Help with group photo?

[drjuice]

You never mentioned which Dragonboat team you belong to or which Dragonboat celebration where your team will be.

I'm jes' sayin'....

[4wmyzun5ubx]

Beautiful captures; excellent series!!

[purplehaze]

Well, I never did get to scout my location prior to the shoot, as it rained for days and days, so much so that the river is now running too high and fast for us to take the boats out. It was just as well, because, in the end, we shot in the athletic field across the road, where we had gathered for a workout. Contrary to my previous understanding, only those actually going to the international festival were allowed to pose, and of them, only those who were wearing the team shirt, so it was a much smaller group than I had feared. They were wanting to have a meeting, so I only had a very brief time in which to shoot and next to no opportunity to refine positioning. Mindful of my DOF, I kept saying "No more than three rows deep", but was countered by the coordinators, who kept saying, "No rows, no rows!" The best thing about the shoot was the off-camera cheerleading by the coaches, which served to inject a lot of life and laughter into the group. I could see that some of the people on the right were swung towards the sun, but did not want to risk losing the moment by stopping to reposition them, so I just hoped for the best and kept shooting. In the end, I didn't have enough confidence to use the SB700, so I shot without flash, used exposure compensation, and bracketed my exposures. Based on your collective advice, I shot Auto ISO at f/8 and 1/80 sec. and I stood on a short ladder. The blown highlights are unfortunate and I take the blame for them. But I think the spirit shown is great and exactly what the coordinators were hoping for.

I have at least four useable frames, including this one:



Any suggestions for processing in Aperture, Lightroom and the Nik tools welcome. I still haven't gotten around to learning Photoshop.

By the way, Virginia, our team is Chemo Savvy and our mascot is Tiamat, which is also the name of one of our boats. We are part of the world-wide wave of breast cancer survivors who have taken up dragon boat racing and the festival is an international BCS event taking place in Sarasota, Florida, in October. Anyone interested in knowing more about the BCS dragon boat movement could start here.

[William W]

. . . I shot without flash, used exposure compensation, and bracketed my exposures. Based on your collective advice, I shot Auto ISO at f/8 and 1/80 sec. and I stood on a short ladder. The blown highlights are unfortunate and I take the blame for them. But I think the spirit shown is great and exactly what the coordinators were hoping for.
I have at least four useable frames, including this one: [sample picture]

Brava!

Spirit is captured.

Don’t for a moment worry about the blown highlights.

WW

(Pink socks are awesome).

[Mike Buckley]

Well done, Janis! I'm sure everyone is grateful to you.

My only post-processing recommendation is that you digitally remove the stuff on the bleachers.

[purplehaze]

(Pink socks are awesome).

Pink socks are...


...inevitable (sigh). I am resigned.

Thanks for your invaluable instruction, Bill.

[purplehaze]

Well done, Janis! I'm sure everyone is grateful to you.

My only post-processing recommendation is that you digitally remove the stuff on the bleachers.

Thanks, Mike. And, I was afraid you'd say that. I really need a crash course in Photoshop, but I'll see what I can do.