Massive Panoramic Shoot

[kq6up]

I have just been commissioned as a replacement for Life Touch for a massive panorama with about 1700 students. I think that is a bit much to ask of my Canon 5D. However, I was thinking about dragging out my 8x10" with a wide lens. I will have to rent a wide angle since I only have a 12" lens. I also have a 4x5" with an 88mm. I am not sure what to do since the shoot is on Monday.

Any suggestions?

Regards,
Chris Maness

[cosmicexplosion]

The 45and 88 are pretty wide.
If you want easy. Just mark out your panorama with tape on gg
And just crop with enlarger.
That way you only need to make a few measurements and stick a bit of tape
You could always do the same with the 810 and hire lens
If you think the shoot is worth the extra effort
Or you are getting paid slot to do it
I think it is easier for people to get exited about a big 810 gg image
Or you could do both seeing as you have so many students
I cant quite imagine his one camera is going to service so many people
Unless like Jesus you are some how going to
Divide up and make cameras and lenses for every one ?
So that would be my question
What role are you and cam playing?

[kq6up]

Thanks, Cosmic. I also noticed that the local rental house also has a Fuji MF pano camera. They have a 120mm that will just cover 8x10" too -- decisions, decisions.

Regards,
Chris Maness

[Frank Petronio]

Normally I'd defer to Cosmic's vast professional experience but my slobby half-ass opinion is that 1,700 heads require an 8x10 and 400 ISO Portra film shot from a sandbagged rock solid Sinar P2 with modern sharp lenses, as high as possible. You should have long, wide, and wider lens available and should scout the location with some friends or traffic cones as markers to understand just how much space 1,700 people are going to take up. You'll need the height and you'll want to anticipate being able to see "x" numbers of rows back to make your shot. Do the math, each person needs about 3-4 square feet....

You'll also need a megaphone and a small army of volunteer assistants with radios. You're looking at two days prep and a good $2K in rentals, minimum. A sound system to play music and announcements to the crowd is a very good idea.

Or just shoot it with the 5D and call it good enough, but we know how that will turn out.... What the heck is Life Touch and how much is this paying?

Google Spencer Tunnick to see videos of his large group shots: http://youtu.be/ncBW5_O2pFI

And also: http://www.goldbeckcompany.com

Great book: http://www.amazon.com/Goldbeck-Eugene/dp/8495273047/ref=pd_sim_sbs_b_1

[timparkin]

I have just been commissioned as a replacement for Life Touch for a massive panorama with about 1700 students. I think that is a bit much to ask of my Canon 5D. However, I was thinking about dragging out my 8x10" with a wide lens. I will have to rent a wide angle since I only have a 12" lens. I also have a 4x5" with an 88mm. I am not sure what to do since the shoot is on Monday.

Any suggestions?

Regards,
Chris Maness

I shoot large groups for the Army and have done them with 8x10, 4x5 and GX617 - the best results were with the 8x10 definitely. You can't beat surface areas with these sorts of shots. I was using Nikkor 300M as I was able to get some distance from the group. The biggest I've done was 700 and the quality of the GX617 180mm with Pro400H (a colleague brought his camera) and my Ebony 45SU with a 150 Sironar S lens with Portra 160 were pretty close. An 8x10 and a 210mm-300mm lens would probably be perfect. You should be able to tell the time on people's watches with a 4000dpi scan of that..

Here's an example of a smaller group shot on 4x5 Portra 160

http://static.timparkin.co.uk/static/tmp/hac-film-resolution.jpg

Tim

p.s. 88mm sounds too wide for a group such as this unless you really can't get further back.. the stretching at the edges won't be pleasant. I would'nt want to go wider than a 110 (or 210mm on an 8x10)

[sully75]

1700 people? I'd definitely go digital. You may want to do some compositing of several images. I did a group portrait of about 60 people, and the final print was made up of approx 10 different photos. People blink, look stupid, etc. How big are you printing? Being able to cut and paste between multiple images is really nice.

[David A. Goldfarb]

Whenever I've seen a composite of a big crowd shot, people move and there are always stitching errors once you start to look closely. That seemingly impressive (from a distance) 360-deg pano of the Obama inauguration was a prime example. Maybe it's manageable with 60 people, but I would anticipate a lot of hand work with 1700.

[Brian Ellis]

I have no idea what Life Touch is but what's the purpose of the photograph you'll be making? A yearbook? A web post? Prints? If prints, what size and what purpose (e.g. display on a wall, handouts to the participants, or what)? Depending on the purpose my first thought would be your 5D with Canon's 17mm or 24mm tilt shift lens and stitch in Photoshop. I can go from far left to far right with mine in about 5 seconds. But I have no experience with this kind of photograph so maybe that wouldn't work for some reason.

[David A. Goldfarb]

Lifetouch is a large company specializing in school photos. Formerly known as National School Studios.

[Frank Petronio]

Well if it's the LifeTouch I am thinking about then it's a 5D and zoom lens job, there is no budget.

[kq6up]

Life touch backed out. We are opening a brand new high school there. I teach Chemistry and Physics at the school, and I will be donating my time. However, I will be getting reimbursed for any expenses I incur. I am going to try to get them to put a scissor lift out in the the football field for me to shoot from. I will be shooting a backup shot with the 5D just in case the 8x10" does not go as planned. However, this is a good chance to play with my 8x10" :o) She does a good job at group photos, but I have never shot a group with 1700 people. I am guessing that is why LT cheesed out.

Regards,
Chris Maness

[Frank Petronio]

Ha yeah they realized that there is no way to do right for less than $5K.

In the end you might not get the ultimate sharp shot in this situation but it should still be spectacular and the general audience won't have anything to compare it to, so whatever you do will be impressive. Scouting is the key, anticipate the light and stick a few people out in the field at the same time, the day before to see how it will look, etc.

[kq6up]

That would be right now :o)

Chris

[Frank Petronio]

Good luck!

[kq6up]

The shoot went perfect. Thanks for all the help guys. I had to fabricate a lens board for the rental lens and get it done in a few hours. Very stressful, but the product was well worth it.

Here is the full crop:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/81639412@N00/7759261582/

Here is a low res (600dpi) tight crop:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/81639412@N00/7759367922/in/photostream/

I can easily pull everything out very clearly even from the back. I am going to go back and scan the middle strip @2400DPI. I don't have a scanner that will do a full 8x10" sheet. The full crop is a composite of three scans.

Enjoy,
Chris Maness

[Frank Petronio]

An you saved $10k over my suggestions! Pretty respectable results given the circumstances, congrats!

[David A. Goldfarb]

Nice! Film size trumps everything else.

[kq6up]

Yes, the total came to about $250, and I have about 20 sheets of Portra 160VC out of the deal. Slightly expired, but still perfectly good. Any tips on freezing already opened boxes of 8x10" color negative?

Regards,
Chris Maness

[Frank Petronio]

I wouldn't. You'll want to use it within the next 2-3 years anyway and cool, dry storage is fine. C41 processing could be gone by then anyway, so shoot it up!

[Andre Noble]

...next 2-3 years anyway...C41 processing could be gone by then anyway...

I totally doubt that. put a zero at the end, maybe. global market - Chinese - plus we (USA) are a nation of can do'ers. SOMEBODY will still be processing C-41 in 20 years. trust me.