Class Groups
2023-2024 SPRING PRICE SHEETS
Make sure to check the job summary for your event for the correct spring price sheet
PA1 = Personality with Groups
PA0 = Personality only
GA = Groups only
EQUIPMENT
Golf Bag
6 Tall Stands
2 Short Stands
2 Background Stud Extensions
1 Tripod
2 PLM Umbrellas
3-4 Crossbars
** If you are unable to lift 55 lbs, split the contents of the Golf Back into two golf bags.
Background Tub
Large Canvases
20 Clamps (minimum)
Light Tub
4 Lights
2 Extension Cords
2 Extension Nuts (or Extenders)
2 Surge Protectors
2 30° Grid
2 Barn Door
Camera Bag
Camera
Laptop
Computer Cords (Laptop charging cable, USB Sync, Hub if necessary)
3 Remotes
1 Transmitter
1 Light Meter
1 Battery Charger & Extra Battery
1 WB Card
1 Barcode Scanner
SD or CF cards, 2 minimum
SETUP
PLM One Light Setup
PLM Dual Light Setup
Set up 4 large stands and 3 cross bars stretched to their full length for the background
Pleat and clamp every 2’-3’ of background
Raise stands so the canvas is fully extended
Keep background 4’ from the risers
Use 1 Main Light with PLM
Setup main light 20’-25’ from background center
Main light height as high as possible
PLM angled at the center of the middle row
Meter Settings: Flash mode, ISO 200 & SS 125th
Meter Main Light at F11
Meter Background Lights (if used) at F8.0
Background lights need to have barn doors or grids and should look accordingly
Set camera
ISO 200, SS 125th & F11.0
Custom WB (You can do the Custom WB untethered)
Tethered - RAW
Untethered - RAW + JPG
CG Background Basics.mp4Background Basics
Blue Tape
Place blue tape down where each student will be standing. Use your tape measure to place pieces of tape 18" apart. Make sure that the pieces line up in the window of the rows above and below it. Each row should have 5-6 pieces of tape.
TIP: If a student is not standing on a piece of tape, remove so that it is not seen in the final image. Uncovered tape will NOT be edited out of the final picture. Always pick up all uncovered tape.
As a general rule, it's better to have more space between pieces of tape than less tape. This gives you more wiggle room so you don't have to make as many adjustments. We recommend about 18" between each piece of tape.
How you place the tape will depend on which type of risers you are dealing with: straight or curved.
Kind of blahh.
So much nicer!
Background Lights
In some cases, the location will already have curtains you can use as an alternative to the Dorian Background Canvases. Add background lights with grids and barn doors when you're using the school's curtains instead of the regular CG canvases to create more separation between your subjects and the background. Make sure your background lights aren't hitting anyone in the side of the face. OUCH!
Flags
For some schools, it's traditional to include flags in their class pictures. In these cases, place US flag on the photogs left and State flag on photog right. Just remember: Country before state! Always place the American Flag on the left and the State Flag on the right. Remember to move the flags in toward the group so they aren't cropped out of the final product!
This background has been almost completely swallowed up by this large group!
Have your fellow photographers help you stretch or use fewer pleats if you need more length
Here's a look at the image after digital retouching
No Running Off the Background!
Groups need to stay on the background. Any groups that run off the background will have to be digitally corrected. Stay inside the edges of the canvas!
CAPTUREPOST
General
Go to File > Setup
Under Camera, select EOS II
Check:
Confirm image discarding
Confirm /%D details overwrite
Provide feedback for scanned barcodes
Image Processing
Select Image Processing from the top of the General Setup screen
Set Rotate/Mirror to 0 degrees
Guides for CG
Select Guides at the bottom of the Setup screen
Oval height 7 : 5
Position of Top 10 : 90
Position horizontal 50%
Set outline to red and solid
Fade Background and set to 30%
Camera
Go to Camera > Settings
Check Save copy of images to camera card
CLEANING UP IMAGES & DATA
F8 Report:
Go to Edit > Find Images > Setup
Check Unmatched images
Check More than (5) image(s) matched
Check Less than (3) image(s) matched
Matched item where the following (@code) is @Grade
Hit F8 or Shift + F8 and fix any issues
WHITE BALANCE - CANON ONLY
08_White Balance.mp4
Frame 1
Fill frame with the target card.
Focus on the cross-hair in the middle of the white circle and take the picture.
Frame 2
View Histogram. Make sure you see three distinct spikes and no highlight alerts.
Use the WB button to change from K5400 to CUSTOM (flower symbol).
Press the MENU button and scroll to Custom WB (on LCD screen).
It will ask you to select a frame - select Frame 1.
Fill frame with the target card.
Focus on the cross-hair in the middle of the white circle and take the picture.
Compare Frames 1 and 2. There should be a shift in the color temperature, with Frame 2 having the more true color.
GETTING STARTED
Completed 6x9 Class Group Envelope
Camera Card Collection - How To
Greet each class when they arrive. Ask the teacher:
What honorific/prefix do you prefer?
How many students are present?
Are there any absent students? Mark those cards with a large 'A'.
Are there any new students that need a blank camera card?
Classes should arrive lined up tallest to shortest.
Students should have camera cards and envelopes in hand.
Handwrite a camera card for new students before collecting. Fill out Last Name, First Name, Grade, and Teacher.
Place the tallest student in the center of the back row. Place the back row from the center out, placing each student on alternating sides until the row is filled. Repeat this step for each row until all students are placed.
Place the main teacher on the left side standing with the first or second row.
Collect the camera cards in order starting with the bottom row, going left to right. Remember to mark the ends of each row with number and side. (i.e. “1L” for the 1st row left end student and “1R” for the 1st row right end student, and so on). Place absent students on top.
