Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2002/03/17
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]I've done many hundreds of school class pictures. I've always used a 35mm lens, a good lens hood, a high tripod, and a stepladder. 35mm film is adequate. I will confess to never having used a Leica for this; I use motorized Canon EOS or T90. Here's my procedure: 1. Find out how many people you will have to shoot at once. Plan the number of rows and the number of people in each row. Allow 24 inches of width for each adult, 21 for each teenager, and 18 for children under 12. Use as few rows as possible. For a class of 30 people I would use 2 rows; for a class of 100 people I would use 4 or 5 rows. Go to the place where the pictures will be taken and put colored flags at the 4 corners of the area that the people will stand in. Set up your camera on its tripod as you will be taking the picture and make sure you have plenty of leeway at the edges of the picture. You don't want to have to move the camera back when the kids show up. If you can get 4 kids to help you get set up, have one stand at each flag to help you frame your shot. Rehearse this well in advance of the day of the shoot, and on shoot day, set up your gear well in advance of the arrival of the children. 2. Shoot the finest-grain film you can find. High resolution is your friend. No one will be moving very fast. No one will judge this picture for its composition (they will blame the children for bad composition) but people will be impressed by sharpness and resolution and proper focus and lack of camera vibration. 3. Enlist the help of teachers, preferably including a gym teacher, to pose the children. School children know how to take orders from their teachers, but are not good at taking orders from photographers. The most difficult part of taking school group pictures is getting the students to stand still. Make the teachers do this; they are good at it. Just stand there and watch while the teachers line up the students, then have the lead teacher tell you when they are ready. When it is time to push the shutter, move as many teachers as possible to be near you. The students will look at their teachers, not at the camea. 4. Remember to focus. Remember to set your exposure. Remember to bracket. Shoot two rolls of film, not because you need to, but because this will give you two chances to get it right. Everyone over the age of 8 understands the concept of "changing to a new roll of film" and will be willing to sit still while you do it. 5. I use a black cloth over my head and camera when I shoot school pictures, and I use a flash. Both are stage props. The flash doesn't have enough power to light anything; its purpose is to let the students know that I have just taken a picture. The black cloth is to make the whole thing look professional and mysterious. I run the flash on 1/16 power so I don't have to wait for it to recycle. - -- To unsubscribe, see http://mejac.palo-alto.ca.us/leica-users/unsub.html