need advice for large family shoot

VayCayMom

I am still a newbie in some ways, and often I hit the mark by mere luck or intuition rather than by knowing exactly what I am doing. :rofl I'm fine with small groups, portraits I'm great.

I did one large family shoot before and the ONLY thing I did right was to be up on a ladder, the rest of what I did was not great, and that is how we learn , sooo I want to know more before I shoot a session I just booked with friends of mine.

There will be between 20 - 25 people, it will be outdoors, I need guidance with my lens, setting etc.

I have a Nikon D300, a 18-200 lens which is what I am thinking is the one to use. Also have a Sigma wide angle, which I used last time , but I had the issue of some people being too close and TOO BIG, it was a nightmare to fix.
And also have the kit lens 18 - 70, and to tell you the truth I really don't totally know how to use my lenses correctly, like what the numbers mean except for I understand the zoom etc. I also have a prime lens which I am guessing is the wrong lens for this job.. 85 1.4. Also have sb 800 which I have only used on camera.And have a tripod. I have been using autofocus because I can't trust my eyesight sometime . lol


I think I can manage the lighting, but I am open for any advice. I'll be looking for a large shaded area with open sky and the sun behind me.

angevin1

You don't say anything about flash?? I like using flash but some others do not. Even outside and even in the shade, the flash just picks things up a bit.
The Ladder was a great idea, but as you found out, the wide angle was not.

On the D300, I recommend your 18-70mm "kit" lens Nikon.

If using that camera and lens my ideal would probably look like this:

1. D300, 18-70mm @ about 40mm
2. f9
3. Manual Mode
4. AFS
5. Color Standard or neutral
6. WB Auto
7. ISO high enough to give me a Shutter speed of at least 400.
8. Flash: Flash like many say in general is a matter of taste. I did the below shot of 21 people from a ladder and one SB800 and one flip-it light modifier. I have done similar shots with three flashes; one on cam and two off, but I think outside this one worked quite well for me. Though in retrospect I think I should have shot a higher Fstop, this one was at 3.5 and few more mm (20 here) ...Got lucky!

VayCayMom

Danke!!! This is exactly what I needed I do have a sb 800 on camera which I planned to use. And your location is pretty much what i plan to look for. For someone that claims " I don't know" you know plenty. Dankeschoen ( can't recall how to spell that")

One question.... about the ISO, I generally leave it set at 200 ( learned that in a class), how do I figure out how to determine the setting for my desired shutter speed. Gosh I never change mine, another item I need to learn to master.

angevin1

You're quite welcome!

I really have never heard nor read to leave ones ISO at ___(fill in the blank!)

And I also admit to not having any real experience actually operating my camera in anything other than Manual mode. I understand the theory and verbiage describing the other modes. I just only use manual.

However, In manual mode I use three things.

1. I use ISO to get the desired...
2 ...Shutter speed I need
3. And I set aperture according to how much focal depth I desire.

In manual mode you can set all these things individually.

As you know the adjustment 'wheel ' on the rear or thumb side directs shutter speed and the 'wheel' on the forefinger side adjusts aperture.

Then all you do is use the ISO button on top left to adjust up or down depending upon the shutter speed that the exposure compensation display says you'll have proper exposure thru the viewfinder on

thru the viewfinder it looks like this>( And is called an exposure compensation display in your book)
.....I.....< And when it is centered it is typically exposed well.
.....IIIII< too fast shutter ( scroll thumbwheel to left)
IIII......< Too slow shutter ( scroll thumbwheel to right)

So to answer your question succinctly, if possible (?) to wit:..."how do I figure out how to determine the setting for my desired shutter speed...."

Set your camera to manual...
dial in the desired shutter speed.
dial in the desired aperture
now and lastly, dial in the ISO to make the exposure meter centered in the viewfinder or at least very close..adjusting the minutiae of exposure with a tweak of shutter up or down.

