Lens for group shot

I have been ask to take a class reunion picture of about 60 class members. Most of my pictures taking are sports, landscapes and wildlife. What would be a good lens to use. It will be taken outside and with plenty of room to adjust my depth. I would like to use my Nikon 70-200mm 2.8 VR II or Nikon 18-140mm 3.5-5.6 VR ED. Any suggestions?

thanks

You are going to need to use the 18mm lens @ 18 for sure...

50 1.8...

Besides the lens, I think you should just make sure you've got the good lighting. A few flashes could make the difference whichever lens you use. Specially in group shots, it's important to keep the eyes well lit. If you can use a shadowed area you should be OK, but if it's sunlit, you'll need a flash to prevent the darker under eyes.

Good luck.

nepsa said:

I have been ask to take a class reunion picture of about 60 class members. Most of my pictures taking are sports, landscapes and wildlife. What would be a good lens to use. It will be taken outside and with plenty of room to adjust my depth. I would like to use my Nikon 70-200mm 2.8 VR II or Nikon 18-140mm 3.5-5.6 VR ED. Any suggestions?

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While I could manage with either of the lenses you've listed, I'd probably opt for the 18-140mm.

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The wide end of the 18-140 will not be complimentary for the folks at the outer edge, maybe using a 50 or 35 and backing up is a better option. I also consider print size as a factor when selecting a lens. Good suggestion to use some external flashes.

I would try and use the 18-140 if lighting isn't an issue. If shooting late in the day and low light is going to be an issue than yes use the 70-200. Allthough you may find that using the 70-200 while trying to get all 60 members in the frame may be a challenge. If grouping them on the more narrow and deep and shooting in low light. The natural instinct to choose the 2.8 end may not give you the DOF you need.

It is going to be late afternoon light. this is our 50th High school reunion and trying to keep all the old folks in one place to experiment is going to be an issue in its self. Not looking forward to this assignment. Not counting my lens, what is a good lens for group pictures?

You better take the 18mm lens. And you will need some space, both width and depth, more than you may think.

I don't know your plans, but 60 people could be four rows of 15. 15 people are probably 30 feet wide. You will want the people on staggered steps or bleachers. Take a step ladder to get the camera up high.

The 18-140mm is a DX lens, so I assume DX.

The horizontal field of view of a DX 18 mm lens is 67 degrees. (60 degrees is an equilateral triangle).

From 20 feet back, that width of field of view is only 26 feet. You can measure these things in advance in your back yard.

The 70mm lens seems totally out of the question (less than 7 feet wide at 20 feet).

Yes, it is the DX format. I have a D7100. I have about 2 months to prepare. Maybe I can find a brick wall and test the 18-140.

The hardest part of this assignment is to get the people to line up and stay in place. If you can, use a nice looking lady to help you out lining them up and keeping them there. Then you'll have to yell to keep their attention. It should be made clear from the start that YOU are in charge of this picture and people have to follow your instructions in order to do it in a reasonable time frame. Use a tripod, walk back and forth to space them evenly and give them instructions. Then, when the time comes to take the shot (you'll have to take at least 3-4 shots) tell them to all say "SEX" after you count 3. Then, tell them to just think about it and this should be your shot. Everybody's laugh is more genuine after they hear that.

I always found that group shots are the hardest to do because not all want to cooperate. Make sure your shot time in the event is BEFORE they all start to drink.

Good luck.

Thanks for the information. Based on your feedback, I will be using the 18-140mm lens on a tripod. I thought that Aperture priority would be best and setting it to around f/11. Should i use the single point AF or Dynamic?

Just when I thought I had this outside group shot all set, the event has moved to later in the day and the group shot will be taken INSIDE.
I still plan on using the Nikon 17-140, tripod, but unsure on the settings. I do not have a speed light and will need to rely on the D7100 flash. We are in a country club with plenty space to get the 60 people in the photo. Any suggested settings.

nepsa said:

Just when I thought I had this outside group shot all set, the event has moved to later in the day and the group shot will be taken INSIDE.
I still plan on using the Nikon 17-140, tripod, but unsure on the settings. I do not have a speed light and will need to rely on the D7100 flash. We are in a country club with plenty space to get the 60 people in the photo. Any suggested settings.

