How would you shoot this scene?

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A work colleague has his first photoshoot, a mate has asked him to do a "team photo" of the staff at the firm he owns. So there's going to be six vans and about twenty people in the shot. He's a hobbyist photographer but hasn't had much time to get to grips with his camera, which is a cropped-frame DSLR, I forget the model.

So, how does he shoot this? Does he use a wide-angle lens? I thought this might lead to distortion. Is a normal 18-55mm kit lens the way to go? I'm inclined to think so. The photo can be cropped to whatever letterbox shape is best as I think it's just for the website. Or he could take two shots and stitch them together.

Some other considerations are to take a polariser in case it's sunny and sunlight is reflecting off van windscreens, shoot in raw and to stand on a stepladder for a good perspective. We think the premises face east so I presume the morning would be the best time. He's got a flash but I don't suppose that would make any measurable difference.

Any advice?
 
Sounds like he's nowhere ready to take this on.
 
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Erm...being more constructive...:lol:

Make sure he tries to get as close as possible, and if he's not pressed time - experiment with positions and poses. (If the team-spirit consensus agrees :))

A wide angle will certainly help -if- he has one. However, I'd try both the ultra wide and the normal kit lens, or prime lens if he has one. Ulta wide gets more in - but you might risk dwarfing everyone into iddle liddle people engulfed by a huge scene. (Though that distortion can be used for artistic effect.)

Erm...:shrug: oh, and ask what they want. Maybe they just want it like a school-year group photo. :p
 
A stepladder won't be high enough - he really needs a cherry picker.
 
Ozei said:
A stepladder won't be high enough - he really needs a cherry picker.
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Afraid his budget doesn't stretch to that! If ten people stand and ten are down on one knee it should be ok?

I've told him the best thing will be to get the vans parked up close together then experiment for the best angle and distance before calling the workers out to minimise messing about.
 
Top Cat said:
20 people isn't a lot.

I'd have them all dive into one giant ball - make a big pile mess. If it's a nice silly photo that is. ;) Are the vans important? :/ that complicates things a bit...
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Apparently he wants all the vans there to show what an important fellow he is!
 
The 20 people aren't the problem - the vans are (especially if they're Transit-sized or larger). Get the camera up on a roof perhaps.
 
Have all the vans lined up in a V shape with the point towards the photographer - seems to be the standard shot for a company. That way you don't necessarily need to get all the vans completely in the shot but still get the perspective that they have loads of vans :) You could then put the employees in the V if you can get high enough!

I've also seen vehicles arranged into the first letter of the company with the employees filling in the spaces (lets hope it's doesn't start with an "S". Polariser would be a good idea but probably better still don't do the shoot when its bright blue skies and blazing sun otherwise placement will be crucial. Lots of shiney vans + bright sunlight = bit of a nightmare.

I don't think that this is a particularly hard shot for a novice to pull off, kit lens will be fine, shoot something along the f/8 range with a shutter speed at least 160th sec to stop any boredom wobbles, but the key here will be organisation. Organise the vans, organise the employees, shoot, job done.
 
SHould shoot it from an upstairs window
 
They can afford to pay 20 staff, and run 10 vans... but can't afford a photographer to produce ONE high quality marketing photo for their homepage?

Some companies confuse me when they nickel and dime in the wrong places....


OP, yeah, tell him to pop his flash on his camera and set the FeV to -1 stop, just for a spot of fill light. Won't do much, but will just lift a couple of small shadows. Shooting raw, and personally I'd probably clamp the camera to the top of the ladder just to get an extra spot of sharpness, but whatever. As high a aperture as he can get away with while still getting 1/125th second iso200.
 
Rooster said:
It's just a favour for a mate for his website, no money involved or anything.
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I'd like to meet this mate and find out how he manages to get 20 staff working for him for free and how he aquired 6 vans without paying for them. Sounds like a great guy!
 
awp said:
I'd like to meet this mate and find out how he manages to get 20 staff working for him for free and how he aquired 6 vans without paying for them. Sounds like a great guy!
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Do you ever post on here except to complain about people working for free? :lol:
 
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