Very, very large group poses

[osumisan]

I am going to shoot team photos for a high school softball team. The challenge is going to be the team photos with all the players for the complete squad is 40 girls. Does any have experience in posing such a large group, but getting away from the standard rows of bleachers pose? I have been reading on grouping large groups but hope someone out here has done this before with success. My thought is going to the stadium and shooting down at the team with the field as a backdrop. If any of you even have an example of a very large group pose, I would love to see it.

Thanks in advance for your expertise.

 

[Mully]

I shot this Ad for Raytheon that was about 450 people. What I did to move the people around is assign groups of about 50 an alpha letter (A,B,c) etc and that way I could ask one of the groups to move where I needed them without a lot of confusion. Hope this helps

 

[Big Mike]

The important part is being able to see everyone's face...which is why we use stairs/bleachers...or you get up high and shoot down onto them. If you can use a stadium, that would be a great backdrop, as long as you can find an angle/position that works. With that many people, you may want to get them as close together as possible, so that the faces will be as big as possible in the photo. If you can't tell who is who, on a 5x7 print...then I'd call that a failure.

 

[MLeeK]

I am doing a poster this week of the wrestling team. Much the same situation. I've usually shot them in a V or similar from above with the coach in the middle, however this year there aren't just 12-15... there are about 40+.
My answer is to go to where we have these huge boulders piled up at our beach for this one and put everyone at different levels there. We are hoping for a moody sky, but if we don't get one I'll shoot to blow the sky and put one in.

You might try surfing flickr for team sports shots. There will be loads of rows, but you'll also find some others.
I'll let you know how mine comes out!

 

[unpopular]

View attachment 22121 I shot this Ad for Raytheon that was about 450 people. What I did to move the people around is assign groups of about 50 an alpha letter (A,B,c) etc and that way I could ask one of the groups to move where I needed them without a lot of confusion. Hope this helps

Man! That is a GREAT group shot.

You really rounded the edges of a bunch of squares!

(seriously, awesome, awesome work)

 

[CheezyCheeto]

+1 on getting up high with stairs, bleachers, or bring a ladder of some sort.

 

[skieur]

Try portrait format in panorama mode and/or shoot from the roof of a school gym to a group in the field below.

skieur

 

[2WheelPhoto]

I am doing a poster this week of the wrestling team. Much the same situation. I've usually shot them in a V or similar from above with the coach in the middle, however this year there aren't just 12-15... there are about 40+.
My answer is to go to where we have these huge boulders piled up at our beach for this one and put everyone at different levels there. We are hoping for a moody sky, but if we don't get one I'll shoot to blow the sky and put one in.

You might try surfing flickr for team sports shots. There will be loads of rows, but you'll also find some others.
I'll let you know how mine comes out!

Hope you post an example of that shoot

 

[Ebvette]

I always bring a small ladder, and elevate myself above, not way up, just enought to make sure everybody is in the photo.

 

[MLeeK]

I am doing a poster this week of the wrestling team. Much the same situation. I've usually shot them in a V or similar from above with the coach in the middle, however this year there aren't just 12-15... there are about 40+.
My answer is to go to where we have these huge boulders piled up at our beach for this one and put everyone at different levels there. We are hoping for a moody sky, but if we don't get one I'll shoot to blow the sky and put one in.

You might try surfing flickr for team sports shots. There will be loads of rows, but you'll also find some others.
I'll let you know how mine comes out!

Hope you post an example of that shoot

I will if I can! I am not sure I can because it's for the school and most of the kids are well under 18.