Asked to take team pic and need advice

[tazdev3225]

My DGD is on our pools swim team this year. They haven't had a team picture taken in a few years and want one this year. My mom volunteered me. I have warned them that I have 2 decent cameras but am in no way a professional. They are fine with that. I have a Sony alpha 300 and a Sony alpha 550. I have the kit lens which I believe is 18m to 75mm, a Minolta 50mm lens f2.8 and a 75mm to 300mm lens. I am leaning towards the kit lens. I know it isn't the best glass but it's my widest lens. I am also going to get a circular polarizer to cut down on water glare.

Any advice or recommendations? I really want to try and give the parents a nice picture. I plan on playing around with the camera at the pool to get an idea on settings and the best angles to reduce water glare but since they have mentioned a payment for my time I really want to be worthy of it. Thanks.

 

[alloyd1170]

For posing ideas, look online for examples of swim team photos. Ideally you will want to stagger them so that you can see everyone's face (think small triangles). You will also need to factor in where the sun will be. Ideally, early morning before the sun is too high is best. If you can't get around it and the sun is shining in their faces, have everyone close their eyes, then open them on three, give them one more count of 4 in your head to adjust and snap away. If you have a flash (not the built in one) and you're close enough, consider using it as a fill in flash. Keep in mind too that you can always crop the photo on your computer, but it's best to fill the frame with your subject when shooting team/individual photos. If you will be adding any special framing/team name/year, etc, remember to leave enough space in the frame for that.

 

[tazdev3225]

Thanks. I do have the pics from when my kids were on the team so I was going to use that as a model. We have kids from 4 to 18 so a broad range in size. I know the pic will be around 6 or 7 PM. We have a meet tomorrow at home so I will be looking for sunset patterns and reflections on the water. I am so honored to have been asked that I really want to do as professional a job as I can.

 

[manning]

For posing ideas, look online for examples of swim team photos. Ideally you will want to stagger them so that you can see everyone's face (think small triangles). You will also need to factor in where the sun will be. Ideally, early morning before the sun is too high is best. If you can't get around it and the sun is shining in their faces, have everyone close their eyes, then open them on three, give them one more count of 4 in your head to adjust and snap away. If you have a flash (not the built in one) and you're close enough, consider using it as a fill in flash. Keep in mind too that you can always crop the photo on your computer, but it's best to fill the frame with your subject when shooting team/individual photos. If you will be adding any special framing/team name/year, etc, remember to leave enough space in the frame for that.

Better to get them into the shade. Eliminates the squinting and gives uniform lighting.