There was an interesting documentary on White House photographer Pete Souza recently and in one of the sequences, they showed him preparing to shoot a large group of present administration members. He had stand-ins for every person while setting up, allowing him to determine the lighting and clearly mark a spot for each person so when it came to shoot, it would be as efficient as possible. Ah, such luxuries.
Setting up for a group shot recently, we were told there would be between 3 to 15 people. 22 ultimately showed up. Staging, or how to prop and position all the bodies in relation to each other is the biggest challenge. Usually, group shots are problematic and unpredictable – the larger the group, the less chance of getting everyone to look acceptable, not to mention everyone’s patience level. Of course, with Photoshop we now have the option to shoot everyone separately and then composite into a group. I’ve used this technique often, usually with business executive groups, to allow for better individual portraits and dynamics.
The billboard layout version of the same group.
The same process was done recently for a series of ads for Hampden Bank in Springfield, MA because of the subjects schedule, availability and variety of uses, from magazine ads to billboards. I shot a few variations on each person to hopefully fill any spot. The background stage was also created in Photoshop and the studio lights were added to tie in the copy “Bringing You the The Brightest Minds in Banking”.
Even though I now spend a lot of time in front of the computer designing and assembling in addition to creating the subtleties of shadows and the myriad of other details that hopefully make the stylized shot somewhat believable, it is the best way to bring groups together – no one ever blinks.
Hey Al,
Very impresive! I saw one of your earlier works of shots you took of various individuals around the States that you then assembled into one shot. It’s a great concept/capability of accomidating the the clients´ busy schedules and scarce availabilties to then provide a final product that blows their socks off…GOOD WORK!
PS – I just recently saw a documentary on Pete Souza and his work as the White House Press Photographer. He has the Card Blache of access to the President´s personal and public life. I found it impressive that every single photo, be it good or bad, is kept for the National Archives…
Take Care,
Mario
Thanks Mario. Yeah, that was an annual report photographing employees from around the country which also got composed in different groups. It is a little easier now having the processing power. I’m glad I updated to a new Mac just in time for this job, with lots of RAM. This group alone has 32 layers, and is almost 3GB ( yes, Gigabytes ) in size.
Great job, Al. This is one of the nicest group shots I’ve seen. It’s so great that digital lets you be in charge and use all your creativity and magic to make this happen. I remember back in the ’80′s doing annual report groups with “missing people” and I had to give it up to the retoucher to pull it together. It’s wonderful that you have all the control yourself. Your clients are lucky you have all those retouching skills. (jack)
Hi Jack. It’s great to have so much control over the final image. It’s difficult to have all the people to be perfect at the same moment, so it’s a nice luxury to be able to work with each one individually, get the best pose and expression, and have it come together in a group. Of course, whatever time you might have saved ya gonna payback later working it all out, but the final product and control is worth it.
Nice work Al!
Thanks Jen. And thanks to Photoshop :-)
Brother Al,
If I understand this correctly, you shot each person individually in a few different poses that would anticipate a myriad of possibilities……………plus the background and props…………………It begs the question, have you ever considered playing 3 dimensional chess, on horseback, while eating a broccoli rabe and sausage stromboli? I think it would be easier!!
Great job, Al. Given Photoshop and all the other toys you have at your disposal, you still have to be able to visualize the finished product. That requires a great design sense, which you have tons of.
Bravo!!
-Peter
Brother Peter, thanks for your comments. Well, ya know that the final vision only existed in the mind, but it helped to cover my butt by having a few options for each person – standing, sitting, on platforms, and facing left, center, right, etc. Because of expressions, the client picked a couple of versions of each person, standing with or without boxes and sitting. If I needed them higher, I could slip the platform boxes under anyone at any height. The rest is just moving them around until it feels right. There’s also the issue of tweaking body sizes – persons on back should be a tiny bit smaller than the ones in front.
Hi Al,
Great composition, great solution.
I remember doing an annual report group shot and having to replace an individual at the last moment, just prior to going to press. What a nightmare trying to do that in the 80s. If I hadn’t had connections in New York with a retoucher named Kerry Meyers we would have been dead in the water. Kerry did a magnificent job and the turnaround time was great. Peter Good recommended Kerry and that saved the day for me. Peter always was willing to give great advice and share his resources when I needed help. Peter was very generous, just like Harry Rich.
When I view your Blog it brings back memories about the great assignments we worked on together.
Photoshop is a great tool. It requires the eye of the photographer. Without that, no magic.
Best regards,
Paul
Hi Paul, thanks for your comments. Yeah, I remember shooting, processing the delivering the transparencies and that was it. All the other steps and corrections were someone’s else headache. Prepress was quite a learning curve to be on a par with the pros at the printers or retouchers, but ultimately, I love the control and being able to work with images to deliver a better finished product. We did some great work together, and still have images from those around my studio and house. My favorite one is still the lone cypress tree at Pebble Beach in the fog. Great times ( clients had budgets then ).
Al, it was a joy to work with such a professional and talented photographer. Thank you for all your help on this monster of a project! It turned out much better than expected..
Thanks Again.
Pete Grace
Hampden Bank
Thanks very much Peter. Also thanks for all your great input in pulling this project together, and trusting me to deliver since the comps only existed on my head. I wish you the best. It was a pleasure working with you also.
Al’s Note: Peter was the designer in this project, and a great guy to work with. He’s leaving Hampden Bank and we wish him the best and hope our paths will cross again.