fotografz Posted January 21, 2007 Share Posted January 21, 2007 Recently, an Ig Nobel award was give to Dr. Piers Barnes and Ms Nic Svenson for their study of the above "blinking" problem ( I read about it in a Readers Digest article on dubious scientific efforts, then being curious as to their answer, looked it up on Google ; -) Here's their rule of thumb based on research and applied mathematics: For groups of 20 or less, simply divide the number of subjects by 3 to arrive at the amount of shots required to be reasonably sure no one has their eyes closed. If the lighting is bad, they recommend dividing by 2. There you have it : -) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ben_rubinstein___mancheste1664880652 Posted January 21, 2007 Share Posted January 21, 2007 I always worked on the basis of one photo per person in the group with a minimum of 3! ;-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kelly_flanigan1 Posted January 21, 2007 Share Posted January 21, 2007 Interesting!. With my mom she would almost always blink when being photographed; I guess a real old habit since its in the the old family albums going back into the 1930's or early 1920's. With a camera where she could hear its shutter's M sync delay cocking deal releasing for a flashbulb it was even worse. With a rollei TLR I had the best success with keepers. I can go thru formal bulb flash Retina IIIc Kodachromes of say Thanksgiving dinner in 1963 and about 1 out of 7 would not have a blink. I guess my point is that some folks blink also not randomly, alot more than others keyed/tripped by movement or sound waiting for the camera to fire. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jim_gifford Posted January 21, 2007 Share Posted January 21, 2007 I'm with Ben... three shots at a minimum, then one per person as the group gets larger. But I do think that after 10 shots it's a matter of rapidly diminishing returns. People being photographed have finite patience and finite attention spans. Too many shots and you might end the session with photos of a group with zero blinks... but a sea of scowling faces, one guy checking his watch and the Type A dude over on the left walking out of the frame. Be well, Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rick Waller Posted January 21, 2007 Share Posted January 21, 2007 "and the Type A dude over on the left walking out of the frame. " Nah - the Type A guy has left after the 2nd shot, usually because his cell phone rang. :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stwrtertbsratbs5 Posted January 21, 2007 Share Posted January 21, 2007 Just take one shot. You can always cut and paste in open eyes in Photoshop! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
david_eicher Posted January 21, 2007 Share Posted January 21, 2007 I always suggest everyone blink at two on a 1,2,3 count. I will take anywhere from 2 to 4 shots on average of large groups. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RobertChura Posted January 21, 2007 Share Posted January 21, 2007 I learned from a real PRO that in a group shot, you announce to to the group that everyone look away from the camera and focus their eyes to another point and when I count to 3 on 3 look at the camera. It has never failed to have anyone blinking in my shots. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
anner Posted January 21, 2007 Share Posted January 21, 2007 What about groups of 300? ;-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cjogo Posted January 21, 2007 Share Posted January 21, 2007 Robert Chura "I learned from a real PRO that in a group shot, you announce to to the group that everyone look away from the camera and focus their eyes to another point and when I count to 3 on 3 look at the camera. It has never failed to have anyone blinking in my shots." We have everyone look to the ground or close their eyes :: to the count of 3 --- on a group of 50 ~~ about 6 shots Max Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
think27 Posted January 21, 2007 Share Posted January 21, 2007 I only have people count if I know I have a serious blinker in the group. I rarely do it because it creates a "deer in the headlights" look from subjects. I prefer a more natural shot. I do, however, shoot 8 to 10 shots of every grouping. Sometimes I have 10 good shots and sometimes I have only 1 or two where everyone has their eyes open. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
david_eicher Posted January 21, 2007 Share Posted January 21, 2007 What about groups of 300? ;-) You'll be so far back, no one will notice. LOL Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fotografz Posted January 21, 2007 Author Share Posted January 21, 2007 Funny that you say that David, that was Dr. Barnes answer when asked that question. I personally adhere to Robert's approach. Lock down the camera and shoot a maximum of three or four with a really large group ... then replace heads of blinkers one shot to the next in photoshop. Layers allow a dead match almost every time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
laurenm Posted January 21, 2007 Share Posted January 21, 2007 I have noticed a few times that the same person in a group has a problem with blinking over and over - guess that's when photoshop comes in! The only problem with the methods of having people look away or down are that some people can't follow instructions and it would be tough with kids involved. or a dog...<div></div> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kari douma Posted January 21, 2007 Share Posted January 21, 2007 I take 3 or 4 then photoshop if I can't get one with no blinkers. Rarely do I not have a good image. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fotografz Posted January 22, 2007 Author Share Posted January 22, 2007 An easy fix Lauren ... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fotografz Posted January 22, 2007 Author Share Posted January 22, 2007 Sorry, try again ...<div></div> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kari douma Posted January 22, 2007 Share Posted January 22, 2007 Thats freaky Marc.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steve_levine Posted January 22, 2007 Share Posted January 22, 2007 I was taught to watch every eye in the viewfinder before shooting. This isn't easy, but I've never shot more than two shots of any group. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
laurenm Posted January 22, 2007 Share Posted January 22, 2007 Marc! My poor dog! lol! Actually, we worked the wink shot into a Christmas card and people loved it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jim_gifford Posted January 22, 2007 Share Posted January 22, 2007 Marc, you crack me up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brad_rogers Posted June 9, 2007 Share Posted June 9, 2007 I just have everyone in te group shots close thier eye's and when I hit 3 to open them, its very rare that I have any photo's with the eye's of everyone not open. http://wwwjjweddingphoto.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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