Since these are candid shots the odds are that you are going to throw the overwheliming majority of them away. Since you specifically discussed group pictures, any time you have 2 or more they are not going to blink at the same time have there mouths closed at the same time etc..

My suggestion and I am not a great street guy is to spend a little time studying the group you wish to photograph. You are going to throw a bunch away regardles of what you do. Also what kind of "group"? And last but not least it sounds like you are looking for a posed shot out of a candid environment. That just won't happen 99% of the time..

Olympus E-500, Olympus E-510..

Cgl88 wrote:.

I have been shooting photos for years, and even back in the filmdays. However with digital cameras, pictures are free...which meanstaking more of bad photos..

I've been having trouble taking good people pictures in groupsituations. Excluding posed shots, I seem to catch people with theireyes half closed, in awkward postures, and generally with bad angles..

Do you have tips on how to improve? This is on a a sony 18-70mm kitlens. The trouble starts with fact the lens is wide-angle!.

That last sentence doesn't make much sense to me..

What helps is switching to continuous mode and snap 3-4 frames where you'd normally take a single one. Even then a lot of your shots will end up as "yes, uncle Bob was there as well" shots..

Don't wait for the Nikon D-whatever, have fun now!http://www.flickr.com/photos/j_wijnands/..

Thanks to you both..

'Group shots' as in social events, bbqs, or dinners where you and your friends are together..

To elaborate on my last point: some of my wide-angle shots come out capturing everything that happened...so the pic might be more likely to not have a subject, or to have too busy a scene..

I brought up FPS because I thought that might be a technical way to get around some of the problematic shots..

Despite candid shots being mostly throw-aways (thanks for that point...I would not have known so many shots being misses), I wonder how one can get good pics while being part of the group/party. Maybe posed shots are the way to get a much higher number of good pics...in which case they are no longer candid shots .

Chris.

My Flickr Group: http://flickr.com/groups/sony_alpha/..

It's hard to offer advice whent he complaint is that a zoom lens is at the wide end of it's zoom when the photographer presses the shutter release..

Maybe move the rigg?.

As for >Maybe posed shots are the way to get a much higher number of good pics...in which case they are no longer candid shots  <.

Now you are onto something..

Inthe world of pro wedding photograhers who know what they are doing, "candid" extends to shots that are not carefully set up there are candid at a wedding, and these include those with minor direction like cake cutting and bouquet throwing, and "formals" where there are extra lights, and people carefully organized, and lots of meter readings taken..

Using this definition, you'll get much better candids by turning people toward the camera, taking glasses from their hands, askjing people to ift their flowers a bit, and so on..

And move the zoom rign it'll work wonders..

BAK..

Cgl88 wrote:.

Thanks to you both..

'Group shots' as in social events, bbqs, or dinners where you andyour friends are together..

To elaborate on my last point: some of my wide-angle shots come outcapturing everything that happened...so the pic might be more likelyto not have a subject, or to have too busy a scene..

This is a good observation, wider angle candids are trickier to do well..

What you gain is seeing not just the one person laughing but what they are laughing at..

My advice would not to think of it as a group shot. Think of it as a shot of one person that happens to be in a group. Focus on them, move closer to them..

Rather than shooting with enough DOF for the group, make that person obviously the subject by shooting fully open at the wide end of your zoom..

Andrew..

Yeah, I was going to suggest that as well. Shoot as wide open as you can. Also pay attention to your framing, that will help as well.Don't wait for the Nikon D-whatever, have fun now!http://www.flickr.com/photos/j_wijnands/..

Thank you. It's my frame of mind that's just a bit off (with these pic scenarios)! I will take pics thinking about who the subject is and what it is doing in the context of the scene..

The reason I brought up wide-angle lenses and 'candid' shots was because I used the lens as such...the results of course being people frozen in time...and without context.Chris.

My Flickr Group: http://flickr.com/groups/sony_alpha/..