group focus

Hello Everyone. I have group to shoot( about 18 people) and I want

everyone to be in focus,I'll be using two monolights. My camera is a

minolta 800si. I have 50mm 1.7 & a 28-105 sigma 3.5 . And last I have

two briteks monolights(hey you have to start somewhere)I also have a

minolta III flash meter. and film will be portra 400nc. I'm wondering

what aperture to use.I'd love any help you guys can give.

Use your flash at a power setting that will still give you a recycle time of

less than about 2 seconds (any longer is awkward for portraits). That might be about

half power. I don't know your brand

of monolights, but you suggest they are fairly basic, so maybe at half power (with

both heads fired into brollies) you will get about f11. Use the 50mm if you can, but

you may have to go wider with the Sigma (using a wider lens will let you bring your

lights closer)

My strobes are 220 w/s each. The power setting are full, 1/2 & 1/4

I don't know what this really belongs in the Lighting Equipment and Techniques forum as it's more a question about aperture.

 

But... what you're looking for information on is depth of field. Depth of field is controlled by 3 factors. The aperture you're shooting at, the focal length you're lens is at and how far away you are focussing.

 

Wide angle settings have more depth of field than telephoto lenses. When you are focussing on a subject a foot away you'll get very shallow depth of field compared to shooting something 10 feet away. A larger aperture will give you less depth of field than a smaller one.

 

So hopefully you can answer your own quetion now based on your equipment and setup :)

Firstly, take this picture while you are standing on a chair, use the 35mm setting on your zoom. Do not use 28mm. Position each light about 6' from you. Point each light at the 1/3rd, 2/3rds points of the group. The lights should be about 1' higher than the tallest person. Make two rows of people, 9 and 9. Put the tallest on top or on the ends. Put them on stairs. No stairs? Have 7 sit on chairs, 11 stand in back. You have 400ws; at 200ws at 100 iso you will be at f4.7. Therefore you will be at f6.3 at 100 iso. At 400 iso, you will be 11 1/2. For good luck and safety, you expose at f11 which is 250 iso of this 400 iso film. F11 will give you sharpness and more depth of field than you need. You really only need f6.3. Your result will be great. Use f11 If you use your 50mm lens, just leave the lights where they are and back-up the camera. Don't change yur expoure. Confirm all this with your Minolta iii. Timber Borcherding

The lights are 6' to either side of you, not in frnt or back of you.

I'm going to make an adjustment: I am worried bout the coverage of your light units! Position them only 2 feet to your left and right side as your camera zoom is set for 40mm, not 35mm. This will avoid you the problem of dark edges. Exposure at f8 1/2 at full power. Forget about 1/2 power.

Thanks everybody for the info. I'll let you know how they come out.

Take a look and tell me what you think

Carl,

 

Care to post the info on how you lit/shot it? Camera settings, lights, placement etc. I'm sure other's would appreciate it.

 

Thanks,

Tom

here's #2

here's #3

here's #4

And last not everyone wanted to be in the wedding. Thanks everyone!!!!!