things like you've said!

 

[Dew]

first of all, i'd like to say i'd be a nervous wreck .... then i would jump into action and pretend to be a pro


i would do some "formal" shots, but the most of my batch would be "snapshot" type ... i would just say, play around a little, play a game, hold conversation, i would even have them hold schoolbooks, pencils, rulers, things of the like .... depending on their age, i would have them go out to the playground and just play


and dont forget to take lots of film/memory card ... best to have too many photographs, than not enough


and most important, have fun ... i think the kids will feed off of that .. just thought about it, maybe u should bring some bubbles or something ... that would be cool