After you get used to this basis, you'll find you can leave it at say ISO 800 and vary (the rear thumbwheel) shutter speeds from ...5000 to 125 depending on if your camera is metering in shade or bright light, and not dancing all over with the ISO. Though on a typical hike I do drag my ISO all over the place depending on light intensity just so I can hand hold the camera and still get the shot in focus. USE THAT WONDERFUL METER IN YOUR CAMERA.


take a good photo!

I hope this helped and was not too vague or poorly thought out.

cheers,

Art Scott

These kind of situations truly call for a hand held incident flash/ ambient light meter(sekonic 358 at least).....incident metering(metering the light falling onto the subject) is so much more accurate than reflective metering from the cameras position and less work also.

As to which lens......use which one is VR and make sure it is turned on......flash.....needs to be at least on a bracket to raise it off the camera shoe, for much better exposure.

I am one of those that shoots by the rule of keeping the ISO LOW as possible.......
Shooting off ladder is good, but try not to go so high that the subjects necks are looking strained or twisted or stressed......also this is family....in a park....get them on the ground and shoot off a tripod .....sitting on the ground can bring an intimacy to the game also......

DO NOT just line them up and shoot......use wedding poses (id you have shot weddings) or google for some examples....both in our wedding forum and on goole it self.......have them inter act with each other.....

MAKE IT FUN!!!!!

VayCayMom

Thanks Scott, I have never shot a wedding, no where near being capable at this point. I do not have a light meter other than my camera. I DO like the idea of some of them sitting on the ground. I have a chair or two I also thought of using. And I recently bought a book on posing and family portaits. Thanks for the help!!

VayCayMom

angevin1 wrote:

You're quite welcome!

I really have never heard nor read to leave ones ISO at ___(fill in the blank!)

And I also admit to not having any real experience actually operating my camera in anything other than Manual mode. I understand the theory and verbiage describing the other modes. I just only use manual.

However, In manual mode I use three things.

1. I use ISO to get the desired...
2 ...Shutter speed I need
3. And I set aperture according to how much focal depth I desire.

In manual mode you can set all these things individually.

As you know the adjustment 'wheel ' on the rear or thumb side directs shutter speed and the 'wheel' on the forefinger side adjusts aperture.

Then all you do is use the ISO button on top left to adjust up or down depending upon the shutter speed that the exposure compensation display says you'll have proper exposure thru the viewfinder on

thru the viewfinder it looks like this>( And is called an exposure compensation display in your book)
.....I.....< And when it is centered it is typically exposed well.
.....IIIII< too fast shutter ( scroll thumbwheel to left)
IIII......< Too slow shutter ( scroll thumbwheel to right)

So to answer your question succinctly, if possible (?) to wit:..."how do I figure out how to determine the setting for my desired shutter speed...."

Set your camera to manual...
dial in the desired shutter speed.
dial in the desired aperture
now and lastly, dial in the ISO to make the exposure meter centered in the viewfinder or at least very close..adjusting the minutiae of exposure with a tweak of shutter up or down.

After you get used to this basis, you'll find you can leave it at say ISO 800 and vary (the rear thumbwheel) shutter speeds from ...5000 to 125 depending on if your camera is metering in shade or bright light, and not dancing all over with the ISO. Though on a typical hike I do drag my ISO all over the place depending on light intensity just so I can hand hold the camera and still get the shot in focus. USE THAT WONDERFUL METER IN YOUR CAMERA.


take a good photo!

I hope this helped and was not too vague or poorly thought out.

cheers,

This is wonderful, I can digest this and put it in practice before the shoot. Thank you.

angevin1

VayCayMom wrote:

This is wonderful, I can digest this and put it in practice before the shoot. Thank you.

You're welcome~~!!

If you have time before your shoot, then you definitely have time to go out and just putz around and play with those settings~~
let us know how it turns out for you~

Once you get the hang of Manual, I'll bet you fifty cents you won't go back!