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For 60 people? You will need some ISO. The flash on the Nikon DSLR is pretty small (D7100 included). Guide Number is 39, ISO 100. That means power for ten feet at f/3.9, maximum. ISO 800 would increase to GN 110, or f/11 at ten feet, or f/7.3 at 15 feet, maximum. You may want to practice these numbers before.

Thanks Wayne for the information. I have a friend that is going to let me use his Yongnuo YN568EX for Nikon. the Guide number is 58@ISO 100 105mm. It can sync to shutter speeds up to 1/8000. Now i have to figure out my settings. My event is only 7 days away.

nepsa said:

Thanks Wayne for the information. I have a friend that is going to let me use his Yongnuo YN568EX for Nikon. the Guide number is 58@ISO 100 105mm. It can sync to shutter speeds up to 1/8000. Now i have to figure out my settings. My event is only 7 days away.

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The YN568 will be a huge improvement. Its GN at 24mm is 92 ISO 100. 24 mm is FX, it compares to 16mm DX coverage. Or GN 130 at ISO 200, which is f/13 at 10 feet. Gives you some slack.

The 1/8000 second HSS will cut the power drastically, and you will have no need of that for the group, just use 1/200 second and normal flash for maximum range.

Thanks Wayne. Now for the best camera settings when taking a group picture inside. Up until now, My hobby has been kids sports and landscapes. i am very unsettled when this inside photos, especially, since this is of my 50 year classmates from high school. Only get this one chance--no pressure there!

I will be using a tripod with a hand remote, Nikon 18-140 3.5 ED VR lens. Shooting in RAW at Aperture priority and auto focus. Any suggestions.

nepsa said:

Thanks Wayne. Now for the best camera settings when taking a group picture inside. Up until now, My hobby has been kids sports and landscapes. i am very unsettled when this inside photos, especially, since this is of my 50 year classmates from high school. Only get this one chance--no pressure there!

I will be using a tripod with a hand remote, Nikon 18-140 3.5 ED VR lens. Shooting in RAW at Aperture priority and auto focus. Any suggestions.

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No pressure, but yes, it certainly is a difficult assignment. Esp a group of 60 people, and only one flash. You can't watch them all, so some of the people will have their heads hidden at the instant, or will be blinking or something. You said remote, so I assume you're in the group, not even watching anyway. So make sure they all understand they are to do their part, thinking about having their faces in the clear, in view of the camera, looking at the camera, and to not blink at the instant. Maybe don't tell them the exact instant though, some will choose to blink exactly then, so shoot slightly before the instant. Or slightly after. And certainly repeat a few times, multiple shots, varying this slightly, hoping one works out.

You will have multiple rows of people, which means some are blocked. Bleacher type steps to elevate the rear rows is good, but not commonly availanble. Camera as high as possible on the tripod, to see into the rear rows better (sometimes a step ladder is used). If there is any kind of stairs or upper balcony, consider it to elevate the camera.

And a stopped down aperture (like f/11 if your flash power allows) helps with depth of field to the rear rows. If you have like four rows, maybe focus on the second row (which will mean single point focus, not the dynamic "camera just find something" tries.)

Any practice you could get in first can only help. The actual photo is not the best time to first see any of this. You don't need 60 people, maybe only a couple (like one at first row center and one at last row end), but estimate the width and depth of the group, in similar room (height, etc).

With only one flash, I want to mention bounce flash, but not sure that's wise now, because a country club ceiling surely is high, and bounce on 12 foot ceiling with the Yongnuo would still need like f/4 at ISO 400, and 60 people will need more depth of field than f/4, etc, etc.

At least read some here: large group photography - Google Search

Count the people in those sample groups, and compare the number to your 60.

Thanks Wayne for your detail help. I will let you know how it works out. I will have an opportunity to visit the site this Friday morning and will do the process you recommended.

Wayne, do you have any hands-on experience with group photos? I've been recently taking individual portrait-type photos of my colleagues at work using two or three flashes in various configurations. The biggest problem I had with some (not all) individuals was blinking. A series of pre-flashes used by Nikon CLS to communicate and measure light, triggered one particular person to blink every time. I had to take 5 or 6 pictures until I had one with his eyes open.

What if a large proportion of the people in the group blink?

Felisek said:

What if a large proportion of the people in the group blink?

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The way around this is you instruct everyone to CLOSE their eye's and get ready. Then, on the count of 3, everyone OPENS their eye's, smiles big and you take the shot.

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