Help, I got volunteered!

So we're at the booster club meeting for my daughter's drill team at school last night discussing our up coming golf tournament fundraiser. Someone found some double print frames that would go with the dance themes this year and thought that they would be a good give away to hole sponsers and tourment winners with a picture of the drill team on one side and a picture of the sponser/winner receiveing their trophy on the other side. Sounded like a great idea until it was pointed out that the team photos for the school will be taken AFTER the tournament this year. At this point about three people look at me and ask "hey John, you take good photo's you can get them for us right?" I must have been momentarily possesed when I told them that I would do it.

The trophy and plaque presentations I don't have a problem with. A group photo of 45 girls on a football field is a bit different story. This is out of my comfort zone and experience. The school photo's last year sucked so bad that I am bound and determined to get something much better than average for this shot. It was so poorly lit you could hardly see the back row and one black girl was nothing but eyes. The individual shots had the muslin bunched up under the chair they were sitting on with part of the floor showing and shoe tips and knees cropped off on some of the girls. I have to do better than that for my own sanity.

So far the best time we know of to get the shot is before the first homegame of the year, before the game since they will be there early and all together. This will be mid september at around 6pm before the game.

The field runs north/south and the sun should still be up, but might be below the stands. I don't want to shoot them in the bleachers because the way the fences are set up there I think they will be in the way. I was thinking on the field with the scoreboard above them. Another reason for this is we are building a new stadium and this is the last year there since 1964, the old scoreboard will be history next year. The sun will be coming from their left. I was thinking of posing them in a mix of standing, kneeling, and maybe a couple laying down. Trying to compact the group to fit within the width of the scoreboard.

How and the heck do I light this? I'm leaning heavily to a strobist approach since I have no portable lighting and I can't drop a bunch of money on a DC powered set up. I'd rather not spend any of my money or the booster clubs money on renting equipment, and the people who do the school pictures have already been discussed. So will one or two flash units cover this well? Placement, camera angle, etc? I don't want to screw this up.

My only advise would have been "good luck" but I knew these guys could cover it.

Yeah drill team!  I was on the drill team.  We had a group picture done on the football field.  The photographer brought in a couple black ladders of different heights.  Scatter three (or more if you have different heights) dead center of the feild with the legs facing  you, so when you look at it looks like an "A".  Have a few of the girls climb up a couple steps on the ladder and pose there, pose the rest standing, kneeling, and halfway laying down around them.  Then get on a ladder yourself to shoot down a bit on the group using the green grass as your backdrop.


Ryan - the school probably has insurance, but they might not be too happy about something you build, ladders are probably more acceptable and they aren't going to high.

Lighting - I believe our photographer used sunset light, it was in the evening, no flash.  I was interested in photography back then, but not enough to take note of what he did light-wise.

True, but it doesn't take much force to break a wrist. 

But isn't that sort of like saying the reception hall has insurance when our light stand falls and hits grandma in the head?  If it's done at a game the most likely insurance coverage from the school would be secondary activities coverage, assuming they have that type of policy.  It would be the same one that would cover a football player being injured during a game.  But having dealt with that type of insurance for several years, they look for, and are very good at finding, any way out of paying. And yes, schools have liability insurance, but they also have lawyers that are going to protect taxpayers' money.  Just something to think about. 

Most of the big team shots I've seen are the kids up on risers, camera in the middle however far away it needs to be, one light directly over the camera, and one light off to each side about even with the edge of the kids. 

Susie's suggestion sounds like it would be a lot more interesting though. 

Another thing to think about is that an hour before game time the football team will probably be on field doing warmups. 

OH, I wanted to add something about posing.  They should have a coach and/or a drill mistress.  Have them help with posing if you are unsure exactly what to do.  Their job is to choreograph the dances with the whole group, they'll know what is aestetically pleasing and what poses will flatter the girls and their outfits.

Oh cool, your daughter will be a big help then, I am sure.
You will have to show us your results.  This will be a good experience for you, every time I step out of my comfort zone I learn something that helps me in all aspects of my photography.