[Deiberson]

I was asked to take school photo of our students and teachers since the school is closing down. Just looking for some creative ideas instead of just the "say cheese" command.

I have access to the old stage with rafters and a curtain behind it. I guess I could squeeze them in there. But I'd like to be able to do something with the lighting or take the shot from a different POV.

I have 2 speedlights, 1 stand, an umbrella and cactus 4 remotes.

I'm a beginner so any specifics with the recommendations is appreciated in advance

[RioRico]

BUMP.

I've not done such shots, but one idea: If it's safe, get up in the rafters and shoot down with a wide or ultrawide or fisheye lens, with everyone below looking up at the camera.

OK people, let's have some better suggestions!

[Ash]

A big group shot of kids will be a challenge.
There won't be much to it other than to shoot in succession to try and capture one good keeper out of many attempts, and find a simple yet effective way of entertaining them, such as to get them to sing a well-known song or tell a joke that will make them laugh for the camera. Kids are quite amenable to anything if they're bribed with fun...

[Lowell Goudge]

I think you should see if the stage lights can be used, this will be better than a couple of speedlights.

Just set the WB for tungsten.

As others have commented, it will be hard to get much in terms of creativity. You will need everyone looking the same way etc.

Also, are they in uniforms? You might want to consider some "uniformity of colors" if not.

I suspect with 100 or so, you will have them in perhaps 4-5 rows of 20 people, some sitting or kneeling, some standing, some standing on benches, some on the stage, etc. Try shots from the floor, and also from the lighting booth.

[Deiberson]

I really struggled finding the right flash combo. This was purely pilot error and not having enough experience/time to prepare. I ended up bumping my iso on the K-x and cranking out shots. I pulled the fisheye out too. All in all....a disaster. Here's a few examples.






With 100 people, ambient only and my deplorable skills, I had to use open apertures with gave my lousy DOF. I vignetted the fisheye to hide to focus issues on the corners. I might fix it.
Also...did I go overboard with the PP? Feel free to critique.

[RioRico]

I really like the approach in #4.

And no, I don't think it's too much PP. Do whatever it takes to get a usable image.

[Ash]

Yes, giving the camera to one of the children makes all the difference in the other children's attitudes and demeanour. It is difficult getting the attention of 100 primary school kids *simultaneously* to get a good result.

There is a little too much magenta colour cast particularly in #4 and 5 but notwithstanding the focusing issues on the right of the frames, these are OK.

[Deiberson]

What is the solution to capture focus across the shot from right to left? Light was low, ISO was cranked and the aperture had to be low forcing the small DOF.

Also, is there a technique that "pulls" the image closer? The student body seems distant. Even using a 17-70, I had to stand at quite a distance to get everyone in the frame.

[Ash]

Not much of a solution, but more a hopeful strategy: stop down to the aperture needed for sharpness, set camera on a tripod, cable release and capture the kids' attention just at the point of shutter release, with an extended exposure to gather enough light for the scene.

Kids sitting as close together as possible is all you can do to get a shorter working distance, but 17mm is just about the limit of WA FLs you'd want to use in order to avoid distortion of the kids' heads and bodies particularly at the image edges.

[geauxpez]

Too little too late here, but I just read this blog post last night. He used enough juice to stop down to f11.5 (full frame camera) at ISO 320. He used a ladder and his brolly was WAAAAY up, but he didn't have the stadium seating that you did.