Rubber band the camera cards together and place inside the 6x9.
Make sure the 6x9 CG envelope is filled out with the correct information (school, teacher, frame number, etc).
Picture Day Schedule
Have the schedule open on your computer
As classes come down, highlight the row in yellow
This allows the office to monitor our progress, as well as your office/branch manager
CLASS GROUP TNJ
Within your TNJ, press [CTRL+N] to show the classroom folders and create a new record.
Locate and select Mrs. Smith’s folder and click “OK”. If the folder doesn’t exist, click [None] and write a note on the jobsack for that classroom.
On the 1st image of each class you must Enter the Teacher's name in the Lastname field and the correct Grade in the Grade field (If the school did not split out AM and PM classes please enter the grade as KAM or KPM for the respective class. This should also be done for preschool if they have a morning and afternoon class taught by the same teacher.
Take your first picture of the class using that data.
Then hit control "N" and make sure that the correct teacher folder is once again selected. You do not need to enter any additional information for the duplicate pictures of this class. Do this until you have a sufficient number of images of the class with 3 being the minimum.
Once you get a new class with a new teacher please start back with step 3.
When finished with the group, fill out your image numbers and photographer information on the 6x9 class group envelope prior to photographing the next class.
Then move on to your next class and repeat!
CROPPING
Use guides on camera and computer
Keep crop the same for all pictures of each class
POSING
Tip: Have staff members turn slightly toward the center for a more flattering pose.
Attention to Detail
Address staff and students in a directional and fun manner. Ask them to:
Remove lanyards & staff badges
Remove coats
Place the blue tape in between toes
Stand with their feet together
Fix hair, collars, necklaces & shoes laces
Make sure glasses are pushed up & chins are tilted down slightly
Place hands at their side or behind their back
Make sure that jackets are removed, especially if the school has uniforms
Staff Group
Things to remember for a Staff Group photo:
Use chairs for the front row
Make sure you have everyone remove lanyards
Thank them for having us there to take pictures
Explain how to bring kids down tallest to shortest
Inform teachers that each student should hold his or her own camera card and order form
Remind them that we can help parents with questions
This kiddo sticks out like a sore thumb. Make sure you get everyone in the windows.
Avoid stacked heads!
Windows
Mastering CG posing with beautiful windows starts with placing your blue tape correctly and avoiding common pitfalls such as gaps and stacked heads.
Avoid pyramids
Too long
Beautiful!
Shape
The ideal shape for a Class Group photo is an oval. Make sure you're using your guides in CapturePost to get it just right.
Nailing the shape is important for the final product. We want to fill it with their lovely, smiling faces and not a bunch of negative space.
Here's a look at the final product
Glass Glare
Remember to have everyone tilt their chin slightly down to avoid glass glare. You can also place students with glasses toward the outer edges of the group to help eliminate glare.Let the students know to look down at the camera and not up toward the lights.
On the Level
We don't want teachers to tower over their class. Bring them down to the bottom row or even have them sit for classes with small kiddos.
Hand Signs
Remind them this is everyone's class picture so save the hand signs for the playground.
Watch Out for Squirrels!
With younger classes, it's important to keep their attention and work quickly. Try these things:
Have them pretend to glue their hands to their pants!
Tell them to freeze like a popsicle!
Have them whisper cheeeeese...
Have Fun!
What we do is fun! Make it fun for everyone else!
Remember to smile - smiling is contagious
Give groups something funny to say instead of cheese
Reward them with a silly photo at the end
New posing guide FINAL.pdfMini CG Posing Guide
Group Posing2_6_15_17.pdfCG Posing Guide
ENVELOPES
For CG/PP shoots, scan all envelopes into PP tnj. For CG only shoots, scan envelopes into CG TNJ
On CG ONLY days have students line up and walk past the computer stand to be scanned before their group picture
Scan PP envelopes when students get their individual photos taken
Scan CG envelopes while waiting for the next class to arrive or during a break in the schedule
END OF DAY
Have the office do a last call. Keep one unit set up for 10-15 minutes after the announcement is made.
Always offer to set up again for a student or staff member if someone is missed.
Save to the USB Drive
After saving your job and closing the TNJ, copy and paste your completed 1000 series folder from your desktop onto the thumb drive.
When it is done copying, open the TNJ job files from the thumb drive and run the Check Images Report on each 1000 series to ensure that all the files have transferred successfully.
Open the TNJ from the USB
Go to Report
Select Check Images
Hit Safely Remove Hardware to eject the thumb drive before unplugging from the laptop.
Drag folder to the Completed Jobs folder on the desktop.
Tear down equipment and make sure it's returned to its proper place.
Clean up shoot area
Check out at the office
Job Sack
Completely fill out with the correct start frames, finish frames, photographer names, cameras/USB #, and envelope counts.
Put the number of staff on the Job Sack
Send original Job Sack with camera cards & teacher 6x9’s
If anything out of the ordinary has happened, please consult your manager or Lead Photographer for guidance. If there are issues that will effect data or editing, please write them on the "Lab Notes" section.
Use names when referencing images
Report image issues
Note special requests
Propose changes for next time
Turning In the Job
Save a copy of the shoot on the studio server.
Bundle envelopes in bundles of 25 and facing the same direction. Place them in a Mr. Green bag with a copy of the Job Sack.
In another bag, place the original Job Sack, USB drive and camera cards.
For 2-day shoots, ship the envelopes or "Green" with a note indicating the Job ID#, school name and the shoot day (e.g. 1234206789, Washington Elem, Day 1 of 2).
For 2-day shoots, keep the Job files until the end of the final shoot day and follow normal turn-in procedures.
Reference Drop Shipping Instructions
CG Video Part I Final.mp4Class Groups Part 1
CG Part Two Final.mp4
